Life in All its Fullness for All
'Live full lives. Full in the fullness of God.' Ephesians 3:19
At Eye C of E Primary School we are constantly looking forward. We want to ensure that we are providing our children with full lives and equipping them with all that they need to fulfill their God-given potential. We value each child individually and want to help them recognise their great potential. We endeavour to help stretch them spiritually, morally, intellectually, imaginatively and actively. We believe that Eye C of E Primary School we have a range of opportunities and experiences that allow us to to this.
We pride ourselves in offering a safe and welcoming place for all God's children. We are fortunate to have a highly skilled and experienced pastoral team who are able to support our teachers and teaching assistant further in supporting and equipping each and every child for success. They also provide mentoring for children who find resilience and perseverance challenging. Through this they are able to provide strategies to overcome barriers and make positive choices.
At Eye C of E Primary School we recognise that in order for us to live lives that are full in the fullness of God we need to embody an ethos of living well together and follow the example that Jesus taught in his Sermon on the mount where he reminded us of the importance of loving our neighbours as ourselves.
We are a close community and rely strongly on our Christian Values to support, empower and uplift each other. When we join together in Collective Worship we are immediately united as one body under God. We recognise and value our individuality and differences as part of one community and ensure that each person recognises their significance that all that they have to offer our school.
Our Behaviour policy is rooted in the values of our school and endeavours for each child to GROW as children of God and to be able to ‘live life in all its fullness.’ We look to the example of Jesus Christ living out the values as a means of living our life. When dealing with incidents we directly refer to these and children are given time to reflect on their actions and the impact these have had on others. We use the model of restorative justice and encourage empathy and respect alongside forgiveness (one of our Christian Values) and reconciliation. All adults within our school model the positive behaviours and language that we wish our children to use.
We aim to embrace and celebrate difference as well as ensuring that there is good support for mental health in children and adults. We support children in their mental health through our ‘Rainbow Room’ club at lunchtime. Children are identified by our teachers with the support of our pastoral team and these children are able to spend some time inside with peers and staff to chat and develop strategies for dealing with any issues they may have. We support families who are struggling whether it be because of health issues or bereavement etc. We establish provision for specific children, e.g. through offering counselling services or setting up ‘check-ins’ with our Pupil and Family Support Worker or Safeguarding and Welfare Lead.
At Eye C of E Primary School we firmly believe that all children should be treated with dignity and respect. This is rooted in our belief that each being is created in the image of God and is loved by God. We work hard to ensure that children are kept safe and are protected in an environment where all God's children are valued.
Our commitment to the dignity and ultimate worth of each child is rooted in each being created in the image of God. As a result of this, safeguarding has a high profile at Eye. The school is fully compliant in all areas of safeguarding. Staff receive annual training to refresh their understanding of safeguarding and regular reminders regarding safeguarding are included within the weekly briefing. Children are taught about how to keep themselves safe through our PSHE curriculum.
Jesus embodies the love and compassion of God for each and every person. This helps to shape our whole school SEND Policy. The school actively seek to reduce and remove any barrier that might limit the opportunities for children to live life to the full. The school adopts an approach of ‘Quality First Teaching’ to provide an inclusive environment for all; this may include the use of kinaesthetic resources or additional adult support. The SENCO meets with the teachers as part of our pupil progress meetings each term to discuss the progress of children who have a learning difficulty or any child that has a cause for concern. Following this, interventions are put in place e.g. daily reading or precision teaching.
Our pastoral team work closely with pupils and families to ensure that support is provided to all members of the school community. This is with the children in school for mentoring sessions as well as with the families.
We are consciously striving to celebrate diversity and culture within our curriculum. We have identified significant BAME individuals in different areas of the curriculum and have ensured that there are opportunities for children to learn about and celebrate a range of cultures and ethnicities.
Our Achievement Collective Worships alongside our Christian Values Award Collective Worships allow us to celebrate children who have shown resilience, perseverance and the ability to make positive choices as well as demonstrating and living out our Christian Values. Parents and family members are able to share in these celebrations.
Our PSHE curriculum is a key lever into exploring children's aspirations more deeply. We have opportunities such as careers fairs where members of our community are able to come and share their skills and professions and children can engage in dialogue with professionals to find out more and extend their hopes further.
Children at Eye C of E Primary School are encouraged to become active citizens and ambassadors for the school through being part of our Church Ambassador team or joining our Social Action club. Their voices are heard and they lead meetings, initiate new projects and disseminate ideas, take feedback from their class. This is a means of empowering them to become the person that God created them to be and a good citizen of their community.
As a school we offer a range of extra-curricular activities which broaden children’s opportunities and aid in developing their aspirations. These clubs range from sports clubs such as netball, cricket and hockey to choir, journalistic writing and art.
To develop our understanding of our Christian vision and values further we endeavor to support and learn about a range of charities throughout the year. We want to play our part in helping others to ‘live life to the full- full in the fullness of God’. Over the past few years we have supported ‘The Samaritan’s Purse’ international relief charity in their ‘Operation Christmas Child’ project. Children have worked as a class to provide items for and to create shoeboxes to provide gifts for children in need around the world at Christmas. This is evidence of our children wanting to make a difference and the realisation that they are able to positively impact on the lives of others. More recently, following feedback from parents and staff, we have decided to change our charity focus at Christmas to supporting The Salvation Army’s present appeal to provide gifts to disadvantaged children and families within our own community.
We work closely with organisations within our own community who are supporting those in need in our area such as Thorney, Eye and Surrounding Areas Foodbank and CareZone based at Kingsgate Community Church.
We also support a range of other charities throughout the year such as Children in Need, The British Legion Poppy Appeal, ‘Save the Children’ through Christmas Jumper Day; Anti-Bullying Alliance and a charity that is very close to our hearts at Eye C of E Primary School: the Children's Cancer and Leukemia Group, specifically research into Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma.