Christian Character

Wincle School is a Church of England primary school, working under the Chester Diocese. Our school is situated next door to Wincle Church, giving all of our pupils an opportunity to be part of their local, Christian community.

Our school's vision is:

Wincle School creates an enriching and outstanding rural education, nurturing the whole individual: body, mind and soul, inspiring rounded, happy, courageous children who shine in all that they say and do, exhibiting a passion for learning, a confident faith, a loving concern for community and an inclusive respect for all.

Our main aim is for our pupils to 'Shine like Stars' which is taken from Philippians, 2:15.

Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life. —Philippians 2:14-16

To break this down to aid understanding for all our pupils, we have created an acronym:

As a Church of England School, we are aware that some of our families may not be practising Christians. Our aim is to nurture those who have a Christian faith, encourage those who have a faith and challenge those who don’t have a faith. We want all pupils to feel included, safe, secure and valued.

To link with our vision, we have identified five Christian values which underpin our whole ethos and curriculum. These are:

Respect:

We are all different but we are all special, and we celebrate our differences. We treat others as we would like to be treated.

‘Encourage One Another and build each other up’ 1 Thessalonians 5:11

Respect is an important core value in our schools because it is the foundation stone of relationships within our school and wider community. In our community, we learn that God made us all different and unique.
This is something that we celebrate together. We learn to value ourselves, each other and the wider community through honesty, tolerance and trust, where everyone has an equal right to our care, time and attention as a reflection of God’s love. This means valuing differences and showing tolerance. The ‘golden rule’ is:
‘Treat others as you would want them to treat you’ Matthew 7:12

Through whole school worship, class worship, relationships and discussion, we use bible stories to provide examples of respect and also explicitly give examples of how children can show and recognise examples of respect within school. This includes recognising others in our prayers, listening to others when they are talking to us, valuing others ideas and understanding that others may have different opinions. Looking after school property and resources and thinking about how talk to others in a respectful way etc. Each term, we focus on a core value and lead an enquiry-based approach to learning with the core value running as a golden thread through all subjects.

Compassion:

Compassion is caring about someone else’s feelings and trying our best to understand how others might be feeling, and offering to help that person.

‘The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger in rich in love. The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made.’ Psalm 145: 8-9

We can show that we are kind and caring by doing acts of kindness for anyone, friends, family or even people we don’t know. We show ‘Random acts of kindness’. We donate to charities. We try to be kind to everyone even if we are not friends or we don’t always get along.
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. 2 Corinthians 1: 3-4
We aim to follow the example of Jesus and treat others as we would wish to be treated

Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. 1 Peter 3:8

We try to put ourselves in others’ shoes and think about how they might be feeling. We talk to people about how they are feeling if they want to and we pray for those who need it.

Through whole school worship, class worship, relationships and discussion, we use bible stories to provide examples of compassion and also explicitly give examples of how children can show and recognise examples of compassion within school. This includes remembering others in our prayers, helping others when they need it, being a friend when someone is sad or upset, thinking about how our words and actions can make other’s feel etc. Each term, we focus on a core value and lead an enquiry-based approach to learning with the core value running as a golden thread through all subjects.

Hope:

At Wincle, we have high hopes and aspirations for our future, our school and community. We also understand that faith gives us hope for both now and for the future, and that this hope brings confidence. Hope for us means that there is always a future whatever situation we are in, because God promised to never leave us, to always love us, and to help us in times of need.

What makes hope a distinctively Christian value? Christian hope is rooted in God’s love for us. Christians believe that: God has our best interests at heart; God will never leave us; God will provide for us when we are in need; God knows us (even the number of hairs on our head!); and God promises us of a better life to come. When we are in our darkest time, God is there, and will help us. Hope is grounded in the character of God; the Bible is full of stories of how God changes situations.

We see hope shown in the Christian narrative in many ways. The resurrection gives us hope for eternal life. The gospel stories tell of hope, for example the woman who touched Jesus’ robe (“If I just touch his clothes I will be healed.”). The rainbow after the flood is a sign that God will never break his covenant of love with us. God used Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, when slavery seemed their destiny. The lost coin and the lost sheep tell us of the lengths God will go to bring us back.

At Wincle, we develop our value of hope through: never giving up on our pupils; wanting the best for them academically and in their character; helping them see light despite the darkness; investing in our families; and learning about prayer.

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13

Through whole school worship, class worship, relationships and discussion, we use bible stories to provide examples of hope and also explicitly give examples of how children can show and recognise examples of hope within school. Each term, we focus on a core value and lead an enquiry-based approach to learning with the core value running as a golden thread through all subjects.

Integrity:

The word integrity comes from the same Latin root as integer and implies a wholeness of person. Just as we would talk about a whole number, so also we can talk about a whole person who is undivided. A person of integrity is living rightly, not divided, nor being a different person in different circumstances. A person of integrity is the same person in private that he or she is in public.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus talked about those who were “pure in heart” (Matt. 5:8), implying an undividedness in following God’s commands. Integrity, therefore, not only implies an undividedness, but a moral purity as well.

The Bible is full of references to integrity, character, and moral purity. Consider just a few Old Testament references to integrity. In 1 Kings 9:4, God instructs Solomon to walk with “integrity of heart and uprightness” as his father did. David says in 1 Chronicles 29:17, “I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity.” And in Psalm 78:70-72 we read that “David shepherded them with integrity of heart, with skilful hands.”

Through whole school worship, class worship, relationships and discussion, we use bible stories to provide examples of integrity and also explicitly give examples of how children can show and recognise examples of integrity within school. Each term, we focus on a core value and lead an enquiry-based approach to learning with the core value running as a golden thread through all subjects.

Perseverance:

Perseverance is persistence in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success. It is persistence, tenacity, determination, resolve, resolution, resoluteness, staying power, purposefulness and firmness of purpose.

In the Bible, the word ‘perseverance’ seems to occur most in phrases where a person is facing adversity. Often the story tells of people facing something that seems to be pushing them beyond their own resources and then God reminds them of the support and strength that is available. Perseverance seems to be much more closely linked to trust than to self-reliance. It is still perseverance. It is still difficult. It always requires stepping out into territory that is unknown and open to risk and often doing so alone. It was shown by Abraham, Moses, Daniel, Paul and, most of all, by Jesus. It was very hard for them to do what was required, but the strength came from a trust that what was being done was right and that they would be supported by God.

Through whole school worship, class worship, relationships and discussion, we use bible stories to provide examples of perseverance and also explicitly give examples of how children can show and recognise examples of perseverance within school. Each term, we focus on a core value and lead an enquiry-based approach to learning with the core value running as a golden thread through all subjects

‘I can do all things through him who strengthens me’. Philippians 4.13

Celebrations

All pupils attend church every Friday morning for our celebration worship, where parents are invited to join us in celebrating our pupils' many achievements.

We hold special services at Christmas, Easter and for other Christian festivals. We also benefit from regular assemblies led by the local clergy.

Our family services are well-attended, with children from the school leading Sunday services with the local community.

View our Collective Worship Plan Autumn 2022-2023 here

View our Collective Worship Spring plan 2023 here

View our Collective Worship Summer plan 2023 here

Compassion UK

Compassion UK are a charity who work all over the world to help release children from poverty.

At Wincle, we want to be a school who:

Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves,
for the rights of all who are destitute.
Speak up and judge fairly;
defend the rights of the poor and needy.(Proverbs 31 8-9)

Our Sponsored Child - Phiona

We are so incredibly thrilled to be able to sponsor Phiona – a 10 year old girl

from Rwanda. What a privilege to be able to change a child’s life! It costs £28

a month to sponsor Phiona. This pays for food, healthcare, basic needs and

access to the Compassion Project for education, love and care. The school's

Ethos Committee regularly communicate with Phiona and feedback to the rest

of school. They organise fundraising initiatives throughout the year to help pay

for the sponsorship.

British Values

In accordance with the Department for Education, we aim to actively promote British
values in our school to ensure that pupils leave school prepared for life in modern
Britain.