Vision & Values
Our school motto is:
‘Cherish and nurture, flourish and aspire’
There are no limits on our belief in what children can achieve and we encourage children to believe the same, working in collaboration with the whole community of the school to achieve this. At Burrington, children are nurtured to be confident, happy and inquisitive learners, encouraged to be ambitious and seize the many opportunities that school, and the wider world, provides. This enables an education which lays a firm foundation of aspiration, curiosity and the belief that we can all be agents of change, making a positive difference in our world.
Cherish: All children are cherished and loved as unique individuals, capable of great things.
Nurture: We take the responsibility of nurturing the pupils in our care very seriously, seeking to understand how best to support and encourage.
Flourish: We want all children to live life in all its fullness, to seize opportunities and ignite curiosity within themselves, and to inspire the same in others.
Aspire: We set no limits on what children can achieve and we strive to instil in them a determination to be the best they can be and make a difference in our world, now and in the future.
It drives our Federation vision:
'Our vision is to be a joyful community of lifelong learners, to live with love and purpose, as we grow and flourish together. '
This is the foundation of all we do. We strive to provide an outstanding education which develops the whole child: socially, academically, morally and spiritually.
Our enthusiastic, caring and dedicated staff ensure that the children have a wealth of opportunities for irresistible learning through a carefully structured, innovative and inspiring curriculum which builds on children's experiences and knowledge. This curriculum draws on the UN sustainable global goals for development, our beautiful rural locality, the national curriculum, subject expertise, creativity and educational research.
Our vision and values are tightly woven through this curriculum from Nursery to Year 6. Further information on our curriculum can be found here.
We believe that the diverse experiences and opportunities children have in school can have a profound effect on aspirations, future interests or successes. We take this responsibility very seriously. We are committed to providing enriched educational experiences, igniting passions, challenging stereotypes, offering possibilities outside 'the norm' and encouraging success beyond expectations to inspire a love of learning.
The strength of partnership between the school and parents, governors and the wider community enhances a ‘family’ ethos. In 2018, with our sister school, we formed the Federation of Burrington and Wrington Church Schools, which has enabled both schools to benefit from additional opportunities for shared support and expertise, professional development and curriculum enrichment. In 2023 we joined Lighthouse Schools Partnership and became an academy.
‘Let all that you do be done in love’
1 Corinthians, 16:14
This is our Federation guiding principle and is visible in the kindness, love and care which is the cornerstone of relationships within the school and across the Federation.
We are a Church of England VA School and we have strong links with our foundation church, Holy Trinity which stands beside the school and we are privileged to have it as a regular place of worship. Our Christian values underpin all we do and our strong Christian ethos helps to make our school special; however, although we are a Church of England School, we are a school for all children, of all faiths or none, and everyone is welcomed.
We also have strong links with local schools in our cluster and beyond, and we work closely with the Diocese of Bath and Wells as well as our Multi Academy Trust (LSP) and North Somerset Local Authority. In 2021, with support from the Diocese, we developed a Federation link with a school in Zambia.
Our twelve Christian values:
Compassion, Courage, Forgiveness, Friendship, Generosity, Justice, Perseverance, Respect, Service, Thankfulness, Trust, Truthfulness
These twelve values reflect the commitment we have to support children's full moral development; we unashamedly introduce children to a wide breadth of school values including service, forgiveness and perseverance which sit alongside other values which children themselves may find more accessible, such as courage, compassion and trust. As educators, we are passionate about instilling in children in our care, values which will provide a social, spiritual and moral grounding so that whatever is faced, whether in joy or challenge, these values will act as a guide. The breadth of these values is reflected in children's behaviour while at Burrington and, we hope, in their future endeavours.
We embrace British Values and support our children to know and understand how these values help society to flourish and grow. These British values are defined as
- Democracy,
- The rule of law,
- Individual liberty,
- Mutual respect
- Tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs.
Further information about how these British values inform our practice can be found by clicking here.
Our Federation values are reinforced by our 'High Five' code for Behaviour:
Respectful, Ready, Resilient, Safe and Kind
Our commitment to the whole child is also reflected in the emphasis placed on good health and wellbeing which we believe is important for a happy, purposeful and successful life ('Life in all its fullness'. John 10:10). This is formally taught as part of our PHSE curriculum, but additional support is provided through special opportunities such as well-being week, visits from charities e.g. the NSPCC, cross curricular projects (such as the Power of Music), internal support (worry box, working with the Learning Mentor) as well as the ongoing love and care provided by members of the staff team.
We recognise that there are times when life can be a challenge and we are committed to providing support where needed, from intervention work with the school learning mentor, additional signposting support for families or individual nurturing opportunities for a child, responding to need. We want all children to be confident, happy, healthy and independent.
We seek to inspire children to be the best that they can be, valuing all as unique individuals and developing their special qualities and strengths to enable them to flourish in all aspects of school life, to live with purpose, with a strong moral compass. We are committed to preparing the children for success, as responsible caring citizens: informed, confident and well equipped for the challenges of the 21st century with a zest for life and learning, now and in the future.
Our Federation Aims
- Develop a lifelong love of learning
- Experience joyful learning and creativity
- Be kind and have compassion towards others
- Develop respect and have understanding of diverse beliefs, values and needs of others
- Be courageous in learning, seize opportunities and be unafraid to make mistakes
- To act with integrity and responsibility
- To learn independently and collaboratively, with curiosity, self-reflection and resilience
- To use technology with confidence and responsibility
- To be the best version of ourselves and encourage others to be the same
- Strive to make a positive difference to our world as a global citizen
Our overarching aim is to strive for excellence in all we do with love at the heart.
