Trust, Friendship, Respect, Forgiveness, Courage, Truthfulness

Lydney C of E Primary School

Vision, Ethos and Aims

Our vision is to be a caring Christian community where every child achieves a love of life and of learning.

We aim to create a caring, confident and inclusive community in which we all value each other’s life ambitions through creative and inspirational learning.

The Parable of the Good Samaritan: Luke 10:25 – 37, is the foundation of our vision and we reflect on the messages of the Good Samaritan parable. It helps us to take forward the compassion and charity that we can show to others, and also realise that each of us at some time needs the help of others through no fault of our own. We want our school community to love our neighbours as ourselves. 

We embrace our six key Christian values of trust, friendship, respect, forgiveness, courage and truthfulness which we see clearly in the parable of the Good Samaritan. These Christian values are found in the daily life of our school community as well as forming the core of our programme for Collective Worship.

Children spotted living out our values receive a certificate in our weekly celebration. 

Our church school’s success is based on strong and welcoming links between school, home, church and community.

We encourage all learners to explore their interests, find their talents and pursue them with ambition as they play their part in the life of the school.

We encourage children to appreciate their environment and develop an understanding of their impact upon the local community and the wider world.

Our children are at the centre of all that we do and we listen carefully to their opinions and perspectives to ensure that learning has purpose and meaning. We motivate and inspire children to reach their full individual potential by offering a broad, exciting and highly creative experience.  The staff are forward thinking, innovative and adaptable; keen to explore teaching approaches and projects that will stimulate the enquiring minds of our children.

Our school curriculum is underpinned by both our Christian and British values. The school upholds the British Values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, mutual respect and tolerance of those from different beliefs and faiths through all that it does and teaches children to respect each other.   

The curriculum is the means by which the school achieves its objective of educating children in the knowledge, skills and understanding that they need in order to lead fulfilling lives.  Our curriculum is underpinned by the following drivers: Spirituality; Belonging; Possibilities; World Aware and Well-being. The drivers were carefully selected to meet the needs of the children and the rural community we serve.  We recognise that the Forest of Dean is very different to other parts of the UK. We try to include experiences into our curriculum to ensure that children don't miss out on this as a result of living in a rural area.  Staff produce topic Curriculum Driver Sheets for each topic taught. As well as the drivers, staff think carefully about how the locality can be used to enhance learning.  

We value the holistic well-being of our children, through fostering a caring attitude, with a positive commitment to the ethos and values of a Church of England School. Our open culture of communication throughout the school community ensures all views are valued. We provide a safe environment which develops confidence and independence within our children to prepare them for a life in an ever changing world.

Severn Federation Academy Trust Vision

Our vision is to be creative schools learning together in inclusive, inspiring and nurturing Christian communities where all children and adults are loved and achieve their best.

‘Learning together, with minds that think and hearts that care’

 Severn Federation Academy Trust Ethos

At the Severn Federation,  Academy Trust everyone works together to put children at the heart of all that we do:

• We are a family of schools, committed to our partnership, yet retaining our separate identities and individuality.

• We collaborate, seeking out the best practice from within our Trust and from the wider educational world to provide robust challenge and support. 

• We value each individual and believe that through working together, we can achieve the best possible outcomes. 

• We believe that every school, staff member and child contribute to the success of our Trust.

• We make no excuse for having high expectations – our children deserve the best!

• We build learning experiences for all children which relentlessly and intentionally celebrate equity, diversity, belonging, inclusion and justice.

• We enable children to flourish and to live life in all its fullness.