Deeply Christian, Serving the Common Good
How do we fulfil the Church of England’s vision for education?
At Tunstall C of E Primary School, we are deeply Christian in character by living out our School Christian Values daily. Collective Worship is the ‘heartbeat’ of our school day, setting the tone for the behaviour and ethos of our school family. We have strong links with our local vicar, Reverend Alan Pinnegar and St. John the Baptist, Tunstall, which we use on many occasions R.E lessons, Collective Worship and to mark key dates in the Christian calendar.
We embrace the Church of England’s vision which is deeply Christian and proclaims Jesus’ promise of “Life in all its fullness” (John 10:10) through the four elements of community, dignity, wisdom and hope.
Our Christian values of forgiveness, perseverance, truthfulness, kindness, service and friendship underpin and enhance everything we ALL do within the community and fellowship of our school.
Making sense of what my child (ren) experience in a Voluntary Aided Church School
People often wonder how a church school differs from a community school and what it means to be a voluntary aided (VA) church school. Here are a few things which may help.
In a VA church school, the Governing body, not the local authority, employ the staff. Our Governing body are also responsible for admissions. This governing body has a majority of ‘foundation members’, to ensure it maintains its Christian distinctiveness. It is however a myth that VA church schools are only for Christians. They are for people of all faiths and no faith.
In a VA church school the curriculum subject of RE is inspected by the Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist schools (SIAMS), the inspection also considers the schools Collective Worship and the out living of its vision and values. Ofsted inspect everything else as they do in Community schools. A VA church school is distinctly Christian in nature and upholds the Christian faith, however all elements of Worship are invitational.