Our Vision & Values

Our vision is flourishing in learning and love.

Our vision and values were originally set in 2018 when Castle Federation was formed and while, in the time since, we have tested whether the vision and values are the right ones for our schools, governors and senior leaders have decided that now is the right time for a full review. We wanted to involve all members of our school community, we ran hybrid or face to face sessions and online responses to make the process as inclusive as possible. We asked the pupils, staff, parents, governors, and members of our local community.

As part of our consultation, we asked our Stakeholders the following:

• Is our vision statement still relevant?

• Should our values be across both school?

• Are there too many values?

• The children have chosen the parable of the mustard seed to underpin our vision and values, how do you think the key messages relate to nurturing our children?

   After careful consideration and discussion, we decided on the following:

Our updated vision statement: 

“Flourishing in learning and love.” 

‘Do everything in love’  (1 Corinthians 16:14) 

 

 Our new Federation values: 

Kindness     Resilience     Respect     Thankfulness 

 Kindness 

Ecclesiasticus 40.17:

Kindness is like a garden of blessings.

Colossians 3.12:

Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.

Zechariah 7.9:

Render true judgements, show kindness and mercy to one another.

Respect

1 Peter 2.17:

Honour everyone.

Ecclesiasticus 10.28:

My child, keep your self-respect, but remain modest. Value yourself at your true worth.

Romans 12.10:

Love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honour.

Resilience

1 Corinthians 13.7:

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Psalm 94.18:

When I thought, ‘My foot is slipping’,

your steadfast love, O Lord, held me up.

1 Corinthians 15.58:

Therefore, my beloved, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that in the Lord your labour is not in vain.

Colossians 1.11:

May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully.

Thankfulness

  1 Timothy 4.4:

For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected, provided it is received with thanksgiving;

Psalm 95.2:

Let us come into God’s presence with thanksgiving;

let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!

Colossians 3.15:

And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. 

 Our ethos statement is rooted in our Church of England foundation:

• We will preserve and develop our religious character in accordance with the principles of the Church of England and in partnership with our parish and diocese.
• We will serve our community by providing an education of the highest quality within the context of Christian belief and practice.
• We will encourage an understanding of the meaning and significance of faith, and promote Gospel values in all that we do.
• As Church of England schools, we welcome those who live by all faiths or no faith, as partners with whom we build our school family. True Christian hospitality is generosity, resourced from God’s own generosity and knows no boundaries.
• We are proud to be an inclusive family in which to belong; places to explore and go deeper in learning; places to pray, grow and serve.

The Mustard Tree Parable

In the Spring term 2024 our children helped to choose their preferred parable which was the Parable of the Mustard Seed. This is one of the shorter parables of Jesus. It appears in Matthew (13:31–32), Mark (4:30–32), and Luke (13:18–19)

Matthew Chapter 13 verses 31-33, English Standard Version

He put another parable before them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches."

The parable is strongly related to our vision of “flourishing in learning and love”, and explains how from small things, great things can grow if they are nurtured through love.

We can also use the parable to talk about other important issues such as sustainability and links to the community network. The image depicting the mustard tree was designed by pupils.

 

We also have a duty and responsibility to ensure that our school promotes and develops British Values amongst our pupils. You can find out how we do this here.

• Diversity Equity Inclusion Statement