St. Oswald's CE Primary SchoolOur Vision & Values Statement

Our Vision & Values Statement

What is the school’s vision?

Learning for all, caring for each other, preparing for the future

Let us encourage one another – Hebrews 10:25

What does the vision look like in school?

Our school community has reflected on what we want for every child who attends St Oswald’s CE Primary School, and together we have compiled a vision for our school.

Learning for all…

Our curriculum and teaching is designed to build resilience and a ‘can do’ attitude and provide opportunity for all pupils in our diverse community, including those who are vulnerable, to flourish and be the best that they can be. We want to stimulate imaginations and encourage our children to think deeply.

Caring for each other…

Everything we do in school should contribute to children’s personal, spiritual, moral and cultural development, and we want the whole school community to work together in kindness, acceptance, mutual respect and a willingness to forgive. Every pupil and adult should have the opportunity to be their best and do their best in a supportive and loving environment.

Preparing for the future…

All children within our diverse community are to be celebrated for their uniqueness and equipped with the sense of

belonging that fosters confidence and self-belief. A purposeful, relevant and engaging curriculum will build on prior learning, equip our pupils for today and prepare them for the future. We aim to encourage independence, and responsibility, with the opportunity for our pupils to play a valued role in school and the wider community. We want our pupils to think creatively, develop ambition and have the confidence to stand by their convictions.

Our guiding scripture:

“Let us encourage one another.” Hebrews 10.25

This scripture reminds us that together we can achieve so much more than we can alone, both in our lessons and in our faith journey.

What is our vision mission?

It is our aim that St Oswald’s will be a place where:

  • Everyone is valued and all relationships are based on trust, respect, equality and celebration of diversity
  • Everyone has opportunities to develop, achieve and contribute in different ways to be the best they can be
  • Everyone is encouraged to take responsibility for themselves, for each other and for our world
  • Everything we do contributes to children’s personal, spiritual, moral and cultural development
  • Children are happy and confident and play a valued role in their local community

As a Church of England School, we subscribe to the Church of England’s shared ethos statement for all its schools:

“Recognising its historic foundation, the school will preserve and develop its religious character in accordance with the principles of the Church of England and in partnership with the Church at parish and diocesan level.

The school aims to serve its community by providing an education of the highest quality within the context of Christian belief and practice. It encourages an understanding of the meaning and significance of faith, and promotes Christian values through the experience it offers to all its pupils.  

 Let us encourage one another – Hebrews 10.25

What are our school values?

At St. Oswald’s, we have 6 core values. Our values underpin who we are as individuals and as a community.

RespectCompassionFriendshipServiceTrustJustice

Our values reflect our Christian foundation as a Church of England School and provide the basis for everything we do and aim to achieve at St Oswald’s. Most importantly, they are at the heart of all the relationships that exist between the members of our school community – children, parents, staff, governors and our local community.

Each half term, we raise awareness of a focus value and celebrate those who have shown it significantly in our Friday Collective Worship. Each individual has their name added to a leaf which becomes part of our Caring Tree. As the year progresses, the tree flourishes with all the named leaves of children who have shown our values through school.

At St Oswald’s, Christian values are central to the ethos of our school. We have identified six core values that help us to live out our vision and should influence all relationships and actions and permeate our curriculum:

Respect

We should respect ourselves and treat others with consideration and understanding: respect another person’s point of view; respect the property of others;treat others fairly and show respect for the world in which we live.

Bible story: Solomon & the Queen of Sheba (1 Kings 3, 4, 10)

Compassion

Compassion is more than feeling sorry for someone: it leads to a desire to act, to do something. Compassion requires an act of imagination and humility to share in the lives of others.

Bible story: The Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:20)

Friendship

Trust, feeling comfortable in each other’s company, being able to share joys and 

sorrows are all features of friendship and these are things of immense value. True 

friendship enables each person to grow and ensures that the unique individuality of each person is recognised. 

Bible story: David and Jonathan (Samuel 18)  

Service

We should serve those in need whoever they are, and this service is not offered to gain some advantage for ourselves. ‘Going the extra mile’ involves sacrifice, putting ourselves out for someone else’s benefit.

Bible story: The parable of the Good Samaritan(Luke 10)

Trust

Trust is essential to human life and lies at the heart of all relationships. Trust requires

vulnerability, putting yourself in others’ hands, and it is to be valued and honoured. When we trust in the abilities and integrity of others, everyone can be enriched.

Bible story: Jesus calms the storm (Matthew 8:23-27)

Justice

Justice means giving all people – particularly the poor and oppressed – what it is right and fair for them to have: life, health, freedom and dignity. It is about acting out of a concern for what is right and seeing right prevail. It is about social justice, especially for those who suffer most and are least able to protect themselves.

Bible story: The Parable of the workers in the vineyard (Matthew 20.1-16)

Our School Worship Team collected some view of what our values look like in action:

What does our school look like?

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St Oswald’s CE Primary School is a Church of England school. We are very lucky to have a wonderful building that was completed in 2006 with spacious learning environments and a large outdoor area. We also have close access to our local church and we love our next door neighbour…the library! Fulford Pre-School also shares the site providing Early Years education for children aged 2 to 4 years old.

We have approximately 315 pupils on roll aged 4 to 11. Our catchment area includes much of Fulford and the surrounding area and many children from service families based at the nearby barracks choose St Oswald’s as their school. There are 2 classes in reception who share an outdoor area – we love to get out whatever the weather! We then have three Year 1 and 2 classes, three Year 3 and 4 classes and three further Year 5 and 6 classes. All of our Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 classes are organised into mixed year groups, allowing us to differentiate learning towards every child’s needs and abilities, with some year group teaching in core subjects. 

In our latest Ofsted report (April 2024), some of our many strengths include:

  • The behaviour of pupils throughout school is commendable. The pupils have positive
    attitudes to learning in class.
  • ‘When pupils attend St Oswald’s, they experience a broad and well-considered curriculum.‘
  • ‘Care, kindness, and warmth are on offer to all who attend St Oswald’s. The staff, pupils and local school community work in harmony’