A Church School - our vision and values

The Parable of the Mustard Seed
 
At The Bishops' our mantra, 'Faith to Belong, Believe, Aspire and Achieve' is based on The Parable of the Mustard Seed:

If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you. Matthew 17:20

 

Our vision is that by building on our Christian distinctiveness and nurturing ethos, we will enable every child to flourish academically, spiritually and emotionally. We will achieve this through inspirational, exciting and challenging learning, utilising our natural environment by creating endless possibilities and making a positive contribution to society.

 

Check out our Looking to the Rainbow video for The Church of England:

Church School Leaflet.pdf
The Bishops' is proud to be recognised as an 'Outstanding' Church of England school and our SIAMS report (June 2015) is available here.
 
Our school prayer
 
The Bishops’ School is our School
Let’s get on together
Let’s have fun learning
Let’s be brave and try new things
Let’s take care of each other
Let’s take care about the world
Let’s plan for the future
Let’s do it all in God’s name
Amen
 
Our Christian Values
 
Our school values were relaunched in September 2019 with all our community having an input, from our Worship Leaders to our visiting clergy from St Micheal's Church. Everything we do links to our values and they underpin all of our learning to enable our children to flourish.  We persevere, we learn how to be compassionate, we respect each other, we learn how to forgive, we trust each other and we learn courage. Please see our Values plan below for more detail, how our values fit withing the Christian Calendar and our tips for learning about our values at home.
 
We also use teddies to model our values to our younger children in our daily collective worship.
The Bishops' Values Plan.pdf
How our Christian Values link with British Values.pdf
COMPASSION at home.pdf
COURAGE at home.pdf
FORGIVENESS at home.pdf
PERSEVERANCE at home.pdf
RESPECT at home.pdf
TRUST at home.pdf
Our Aims
 
  • To provide an environment and curriculum that stimulates every child’s desire to learn;
  • To teach creatively to inspire children with unique learning experiences;
  • To foster high aspirations and encourage children to be leaders of their own learning;
  • To promote respect and kindness;
  • To nurture and prepare children so they flourish academically, socially and spiritually;
  • To prepare the children to be lifelong learners.
 
 
What is a Church of England School?
 
The Bishops’ C of E Learning Academy is named after four Bishops of Cornwall:
 
Conan was a medieval Bishop of Cornwall. Conan was nominated about 926 by King Æthelstan. He was consecrated before 931. He died between 937 and 955. However, in the view of historian D. P. Kirby, it was almost certainly in 936 not 926 that Æthelstan established Bishop Conan at St. Germans.
 
Kenstec was a medieval Bishop of Cornwall. Kenstec was consecrated between 833 and 870. His death date is unknown. Kenstec's seat lay in "the monastery of Dinuurrin"' which may have been Bodmin. He professed obedience to the Archbishop of Canterbury, marking a stage in the incorporation of Cornwall into the English church. It is not clear whether there was only one bishop in Cornwall at this time, as there may have been another at St Germans, and it is also not clear whether Cornish bishoprics continued into the later ninth century. 
 
Leofric (before 1016–1072) was a medieval Bishop of Exeter. Probably a native of Cornwall, he was educated on the continent. At the time Edward the Confessor was in exile before his succession to the English throne, Leofric joined his service and returned to England with him. After he became king, Edward rewarded Leofric with lands. Although a 12th-century source claims Leofric held the office of chancellor, modern historians agree he never did so. Edward appointed Leofric as Bishop of Cornwall and Bishop of Crediton in 1046, but because Crediton was a small town, the new bishop secured papal permission to move the episcopal seat to Exeter in 1050. At Exeter, Leofric worked to increase the income and resources of his cathedral, both in lands and in ecclesiastical vestments. He was a bibliophile, and collected many manuscripts; some of these he gave to the cathedral library, including a famous manuscript of poetry, the Exeter Book. Leofric died in 1072; although his remains were moved to the new Exeter Cathedral which was built after his death, their location is no longer known and the current tomb does not mark his resting place.
 
Wulfsidge was a medieval Bishop of Cornwall. Wulfsidge was consecrated between 959 and 963. He died between 981 and 993. His predecessor was Comoere and his successor was Ealdred of Cornwall.

Our school started in 1978 as the population increased in Newquay and the surrounding villages. 

There were two requirements; the first to teach Christianity through ‘Religious Instruction’ and the second to hold a regular act of worship..

The purpose of a Church of England school is to offer a spiritual dimension to the lives of young people, within the traditions of the Church of England, in an increasingly secular world.

25% of primary schools in England have a Church foundation.

 

What is being added by being a Church of England school?

 

At The Bishops', we have Christian beliefs and values at the heart of all we do.  This means that every child and adult associated with our school is not just important because they are members of the school but because we see them as unique individuals within God’s creation.

At The Bishops', we aim to live the Church of England's VISION FOR EDUCATION.  We want all of our children to live life in all it’s fullness – to belong, believe, aspire and achieve!  

If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you. Matthew 17:20

As a church school, we recognise that as well as academic and emotional intelligence human beings also have spiritual intelligence. The spiritual aspects of life will be recognised, and nurtured alongside the academic and emotional needs of all who work and play within our school community.

Church schools are places where challenge through questioning is encouraged as through this we can make sense of the world, the gift of life and the purpose of our own personal lives.

We see a core purpose for our school is bringing the church, the teachings of Christ and Christian beliefs and values to our school.

 

What differences should you notice ?

 

As a pupil, parent, visitor or member of staff you should find that a church school is as good as any other good school but you should feel that the way the school works is different and distinctive.   At The Bishops', this is something we pride ourselves on and we know that the distinctive difference is rooted in our Christian values that affect the way everyone is respected.

The Bishops' values, ethos, curriculum and provision ensures that we enable our pupils to live life in all it’s fullness by building our work on the core values of the Church of England’s Vision for Education: Wisdom, Hope, Community and Dignity.

Church schools are encouraged to:

  • ensure that the school is led by a headteacher who is committed, with the help of staff, to establish and maintain the Christian character of the school in its day to day activities and in the curriculum.
  • engage meaningfully in a real act of Christian worship every day.
  • offer a school life that incorporates the values of the Christian faith.
  • ensure that religious education is given at least 5% of school time and that the character and quality of religious education are a particular concern of the headteacher and the governing body.
  • observe the major Christian festivals and in schools which other faiths are present ensure that those faiths are able and encouraged to mark their major festivals with integrity.
  • maintain and develop an active and affirming relationship with a parish church.

 

Our links

 
We work very closely with the staff at St Micheal's church, Newquay who are in school every week helping and supporting the children. Every Sunday, the Newquay methodist church uses our school hall as a place of worship and we support the local foodbank run by Newquay Churches together. We also enjoy the support of the Truro Diocese, The Church of England Education Office and Coventry Cathedrals International Cross of Nails Schools project.

At The Bishops' we believe that all children learn best when they feel secure, happy and fully engaged in the life of the school. We pride ourselves on looking after our children exceptionally well and providing a stimulating and vibrant curriculum in which every individual child can thrive. Therefore we place great emphasis on developing strong relationships with all our children, parents and carers to provide the best possible experience that a primary school can offer, and as a Church school our 6 values are embedded in a strong Christian foundation.

 
 
SMSC at The Bishops' May 2020.pdf
200710 Guidance for full opening -schools RE and CW.docx