Our Mission: Living as Children of Light

At South Darley C.E. Primary School we strive to be: Living as children of light (Ephesians 5:8) for if we walk in the light, as Jesus is in the light, we will have fellowship together. (1 John 1:7)

Created by the Father

We are rooted in the Anglican founding of our school and encourage all children in the exploration of faith. Everyone in our school community deserves to be cared for unconditionally and valued as a unique creation, made in the image of God.

Guided by the Son

We have high expectations of all our children. We develop our children to be happy, well-rounded individuals who have a love of learning through which they achieve and progress to the best of their ability.

Shining with the Holy Spirit

We want our pupils to enter the wider world as:

• Happy and positive individuals.
• Responsible citizens who are able to make a positive contribution.
• Adaptable in an ever-changing technological world.
• Life-long, safe and healthy learners.

We encourage our pupils to have respect for themselves and each other; we want them to develop confidence, resilience and pride in their achievements.

We value parents’ influence and contributions, our links with the local community and the wider world, encouraging a holistic approach to education.

At South Darley we:  Enjoy learning: embrace challenge!

Our Vision explained

As a Church of England school, we are rooted in the traditions of the church and our founding documents ensure we frame our learning within the teachings of the Bible.  From parent surveys and feedback, we know that parents want us to ensure strong moral values are at the forefront of what their children will learn and develop, regardless of the strength of their Christian beliefs.  Whilst our Religious Education covers all major world religions and beliefs, the Christian Ethos is what underpins our values structure and is what is core to our beliefs as a school.

After consulting widely, we believe the following pieces of scripture best encapsulate the vision we have for everyone at our school:

Living as Children of Light [Ephesians 5:8], for if we walk in the light, as Jesus is in the light, we will have fellowship together [1 John 1:7]

We believe that the symbolism of light is an easy one for all ages to understand.  It means that learning leads to enlightenment, and that the more children know about the world around them, the greater depth of understanding they have and the further they can see.  As teachers, we try to illuminate a path for children to follow, shedding light on things children didn’t know were there, and being a guiding light when things get tough.

As a school, we always try and give children opportunities to shine, whether that be academic, sporting, or artistic, and we also try to be the spark that lets children’s imaginations and aspirations reach for the stars (sources of light).

Light, in the form of the sun, is one of the essential components for growth, and so, by living in the light, our children will grow and be nurtured into the best of themselves.

Light is always thought about as a force of good and so, by living in light, we will all be doing kind, caring, thoughtful things for each other.

Light is also a source of heat, and we want the warmth we have for our children and families to be felt at all times.

Living as children of light means that we are always ensuring our behaviours and values set an example for others to follow.

We all felt that our community is one of the key features of our school and one which we value extremely highly.  Therefore, we used 1 John 1:7 to show that if we all live as children of light, as Jesus did, then we will have fellowship together, i.e. it will bring us closer and stronger together as a community.

Also, by using the idea of light, we are honouring the people in our community in our founding year, 1860, many of whom were lead miners who used light and lanterns, or farmers, who relied on the sun and the seasons for their crops to grow.

Our Core Values

We seek to ensure that all our work is characterised by the following values, which derive from the school’s mission, our behaviour policy, our teaching and learning policy and the school.  Christian and British values are discussed and agreed by our pupils, staff and governors.  

Respect

• We value the views and faith of each individual within our school and celebrate difference and diversity within our community.
• All members of the school community treat each other with mutual respect.
• We co-operate and work together in harmony and respect each other and the rules of our community. 
• We value and respect our environment and seek to be good stewards of the world in which we live for ourselves and future generations. 

Service

• We seek to live as children of light and to have fellowship to bring us closer and stronger together as a community.
• We are kind and generous with our time and resources in serving others.
• We act with thankfulness and compassion when serving others who are less fortunate.

Justice

• We seek peace and truth and act with integrity, fairness and courage to pursue justice.
• We are tolerant when errors are made and act with Christian love and forgiveness.
• We ensure our behaviour and our values set a good example for others.

Responsibility

• We act with thoughtfulness and in a mature and responsible way.
• We are humble when success comes our way and persevere when faced with adversity.
• We accept responsibility when we have made an error or fallen short in relation to our values or rules.

Trust

• We trust those in our school community and work together with our peers.
• We accept and trust in decisions we have made collectively.
• We seek to build trust by acting with integrity and friendship and valuing the success of others.

Independence

• We work independently, with creativity and take responsibility for our own work when working in a team.
• We are honest about ourselves and our strengths and the areas which we are working on to improve.
• We seek understanding to make informed choices about what we believe, what we do and how we go about it.
• We understand and exercise our individual rights wisely in the knowledge that our actions have an effect on the rights of others.