Every Child Matters within a loving and caring Christian environment

We have a vision of a community in which each person is offered the opportunity to fulfil their potential and to understand themselves to be valued for who they are. Through a stimulating and challenging learning environment, we pursue academic excellence and seek the flourishing of all members of the school community. As an inclusive and caring church school, our commitment is to help pupils become thoughtful, open-minded and compassionate human beings who have the knowledge, skills and motivation they need to bring about positive transformation in the world.

“Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as you ever can.”         John Wesley

Our vision clearly outlines the importance of essential life values that we know enable children to flourish as individuals, part of our school family, local and wider community. These values, along with our Christian and British Values, are embedded and reinforced daily throughout school life. This is enhanced by our UNICEF work as a 'Silver Award' Rights Respecting School, more information on which can be found on this page.

Our curriculum intent is outlined through these seven aims:

1. To enable children to become happy, secure and enthusiastic life-long learners and achieve personal success/greatness

2. To make children the centre of everything we do, where they are challenged and supported through a broad, balanced and creative curriculum

3. To broaden children’s life chances through expanding their vocabulary

4. To support children in developing secure skills and knowledge across a broad range of subjects

5. To develop an environment and school ethos where individual needs are respected and diversity celebrated

6. To build a sense of self-worth, personal responsibility and respect for one another

7. To place the school at the heart of local society, encouraging a caring and supportive partnership between children, their families and the wider community

We actively teach and promote Fundamental British values. For further information, please consult either our British Values Overview and our British Values Policy (2022). We also have a SMSC and British Values page.

'High Five' at Colsterworth

One of the ways that these aims are lived daily and implemented fully into our curriculum and school ethos is through our ‘High Five’, which serves to empower children with positive guidance through a loving, caring Christian environment.

Within a loving and caring Christian environment we have our ‘High Five’:

Our ‘High Five’ serves to empower the children with positive guidance:

• Lessons from the geese (more on this at the bottom of the page)
• We have the WOW factor!
• Enthusiasm
• A safe place to make mistakes
• We are a ‘Respect and Take Care’ school

'The 3 Rs' at Colsterworth

We also have our 3 Rs: 3 things that help us to remember how we can be the best we can:

Respect and take care of ourselves.

Respect and take care of others.

Respect and take care of the environment and the world in which we live.

'Safe Hands' at Colsterworth

Each year, every child at Colsterworth chooses five people to be on their ‘safe hand.’  The children are reminded of the importance of being able to talk to someone if they have a problem and to share any worries that they might have.  Through PSHE lessons we help the children to understand that there are trusted people in school and in their own lives that they should talk to if they have a problem. There is always a reminder in every classroom for the children, to highlight the importance of this:

'Lessons from the geese' at Colsterworth

Here at Colsterworth we take inspiration from the lessons of the geese that teaches us that we all need to lead, work together and help one another in order to help ourselves and each other grow.

• As each goose flaps its wings, it creates an uplift for the birds that follow. By flying in V formation, the whole flock adds 71% greater flying range than if each bird flew alone.
• Lesson: People who share a common direction and sense of community can get where they are going quicker and easier, because they are traveling on the thrust of one another.
• When a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of flying alone. It quickly moves back into formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird immediately in front of it.
• Lesson: If we have as much sense as a goose, we stay in formation with those headed where we want to go. We are willing to accept their help, and we give our help to others.
• When the lead goose tires, it rotates back into the formation and another goose flies to the point position.
• Lesson: It pays to take turns doing the hard tasks and sharing leadership. As with geese, people are interdependent on each other’s skills, capabilities, and unique arrangement of gifts, talents, or resources.
• The geese flying in formation honk to encourage those in front to keep up their speed.
• Lesson: We need to make sure our honking is encouraging. In groups where there is encouragement, the production is greater. The power of encouragement (to stand by one’s heart or core values and encourage the heart and core of others) is the quality of honking we seek.
• When a goose gets sick, wounded, or shot down, two geese drop out of formation and follow it down to help or protect it. They stay with it until it dies or is able to fly again. Then they launch out with another formation or catch up with the flock.
• Lesson: If we have as much sense as geese, we will stand by each other in difficult times as well as when we are strong.