Captain Shaw's C of E Primary School
The School at the Heart of the Community
Our Role as a Church of England School
Serve the Common Good
Seek what is best for everyone, beginning with the last, the least, the lost, the most vulnerable and the most forgotten.
At this school, Religious Education, particularly Christian values, underpin and strengthen our vision, which is at the heart of what we do in every aspect of school life. The development of the whole child spiritually, morally, socially, culturally and intellectually is grounded in these values and explored, not only in Religious Education, but across the entire curriculum. In Captain Shaw’s Church of England Primary School, where pupils, staff and the wider community come from different faiths and none, R.E. is a highly valued academic subject that enables understanding of how religion and beliefs affect our lives. There is ‘a commitment to generous hospitality, being true to our underpinning faith, but with a deep respect for the integrity of other religious traditions (and worldviews) and for the religious freedom of each person. (Statement of Entitlement 2019)
Collective Worship
Whether pupils and staff come from different faiths or none, our Collective Worship is fully inclusive exploring and learning from life lessons of past and present; celebrating ourselves and each other and investigating thought-provoking ideas and themes, including British values.
Children are not passive listeners but fully involved; sharing their views and feelings and even running their own weekly gathering - all helped by beautiful reflection spaces including the library with woodland theme, outdoor Gazebo and garden area which encourage relaxation, equality and creativity of thought.
We are incredibly proud of what we do here!
Our timetable:
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whole School Collective Worship | Collective Worship Reflection | Child-led collective Worship / Collective Worship led by Rev. Overton-Benge | Collective Worship Reflection | Praising assembly |
| Making Sense of Biblical Texts | Making Connections | Making Connections | Understanding the Impact | Understanding the Impact |
We explore important teachings for Christians, found in key Bible texts. We make sense of the texts and their meanings; linking each teaching to our particular value focus for the half term. |
We think and talk about the value focus which stemmed from Collective Worship; making links with our own lives, our community and events in the wider world.
|
Children lead and continue the conversation, considering how we might respond; act on our value focus |
Reflecting on the impact of acting on our value focus in our own lives, our curriculum, culture, community and wider world |
A celebration of individuals who have embodied our value focus to better self and those around them |
Christian values... Our values are important to us; not only to know about them but to be able to talk about and act on them in a meaningful way. Our values are central to everything we learn and do, nurturing courageous advocates for positive change in our school, community and the wider world...
The children's beautiful contribution to the flower festival at St. Michaels and All Angels Church! Each flower centre made from old books, representing learning and creativity, all set on a large anchor, celebrating the origins of Captain Shaw's CE Primary school...
A wonderful contribution from all the children, for the Christmas tree festival at St. George’s Church. Children were asked, “What does Christmas time mean to you?” Each child created their own tree with a present underneath. ‘Unwrap’ the present and discover the children’s answers to the meaning of Christmas.
Acting on our Values: What does that look like?
Here are some examples:
Discussions began with stories such as the parable of the talents and the paralysed man. We explored our talents and responsibilities to ourselves and each other. This theme was then threaded throughout the half term through child-led collective worship, praising assemblies, English, PSHE, lunch and playtimes, team work in lessons to name a few! The children even explore the responsibilities of staff in school in a special safeguarding assembly!
The children really showed what talents they have and acted on their responsibilities in our school, in order to better themselves and support each other.
Children delivering a collective worship on responsibility
As a final challenge, the school (including the staff) reflected on the idea of responsibility. Here are just a few...
‘Koinonia’
Our Collective Worship laid the foundation for community, fellowship and friendship.
This word has a rich variety of meanings: fellowship; community; union; partnership.
In Christian teaching “koinonia” describes how Christians come together as a family, with believers being regarded as “children of God” and brothers and sisters in Christ (see John chapter 17). Corinthians chapter 12 verses 12-31 gives us the picture of the Church as being like a body—in a body different parts have different functions, but each part is an important part of the whole. If something were missing, the body would be incomplete and not able to function so well. As we all know, if one part of the body is in pain, the whole part is affected. In the same way, the members of our family are interdependent: all are needed and valued and each person is important to the whole—this is the message for the Church… and for our school at the heart of the community.
In Collective Worship, children explored the story of Jesus and the Paralysed Man (Luke 5:17-26). The concept of 'Koinonia' (community and friendship) was reflected upon and brought to life through our curriculum topic and the big finale... The wonderful outdoor Christmas market which brought our community back together after some tough times. They also used their Art, Design and Technology lessons to create some joyous products for the community!
In addition, the children enhanced the community by developing and using their computing, design & technology and writing skills to persuade me to spend £15,000 on a fantastic school and community play area! Check out their amazing work (click here)! We have not stopped there though! We have applied for Lottery funding to further develop the field for our younger children in the community and have designed and are planting and developing new community woodland (in partnership with Bootle Parish Council and The Rivers Trust).
For Christmas, children also explored the First Christmas Story. They learned some amazing new writing skills and used these to retell the story. That story, they turned into a gift... I have to say, they are brilliant!
In our Collective Worship and beyond, we have also explored the values of wisdom and perseverance. Can we improve our planet by gathering knowledge, which will help us make the right decisions and then have the perseverance to see them through? We made some great progress thus far and will persevere to ensure we reach our long term goals for our school, community and the planet!
We are also extremely proud to be supporting our environment by:
- Creating a community allotment to grow our own food for our school dinners (we won the Tesco Community Grant);
- Designing and replanting woodland alongside the Rivers Trust and Bootle Parish Council;
- Supporting our environment as part of the Bootle in Bloom project.
How did we explore the values of 'serving others' and 'being generous'? By turning the school into a restaurant for the local community! The children are serving others and the community are being generous by paying for the food... with food for the local food bank! We also hosted a fantastic Jubilee day for the community too!
Take a look at all the food donated to our restaurant for the local food bank!
Our Curriculum Vision and Long Term Plans
You can find our RE long term plan alongside our other subjects by clicking here.