Vision
Our School Vision
A school vision is our beliefs, values and hopes for the children in our school. Our vision was carefully developed in the last couple of years - this is our story...
Who are we?
We began by thinking about who we were as a community. Research into Sutton Benger showed that in the past we have been a heavily farming community, providing produce to the local town of Chippenham and the surrounding villages, as well as Sutton Benger itself. As a community, this has evolved over time. Today, farming is still a part of the village, but in a very different way. In addition, the village has grown and developed – families have moved on, new families have joined, houses have been built and old buildings have disappeared. The school itself has moved sites from the old school house near the church to our present building, which has also changed over the years. We are a village of old and new. A village that is forever growing and changing.
Why are we here? What is our purpose as a school?
As a school why are we here? We talked to the children and we decided that our school:
- is a loving community that respects, cares and cherishes every person;
- has a full and exciting curriculum, with opportunities that encourage children to develop a love of learning;
- develops values that will help us grow as individuals and as a community;
- helps our children to grow and shine, to be the best they can be.
Thinking about who we are and why we are here, we developed the following vision for our school…
TOGETHER WE LEARN, GROW AND FLOURISH
The Green Man
All of the children have visited our village church to see ‘The Green Man’, a really unique and special part of our church. It is said to be Medieval but there is some thought that the head was re-worked in Victorian times. It has an expressive face surrounded by hawthorn leaves, which sprout from his mouth. A very unusual feature is the four birds, which peck at the hawthorn berries. Its meaning is a bit of a mystery but it is considered a symbol of nature, growth and change. We felt that the Green Man image reflected our village and our new vision – the village and our children are forever changing, growing and flourishing. We also use ‘The Green Man’ to remind us to take care of the environment, God’s creation, something that is reflected in our school curriculum.
Our school values
Our school values are developed in our worship and encouraged and developed in our school life. Our values are:
- Forgiveness
- Respect
- Perseverance,
- Integrity,
- Responsibility
- Compassion.
Thinking more about our vision, we consider our values as seeds that grow in our children. The more seeds we plant, the more our children will grow and flourish. As the Bible says:
“Remember this – a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop.” 2 Corinthians 9:6
…and finally…
We asked the children to design a symbol for our new school vision (you can see it at the top of the page). As you enter our school, you can also admire the mural created by the children of this symbol.