Partial closure (Y5 and Y6 only in school) for Wednesday 18th, Thursday 19th March and Friday 20th March

About Us

 

Principles and purpose

At Walkwood Church of England Middle School we:
Value each individual as a unique creation in the image of God.
“God blesses those people who are like trees growing beside a stream, trees that produce fruit in season and always have leaves.” Psalm 1: 3 
Allow each person to grow personally, socially and spiritually as they explore their God-given potentials.
“I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name.” John 15: 16 
Deliver a broad curriculum that allows knowledge, learning skills and fruitful living to be intertwined. 
 

Vision

“The Lord is my shepherd. I lack nothing. 
He lets me rest in grassy meadows; he leads me to restful waters; he keeps me alive. 
He guides me in proper paths for the sake of his good name. 
Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no danger because you are with me. Your rod and your staff protect me.” 
Psalm 23: 1-4 

There is much comfort in the words of Psalm 23, and these have echoed through Church history in times of difficulty. The Lord God looks after those who follow, providing sustenance in the meadow, indicating the appropriate path of travel, even when circumstances are dark and foreboding. And at times when the individual feels under attack, the Lord provides protection.

Christ is The Good Shepherd. He provided the face-to-face guidance, being the most holy and profound prophet, acting as pastor to His folk. The commission He gave instructs that His followers are themselves to tend the people who are committed to their own care:

Jesus asked a second time, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” 
Peter answered, “Yes, Lord, you know I love you!” 
“Then take care of my sheep,” Jesus told him. 
John 21: 16 

Therefore, the approach of our school is to follow Christ’s commission to look after others because God the Father does the same of us.

Our pastoral care is always centred on the individual within community, and is delivered through the shared language derived from our school’s ten shared values – each one represented by a fruit on the tree of the school emblem. (The school shield is itself an adaptation of the crest of Worcestershire.)

The values we share as a school community embody the facets of human interaction within a mutually supportive society which we seek to promote. We believe these values are espoused by people of any mainstream British faith, and by individuals who do not hold a personal faith belief. Christ taught those around Him in groups of differing sizes, as well as more individual teaching encounters, and so our teaching in school chimes with this.

Notice that the Walkwood tree is placed in a grassy meadow and is also by restful waters.

It is our hope that the children will, in turn, shepherd others, either in the current times or in their future lives, when the two verses that exemplify the school badge (stated in the first section of this document) are enacted through our pupils. They contribute to something larger – our school’s transformative education that enables them to be transforming influences in the world. Within this comes the assurance of inclusivity and appreciation of diversity, acknowledging that interconnectedness has a human dimension. Our children may act as disciples, for our school or for their found faith, similar to how Christ prepared His disciples for the time when there were to take His message to the world.

Walkwood Way

Love to Learn; Learn to Live; Live to Love

Our aim is that all children attending the school will become life-long learners who are curious about the world around them and are creative in their exploits while caring for others and themselves. We seek to enable our pupils to make informed choices, becoming increasingly independent and playing their part in the community. It is about inspiring children to look at the world differently, and about challenging them to be fascinated by lessons and subjects. We offer pupils a spiritual dimension that is distinctively Christian, and honours other faiths and those people who profess no faith.

We aim to inspire every child – whatever their abilities – to achieve their very best and make a valuable contribution to the Walkwood community. We want our pupils to love to learn. The curriculum is broad and contains knowledge that is based on the National Curriculum, and each lesson has a clear objective, along with key words for literacy.

Curriculum rationale

 

Our school is not just about knowledge, it is also about skills. In this way, we encourage our pupils to learn to live, preparing them for an adult life in a changing world, and as such we seek to equip our children for the future. Our ‘Learning Superheroes’ allow teachers to hone pupils’ learning skills. We want pupils to excel in school…and in later life.

Learning Superheroes

 

We are a Church of England school which is fully inclusive of all faiths and beliefs. While Christian principles underpin all of the school’s values, we know that these morals are shared by many faiths. We look for our pupils to take into their lives beyond our school an outlook that allows then to learn to love the experiences, people and spirituality that they encounter.

Fruits of Faith
 

We define spirituality as reaching towards God, connecting with each other and the world, in love.

 

Walkwood values

Our core values are expressed in the Fruits of Faith, which are ten values that have their roots in Christian tradition. However, we believe that devotees of other faiths, or those who express no faith commitment, are able to agree upon the definitions and implementation of these values within a shared community.  These fruits are used as part of worship and are also within lessons.

Our Fruits of Faith were developed as a Christian expression of the nature of the school, but also to define the characteristics of an interconnected community. These values are part of teachers’ planning, as well as part of decision making by the Senior Leadership Team and Governors. We wish for our pupils to be aware of their role in the wider world, open their eyes to the diversity within it, celebrating the richness of human experience and the potential of divine expression.

 

“Church of England Schools have at their heart a belief that all children are loved by God, are individually unique and that the school has a mission to help each pupil to fulfil their  potential in all aspects of their personhood: physically, academically, socially, morally and spiritually. Schools have a duty to try to remove any factor that might represent a hindrance  to a child’s fulfilment. We want all pupils to want to engage in learning in a safe and welcoming ethos.” 

Valuing All God’s Children, Church of England, 2014 

 Public Sector Equality Duty

 

 

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