Our Church School Status
St. Andrew’s is a voluntary controlled Church of England school.
This means that the school is part of the Diocese of St. Alban’s, has a special partnership with St. Andrew’s Church and members of the church are represented on our governing body.
We aim for all our families and children to feel at home here, whether they have a Christian faith, other faith or no faith.
Our church school ethos is reflected in our work on our twelve Christian Values. Revd. Liz Oglesby-Elong is a regular visitors to our school and leads worship in assemblies. We support church events, such as the annual Autumn Country Fayre.
In Year One our children attend a service at the church welcoming them to the church-school partnership. On St. Andrew’s Day we have a whole school service in the church. Our Year Four children lead a Carol Service in the church every Christmas.
Our Collective Worship reflects our commitment to our Christian Values and celebrates events in the Christian calendar. Parents are invited to class assemblies during the Spring Term each year.
“As Christians it’s good to know it has a strong moral/spiritual element to each day and as a whole school and through the curriculum.”
“Great attitude towards children / families who aren’t Christian/practising Christian – so refreshing.”
As a church school, we are inspected by the Diocese whenever Ofsted inspect us. Our last Statutory Inspection for Anglican and Methodist Schools (SIAMS) inspection in 2016 rated us as a good church school. Since then, we have been working on implementing the Church of England's Vision for Church Schools, 'Life in all its fullness' and have carried out a self evaluation (SEF) based on the new SIAMS Framework (2018).
The Revd. Liz Oglesby-Elong is the vicar at St. Andrew’s Church. She can be contacted on 01767 312243 or vicar@standrewschurchbw.org.uk.
Vision Statement
Following the new framework for the Statutory Inspection for Anglican and Methodist Schools (SIAMS) the governors and staff of St. Andrew’s developed a new Vision Statement with biblical references that sums up what we believe our school is all about. We wanted to keep our motto – ASPIRE BELIEVE CELEBRATE – but also put a greater emphasis on the inclusive nature of our school, where every individual is valued, and our teaching of Christian Values.
ASPIRE BELIEVE CELEBRATE
At St. Andrew’s School we develop aspiration, strength and self-belief by supporting each other and living our values.
Don’t be afraid, I have called you by name, you are mine.
I have marked your name on the palms of my hands.
(Isaiah 43:1 and 49:16)
The parable of the lost sheep tells us that God is like the Good Shepherd and he loves and cares for every single one of us.
