Our vision for Swainswick is a school where all children are known and valued as unique individuals, where differences are respected and celebrated.
With community and childhood at the heart, our school intentionally nurtures kindness towards one another and believes that children thrive only when their wellbeing is held at the core of their journey.
We believe in our children, and through imagination, high expectations and challenge, we inspire them to reach their fullest potential, and develop an intrinsic happiness in who they are.
“The world is big, and we are small, but we can do anything, anything at all!”
Hazel Class child, age 7
"A Caring Family Where We Grow Together"
Let your Light Shine - Matthew 5 v 16
This vision for Swainswick Primary School is under-pinned by our Christian values (see left), which guide how the community relates to each other, and our environment.
These Christian values can also be seen as common values, held equally by members of different faiths and no faith alike.
Over a two year cycle, we focus on a different value each term, celebrating and discussing it in collective worship, assembly and in class.
Through linking the selected value to events on the calendar, modern-day themes and engaging children with their theological underpinnings, we strive to make Swainswick a community that embodies an ethos of living well together. These discussions help prepare children for the challenges as a 21st Century citizen in Modern Britain, respecting and showing understanding of others for all that is similar and different.
This strong ethos permeates school life and the emphasis on increasing our children’s awareness of our ‘values’ is a significant factor in enhancing the pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. (Find out more about how we understand our distinctiveness as a Church of England school here.).
As our most recent church inspections says:
Behaviour and relationships are outstanding
The caring family ethos is a strength of the school
There are excellent opportunities for children’s spiritual, moral, social, cultural and personal development
A strong Christian foundation underpins school life and learning
There is a mutually beneficial and energising relationship with the local church community.
Our Swainswick Church School Ethos Council plays a very important role in helping us to live our values. It works as a moral and spiritual compass, guiding us to make decisions that will help us build the holistic needs of the school and on a day to day basis help to support people around them. Find out more about our School Ethos Council here.
Church of England's Vision for Education
Our vision for Swainswick builds on and reflects the Church of England's Vision for education:
"We are clear that it is not just a vision for Church of England schools, but a Church of England vision for education. At a time when many are looking for a vision of education to enthuse and inspire them, this deeply Christian vision of education is one that is generous and that seeks to allow the riches of Christian life to overflow to those of other faiths or no faith, but who share the bigger vision of what we think education is for:
Educating for wisdom, knowledge and skills: enabling discipline, confidence and delight in seeking wisdom and knowledge, and developing talents in all areas of life.
Educating for hope and aspiration: enabling healing, repair and renewal, coping wisely when things go wrong, opening horizons and guiding people into ways of fulfilling them.
Educating for community and living well together: a core focus on relationships, participation in communities and the qualities of character that enable people to flourish together.
Educating for dignity and respect: the basic principle of respect for the value and preciousness of each person, treating each person as a unique individual of inherent worth."
Rev. Dave is a familiar face in school, supporting our journey.
“Let your light shine”
Another version of this verse, Matthew 5:16, from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount says:
“You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colours in the world”.
Swainswick Church School is set in the most beautiful valley where the school children can see God’s colourful creation. They reflect and shine that beauty in their attitude to learning, their affirmation of one-another and their approach to local and global issues.
The children let their light shine in the following ways:
Being a good friend not just with closest friends from their year group but across the school, and this is enhanced by the multi-year ‘buddy’ system.
A warm smile, often reflecting the warm smile of the members of staff who greet them at the school gate.
Encouraging fellow pupils to grow, in a particular subject area or passion, with a kind word of congratulation when someone has attempted or achieved something.
Listening and showing empathy, especially with regards to ecological and humanitarian issues.
Offering help and looking for ways to practically engage with the school and the wider community.
Swainswick Church School really is a “light set on a hill” (Matthew 5:14), and it is a beacon of hope to the world around because of the light that the children shine.
written by Rev. David Parr
How did we articulate our Vision
Leading our small Church School community, we felt it was of paramount importance that all voices were able to contribute their perspective to our shared vision for the school.
We were overwhelmed by the touching and thoughtful feedback we received, and how closely our community were aligned around a shared vision of what makes Swainswick unique. Having spent considerable time liaising with all parts of our community, it was a delight to read our final Vision statement that we believe really captures the ethos of our small community school.
All the responses we received from parents, staff, and children is represented in this star - please click on the star to take a closer look at how our community describes - some of the responses are also below:
A nurturing community for all to thrive
Childhood and Community at the heart
Creative thinkers, courageous learners
A place for everyone.
Nurturing kindness and confidence,
Parents are actively involved
Children care for each other naturally, as in - they are not told to do it!
Children are Known, Nurtured, Valued
Kindness - everything is done With Heart
If a child is happy and known, then learning naturally comes from this.
Children being allowed to be themselves
Nurturing individuality, celebrating individuality
Confidence, Caring and Inclusive
Inclusive in that all different ages look out for/play with each other
Sense of Togetherness - everyone working together, for everyone
Where everyone is valued
The ethos is “in everything” - Parents, teachers, children, the community
Small school, Big Heart, Infinite Possibilities - other schools say something similar to this but at Swainswick we really mean it!
3 Year Strategy - Swainswick's Journey to 2020
In 2017, Swainswick's Governing Body and the School developed a three year strategy to 2020, it consisted of:
Swainswick’s Journey to 2020 -
this plan provided the overarching aims which guided this journey and highlighted what success would like look in 2020 if we achieved these ambitions.
What is life at Swainswick School like in 2020?
This page brought the plan to life, and gave a sense of what this will really mean to all members of the Swainswick community, in 2020
Why did we need to have a plan for the Swainswick Journey to 2020?
This plan laid out our ambitions for Swainswick, so that all members of our community could understand the way Swainswick’s journey would evolve over the next few years.
Capturing and documenting our vision of Swainswick in 2020, and the plan to achieve this, has enabled us to safeguard Swainswick’s distinctiveness in the face of the changing educational environment.
How has the “Swainswick Journey to 2020” impacted the school?
The “Swainswick Journey to 2020”has guided decision making in the school.
It has been used to prioritise initiatives, and areas of focus for each academic year, supporting us in deciding how the school’s increasingly tight finances are spent in the best interests of all our children. The School and Governing Body has annually reflected upon our practice and re-visited the plan to consider how well we were progressing along this journey.
Planning the next part of Swainswick's journey to 2025
In term 6 of 2020/21, the school took a moment to stop and reflect with our community on how well we had achieved those aims we set out for ourselves in 2017. Whilst the recent focus on COVID and minimising the impacts for our children has delayed this review and of course been a key focus, there is much that we have achieved together which we are very proud of.
Following on from these discussions with our community (staff, children and parents) we are now in the process of developing our shared vision for the next phase of our journey.
We are excited to share and discuss this with our community during Autumn 2021.