Christian Distinctiveness
‘Love in Action’ is the golden thread of Christian distinctiveness that runs through our values as we live them in every part of our school day. It comes from 1 John 3:18:
“My children, our love should not be just words and talk, but must be true love, which shows itself in action.”
This verse emphasises that true love is demonstrated through practical actions and genuine sincerity, rather than words alone.
We are proud of our caring and aspirational ethos, which is founded on our Christian values and guided by the Church of England’s vision for education, which is for all children to “Have life, life in all its fullness.” [John 10:10]
Spirituality
At Freshford spirituality is central to our vision of nurturing of a trusted community where everyone feels they belong and we all play our part so that our children are free to explore, love learning and grow confident in who they are, ready to take that with them into the wider world.
Our values Care; Believe you can; Cheer each other on are part of a daily dialogue that helps us feel both part of a caring community and part of something bigger that we cannot see.
Yet all can recognise it as they enter our school through the strength of the spirituality lived through our values.
We think of spirituality as key to ‘living life in all its fullness’ as we grow as a community, caring for ourselves and others and the world around us. It is a way of contemplating key questions of connection and purpose which affect us all. Not dependent on religious belief, it is more a habit of mind.
Awe and wonder: spirituality at Freshford is about helping children cultivate their inner life, their awareness of themselves in a larger world and encouraging them to wonder at the world.
Spirituality threads through our Big Questions, as we reflecting on life’s big questions, develop a sense of the interconnectedness of life. We are learning from life through reflections, considering perspectives and making connections.
As we create the time and space to respond to wonder, and to reflection with actions, ‘love in action’, children begin to develop their convictions and start to put into action what they are coming to believe.
Children are invited to ‘listen to God’ in extended moments of silence in Church. Awe and wonder in the natural world – stag beetles under a rotting log, waves of cow parsley in the Tyning, listening to a wren warbling on a fence post – are moments shared daily.
Our school community has a strong sense of belonging; we are all part of the Freshford family – people, place, and values.
Spirituality is sometimes likened to the Japanese art of kintsugi, meaning ‘to join with gold’. Broken pieces of pottery are rejoined with golden glue, highlighting the beauty of imperfection, creating a piece that is even more beautiful for its imperfections, adding significance and value to life.
This model of spirituality helps explain spirituality at Freshford:
Windows, Mirrors, Doors: A Model of Spirituality
Windows
Giving children opportunities to become aware of the world in new ways; to wonder about life’s ‘Wows’ (things that are amazing and unexplainable as to why they evoke such a response) and ‘Ows’ (things that upset us and cause us to be uncertain). In this children are learning about life in all its fullness.
Mirrors
Giving children opportunities to reflect on their experiences; to meditate and reflect on life’s big questions and to consider some possible answers. In this they are learning from life by exploring their own insights and perspectives and those of others.
Doors
Giving children opportunity to respond to all of this; to do something creative as a means of expressing, applying and further developing their thoughts and convictions. In this they are learning to live by putting into action what they are coming to believe and value.
Collective Worship
We are only a short walk from St Peter’s Church in the Parish of Freshford, St Mary’s in Limpley Stoke and Hinton Charterhouse and have long established links with church leaders and members of the congregation. To find out more about our parish, please click on the link below which takes you the website:
The Rector Rev’d Nigel Rawlinson is a regular participant in collective worship at school and leads, along with the children, termly whole school services at St Peter’s. Our worship services follow a seasonal and liturgical progression:
| Term 1 | Harvest: caring about others | Term 4 | Maundy Thursday: service to others |
| Term 2 | Christmas: light in darkness | Term 5 | Resurrection: living with joy and love and the Holy Spirit |
| Term 3 | Love in action: the fruit of the Spirit | Term 6 | New beginnings |
“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” [Galatians 5:22-23]
Our worship services offer children and adults the opportunities to explore Christianity by having conversations about God and faith. They involve meeting, exploring, questioning, and responding to others and, for some, to God. No matter what individual beliefs children and families may have, or where we are on our individual spiritual journeys, all are encouraged to think and ask questions, to agree and disagree, to participate or observe and to reflect. All are welcome. All are invited. Our worship provides the freedom for those of different or no religious faith to be present and to engage with integrity.
Children can choose to be actively involved in worship, leading prayers, readings, dramatic interpretations and more. Our worship music ranges from Taize to children’s songs as well as traditional hymns and songs.
The BWMAT Collective Worship Policy can be found here.
Wellbeing
Foundation TLC Members
Chris Cykowski and Penny Murray are our Foundation TLC Members.
SIAMS
Our most recent SIAMS report can be found here.
Policies
Equality / Diversity statement