Vision and Values

“One Body, Many Parts”

1 Corinthians, 12

Our vision at St Oswald’s school is to provide our children with opportunities to flourish through the nurturing of their talents in a way which benefits themselves and others. We want them to feel their talents allow them to be part of something bigger, and help them to belong knowing that the role they play is important, valued and unique. Our theologically rooted vision is taken from 1 Corinthians, 12 and is part of a wider passage which teaches Christians the importance of spiritual gifts within the church, emphasizing unity and diversity among believers are members of the school and, if they choose to be, members of the church through Christ.

Our vision states:

We take pride in each other, learn with awe and wonder, dare to dream and help each other flourish. Together we are a body of unique individuals who come together to trust, inspire, smile and serve one another and our community.

We interpret 1 Corinthians, 12 through this statement by acknowledging that our role at St Oswald’s is to support our children to find their talents, to find their spiritual gifts and to find the parts they can play in our community and our world. They are on their own journey to discover who they are and what they do best and we are here to facilitate this through:

Teaching them to take pride in what they can achieve, no matter how small that step may me.
Teaching them a curriculum that generates awe and wonder so that they are inspired to learn more.
Supporting children to reach their dreams and that all our dreams are uniqueand we must set our own goals.
Facilitating children coming together to play a full part in school life, feeling valued and accepted.
Teaching children the value of community and the spiritual growth that can come with opportunities to serve others.

We want children to leave their time with us with a sense of who they are, what they want to accomplish and an understanding of the talents they have and how they can flourish through these in a way that benefits those around them.

We are proud members of the Collaborative Learning Trust. Read more about the CLT vision.

Our Values

Inspire and Flourish

At St Oswald’s we hope to inspire one another and flourish both individually and as a team. We do this in everything we do, coming together across all elements of school life. We share the ways that children can be part of that through our vision and values and celebrate the times these are demonstrated every week.

"One Body, Many Parts"

Part of our school:'Kindness'

Children are supported and encouraged to show kindness to their peers, teachers, all God’s creatures and to themselves every day. We share kind words, kind acts and through empathy and understanding are able to support each other to grow, accept differences and be tolerate members of the school community. We demonstrate a positive attitude to each other’s talents and characters.

Part of our community:'Courage'

St Oswald’s church has served the community of Guiseley for hundreds of years and this stays with us in everything we do. Children are encouraged to take pride in their local area, to show this in their actions by litter picking, planting trees and supporting local businesses. We choose local charities of importance to both the children and the church to support when we fundraise, and invite members of our community in regularly to share the work which is important to them.

Part of our learning:'Excellence'

Children at St Oswald’s are taught metacognitive strategies which help them to be involved and present in their learning; to strive for excellence and to identify where their own barriers are and find ways to overcome them. Children understand that their excellence is their own and is not always comparable to that of others; and understand the importance of pride in their work.

Part of our flourishing:'Perseverance'

We want our children to understand themselves – their strengths and difficulties – and to understand that we learn best when we feel happy and safe. Children are encouraged to talk about their feelings, to understand their own mental wellbeing and also to appreciate that resilience and perseverance are something which we all need to call upon from time to time. Children are supported in taking calculated risks and trying activities outside of their comfort zone to promote this.

Part of our World:'Wonder'

Research suggests that experiencing awe and wonder is key to living happy, successful and spiritually complete lives. We strive to give our children these experiences, either on or off site and expose them to the wonder of both planet Earth, their local area and all the people who live there. As a Church of England school, we want children to appreciate God’s Earth, to desire to see new things and to find their talents and interests which gives them purpose and peace in their lives.