Ethos, Values and Vision.
LIVE LIFE IN ALL ITS FULLNESS - John 10:10
Holywell School is a caring, distinctively Christian, community-focussed Church of England School. We aim to continue the historic tradition of Church of England Schools by providing a Christian Values-inspired education of the highest quality within the context of Christian belief and practice. As a school, we are a loving, supportive community with high aspirations for all. We promote inclusion, we are proud to belong and we value each individual. We look after each other, believe in second chances and aim to be the best we can be so we can serve and support the common good.
Our students are polite, industrious, aspirational young people who constantly surprise and delight us with their ideas, creativity and achievements. The staff are superb professionals who create exciting, challenging and inspiring learning experiences to enable students to achieve high standards. This is all delivered within a framework of clear and high expectations. We are consistent, insistent and persistent in our endeavour to secure outstanding standards of behaviour, service, care, appearance and courtesy for all. We also have lots of fun! We are a happy school where everyone has the right to feel safe at all times. We deal with disagreements and issues in a solution-focussed, systematic, supportive and peaceful way, treating others as we wish to be treated. We aspire to being the best we can possibly be and to make a positive difference to our community and beyond.
The Holywell Values
Our work is inspired by our Christian Values
| Kindness | Respect |
| Love | Peace |
| Courage | Hope |
| Community | Compassion |
| Care | Equality |
| Faith | Forgiveness |
| Grace | Humility |
| Justice | Joy |
| Resilience | Responsibility |
|
Self-Esteem (Self-Worth and Self-Regulation) |
Service |
| Thankfulness | Tolerance |
Values-based education
Our curriculum is underpinned by our Values-based education. The fundamental guiding values for Holywell stem from our character as a Church of England school. “Which commandment is the most important of all?” “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second most important commandment is this: ‘Love your neighbour as you love yourself’.” Mark 28-31 Simply put; we aim to treat others as we would like to be treated.
In our 2023 Ofsted inspection, the Lead Inspector commented: "Pupils at Holywell School attend a school with values rooted in its Christian ethos. They are welcoming and friendly. They take on responsibilities that make their environment and community richer and more rewarding." (Ofsted, July 2023)
Students speak very proudly of the impact of these values on both themselves and the school. They say that the school’s values make them think and act more thoughtfully and positively as well as making the school a better place: "Sometimes we can be doing the wrong thing and then you remember the values which makes you do the right thing." (Year 6 student) "We live our values and make sure we aren’t unkind." (Year 6 student)
‘Values-based Education’ moves away from a presumption that we simply catch and acquire our values somewhere in our lives. Instead, Values-based education takes a systematic approach to developing a deep understanding of a core set of values.
At Holywell we have identified a set of key Christian values which are explored throughout the year. Each month we have a whole-school focus on a particular value. We encourage all members of our school community – including parents and staff – to explore the real meaning of each value and to shine a spotlight on each one in turn through our ‘Value of the Month’. The Value of the Month is shared with families through the school newsletter and through the Student Organiser. Families are thereby enabled to continue the discussions and reflections outside of the school day.
Research shows that when a school seriously develops the moral and spiritual aspects of the curriculum (that is, those that positively contribute to the inner world of thoughts, feelings and emotions of the teacher and the student), the school community become more reflective and harmonious. The effect on individual students, of developing Values Education, is that students take greater personal responsibility for their learning and behaviour. This has certainly been our experience at Holywell School and we are proud to be a Values-based School. The Lead inspector of our most recent Ofsted inspection noted: “Pupils are tolerant and respectful of each other’s differences. They understand that everyone is an individual. They know it is unacceptable to be unkind because someone is different. Bullying is not tolerated, and cases are rare. If it does happen, pupils know they have someone to talk to and are confident it will be dealt with.” (Ofsted, July 2023)
The chosen Value of the Month will often link to a particular feature of the season.
The Values for the 2023-2024 academic year are:
COMPASSION
PEACE
HOPE
LOVE
JOY
| September | Respect | |
| October | Thankfulness | (Black History Month) |
| November | Resilience | (Anti-Bullying Week and Remembrance Day) |
| December | Hope | |
| January | Self-worth and Self-regulation | |
| February | Tolerance | |
| March | Courage | (Easter) |
| April | Care | |
| May | Community | |
| June | Kindness | (Values day) |
| July | Grace |
TRUST
RESPECT
SERVICE
EQUALITY
KINDNESS, JOY, LOVE, HOPE
KINDNESS
The Holywell Vision
'THE WAY FORWARD - THE GOAL - THE AIM'
At Holywell, our vision is that everyone in our community chooses to “Live Life in all its Fullness” (John 10:10).
Inspired by the teaching of Jesus, the Good Shepherd, we choose …
to live our values,
being the best we can be
in community.
"Live life in all its fullness" comes from the story of Jesus as The Good Shepherd in John 10:10. Jesus says that there are many ‘shepherds’ out there (some thieves and robbers), however, if people follow him, he will look after them and ‘give them life in all its fullness’. At Holywell, even though not all of our community members are Christian and not all are ‘of faith’, we ask that everyone who is a part of our Holywell community commits to following the values and mindset inspired by Jesus, his values and his teachings. We also ask everyone to be open to everything; take every opportunity offered and try to ‘live life in all its fullness’.
As part of this vision, we have three key aspirations:
- Live our values
- Be the best we can be
- In community
Live our values: We ask all members of our school community to live out our values in everything we do. Choose the right thing to do because it’s the right thing to do.
Be the best we can be: This is about being the best we can be academically, socially and personally. In lessons, students should keep the focus on learning.
In Community: This is about being part of a group and never doing anything that would have a negative impact on others. We need to support each other in learning, in social times, in good times, in difficult times. Always choose kind; care for each other; and be Peaceful Problem-solvers.
British Values at Holywell
Our values also encompass the DfE 'British Values'.