Our Christian Vision

At Chudleigh Knighton, every individual will

Dig Deep, Learn Together and Embrace Life To The Full

within a caring Christian community.

DIGGING DEEP

At Chudleigh Knighton, Digging Deep has a deep rooted, historical connection to our location, demonstrated by the emblem the children proudly wear. The shovels and pickaxes of our school logo represent the historic clay cutters that worked hard in the claypits near Chudleigh Knighton. Digging deep refers to digging deep in our learning, delving deeper as learners, persevering with resilience when faced with challenges, finding courage within ourselves to face personal challenges or when finding the strength to forgive others.

For us as a school community, this is strongly underpinned by Luke 6: 48. Jesus said: “He is like a man building a house. He digs deep and lays his foundation on rock. The floods come, and the water tries to wash the house away. But the flood cannot move the house, because the house was built well.”

Jesus wanted to change the way people understood God, themselves, and the world. He wanted this understanding to impact the way people lived.

Together, we have explored Jesus’ parable of the wise and foolish builders and learn together about when a person builds his life on Jesus' words, he is building a strong foundation. The parable portrays the wise builder, not simply “building a structure on rock” but also “digging down deep” so he or she can discover this vital rock on which to build. The parable asks us to dig deep in search for the rock upon which we're to build our steady and devoted spiritual lives.

Jesus teaches Christians that true wisdom comes from trusting in Him and His word. If we build our lives on the basis of God’s truth then we will be able to persevere when the storms of life come. If our foundation is built on our own worldly desires and our own wisdom, then we will fail when we are tested.

What does the parable of the two builders teach Christians?

Pupil voice from children in Years 5 & 6

“This parable compares building a life on the teachings and example of Jesus to a flood-resistant building founded on solid rock. The parable shows the importance of building a life with obedience to Jesus’ example and teachings.”

“You’ll have more strength when life gets tough. Jesus was teaching how important it is to have faith in Him and follow His teachings.”

“When we build a strong life built with support and guidance, we will be strong enough to stand, no matter what hard things might happen.”

“The foolish man in the parable was like someone who listened to Jesus' instructions but then did not follow them. A person that does not build his life on Jesus' words will not have a strong foundation and will crumble under pressure when life gets tough. They will not have the support they need to remain strong.”

LEARNING TOGETHER

At Chudleigh Knighton, learning together embodies the children, staff, parents and local community of our school working collaboratively and cooperatively. Together we support the development and nurturing of skills for our pupils. Learning together also refers to our wider learning community that includes The First Federation Trust, the School’s Sports Partnership (SSP), our parish community and parental involvement and engagement.

Ecclesiastes 4

Friends and Family Give Strength

⁹ Two people are better than one.
    They get more done by working together.
¹⁰ If one person falls,
    the other can help him up.
But it is bad for the person who is alone when he falls.
    No one is there to help him.
¹¹ If two lie down together, they will be warm.
    But a person alone will not be warm.
¹² An enemy might defeat one person,
    but two people together can defend themselves.
A rope that has three parts wrapped together
    is hard to break.

Working and learning alongside one another, doing good to and for one another, and being an effective community requires friendship, teamwork and encouragement. We need to constantly be reminded of Jesus’ example and of His promises, and the loving support of one another to pick us up when we falter or fall so that we can get back up without being discouraged together.

Our nurturing community requires commitment, positive relationships and being together. Collaboration between pupils, staff, parents and the wider community is key. As Jesus taught us, kindness is central to this and essential for us to be a flourishing community.

Loving one another, doing good to and for one another, and being an effective community requires encouragement. From EYFS to end of KS2, we teach our children to outstretch a hand of friendship to others, leading them to form a strong moral compass that creates a collective citizenship of care, respect and compassion for all people and our world. We need to constantly be reminded of Jesus’ example and of His promises, and the loving support of one another to pick us up when we falter or fall so that we can get back up and get back at it without being discouraged together.

EMBRACING LIFE TO THE FULL

John 10:10 ⁹ I am the door. The person who enters through me will be saved. He will be able to come in and go out and find pasture. ¹⁰ A thief comes to steal and kill and destroy. But I came to give life- Life in all its fullness.

Promoting a lifelong love of learning is an aspiration for all individuals at Chudleigh Knighton. Children are encouraged to be intellectually inquisitive and spiritually open by asking questions about the world in which we live and of each other as moral beings. 

In our school, we believe in living a fullness of life. We understand the importance of finding joy in sharing our educational experiences with each other and celebrating each new day as an opportunity to flourish and grow as individuals and as a whole community.

Jesus said ‘I have come that you may have life in all its fullness’ (John 10:10). He calls us to a full life in mind, body, heart and spirit. Therefore, at Chudleigh Knighton, we believe the purpose of education is to nurture and enable every child to thrive and to be the person they are fully capable of being.

Our curriculum for life in all its fullness is designed to equip our pupils to be curious and confident independent learners but also responsible, resilient and caring citizens in our community. As our leavers move on to secondary school and beyond, we want every child to be ready to take on the next steps in their journey to adulthood with a love of learning, positive attitudes and a rounded set of values and skills to guide them.

We recognise that the curriculum encompasses everything children experience at school. Whilst our curriculum will promote high standards and encourage academic progress, it is also about uncovering and nurturing the talents within each child, developing core values and virtues, growth mindsets and essential skills for life. Learning is closely linked to our emotions; we learn best when we feel safe and happy, so our curriculum reflects this in its offer of opportunity, happiness and fun!

As part of our living out our school vision, we have mapped out 3 inspiring whole school ethos days which provides the children across our school with the opportunity to join together and undertake a range of activities promoting, 'Digging Deep, Learning Together and Embracing Life to the Full. See above outlines of the different ethos days that we have held so far this year and some examples of pupils engaging with the learning activities planned.

Our Learning Projects are important to us and our Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural development. Click on an image below to find out more about what our children have said about our Learning Projects.

Chudleigh Knighton C of E Citizenship & Ethos Projects

The purpose of our projects is:

• to recognise and acknowledge the active role pupils play in the life of the school and the wider community
• to encourage children to make positive choices which will benefit their class, school and community
• to encourage children to reflect upon the world in which they live in a spiritual and reflective manner 
• to encourage children to become responsible, informed and active members of their class, school and wider community
• to encourage children to learn about aspects of citizenship education, including topical issues, rule and law-making, democracy, human rights, diversity.

Children should complete one activity each term from the outlined activities suggested. This could be a piece of artwork, writing, poster, PowerPoint, model or other recording. Children will select a different activity each term to participate in. At the end of the year children will be presented with a citizenship award celebrating their achievements across the year.  

As part of our Citizenship project, each term we will be inviting parents into school to view the different projects undertaken by the children from all classes. We are more than happy for parents to support their children at home with the projects as a shared learning experience. Equally, we are happy for siblings to undertake a joint project together.

Our Christian Values

Chudleigh Knighton C of E Primary School firmly believes that Christian principles should underpin all of our work with children. The school community chose the following Christian values that give focus to our learning: Friendship, Forgiveness, Perseverance, Courage, Compassion and Thankfulness.

 The Ethos at Chudleigh Knighton C of E Primary School is to provide a stimulating Christian environment that creates an enjoyable atmosphere of positive endeavour for all. We believe it is the right of all children to be given access to the whole curriculum. We will ensure that children are happy, stimulated and challenged so that they can flourish, reach and exceed their potential.

Children’s development and progress is best achieved through high expectations and the fostering of independent learning.  It is the responsibility of the individual students to behave in a co-operative manner, which enables quality learning to take place.  We also believe in facilitating the development of the children’s diverse potential enabling them to take their place in society.

Our Aims are:

• To provide a Christian environment, which develops the children’s spiritual understanding
• To offer pupils a broad and balanced curriculum, which facilitates the development of knowledge, skills and understanding
• To develop every pupil’s self esteem through promoting self-discipline so that each individual achieves his or her true potential
• To develop the children’s creative abilities enabling them to have enquiring flexible minds
• To develop the children’s social, moral and cultural understanding with an awareness and celebration of the multicultural world in which we live
• To develop an aptitude for lifelong learning throughout the whole school community