Our Christian Community
Our Vision
Hand in hand at Oulton, we strive to follow Jesus’ example offering friendship and forgiveness through a trusting and welcoming community where all are loved and valued as children of God. We are thankful for the exciting and vibrant curriculum which enables everyone to flourish and achieve their God-given potential. (Inspired by the Bible story The Good Samaritan.)
Our School's Christian Values
We are a Church of England school whose school vision encapsulates our Christian Values. We strive to encourage the children to live out and model our core Christian Values every day within the school community and understand how God can support us so we can develop and maintain a strong moral Christian approach to life:
- Friendship
- Forgiveness
- Trust
- Thankfulness
- Koinonia (Community)
Collective Worship
During Collective Worship we focus on one Christian Value each term. We use the Roots and Fruits Worship document and teach the children these core Christian Values using an imaginative and engaging approach which include quotes, questions, photographs, stories, poems and prayers.
We encourage our families to continue to consider values at home and provide home value activity sheets to support this.
Class Prayer Areas
Each class has a worship area which is interactive, informative and a place for the children to think, reflect and pray. The areas are developed and changed throughout the year according to the current focus and can include pictures, prayers, quotes, objects and pupil thoughts. The area is used for the weekly class worship and also contain a variety of Bibles and prayer books.
St John the Evangelist Church and Open the Book
Oulton First School is linked to St John the Evangelist Church, Oulton. We visit the church on a regular basis with a service at least once per term which includes, Harvest, Christmas and Easter. We invite parents and carers to join us in these celebrations where our pupils enjoy sharing their learning.
As well as taking part in the regular church services, Reverend Kingman and Peter Cuthbert (Children and Families Worker) visit school on a weekly basis where they lead worship. They are joined by volunteers from the church who retell key Bible stories using Open the Book.
Courageous Advocacy
Courageous advocacy is when someone champions a cause which is special and meaningful to them.
At Oulton First School we have a clear focus on providing our children with opportunities to become courageous advocates, not just locally, but nationally and internationally.
We will all face challenges in our lives and need the support of others to overcome these barriers. At our school we teach our children the importance of helping others when we can no matter who they are, where they come from or what challenges they may face. Through our vision, underpinned by the parable of ‘The Good Samaritan', children are encouraged to live out the sense of joy that can be found when others are helped and treated with dignity.
We support a range of charities in our local area, nationally and globally:
- Stone food bank
- Sports Relief
- Comic Relief
- Aid for Ukraine
- Children in Need
Our School Choir in the Local Community
We have a very active school choir who meet on a weekly basis and sing in the local community throughout the year to organisations such as the Alzheimer Society and Oulton Abbey Care Home. They regularly raise funds for St. John's Church with a concert where members sing alongside the C-K Community Choir. Not only is singing good for mental health, it also gives our pupils a sense of belonging in the local community and develops empathy with different groups.
Trekkers Club
Reverend Kingman and the worship team host a weekly club held every Thursday, 3.30 – 4.20pm at school. This club is for pupils in Years 1-4 and includes interactive Bible stories, craft activities, games and a snack. Registration forms are available from the school office.
Harvest Service and Stone Community Hub Food Bank
Throughout each year, (especially at Harvest) pupils and their families donate produce for our local food bank. The Stone Community Hub receive their donations and, as a result, has fully stocked shelves for the many local people who use the service.
The Gambia Project
We welcomed Mr Alex Yendole to school to talk to our pupils about The Gambia Project- a partnership between communities in Stone and Pirang in The Gambia. He explained that children in the village were often prevented from being able to go to school because of the cost of education and that many families were forced to choose between feeding or educating their children. He showed us photographs of the school and health centre and of some of his Gambian friends who he works with. Pupils and their families kindly donated books, pens and other educational resources to the school and nursery.
Remembrance Week
Class 2 laying the poppy wreaths they have made next to the war memorial at St. John's Church.
Christmas
Class 3 retelling the Christmas story to their families.
Class 3 praying in the sensory garden with the Christingles they have made.
Forest School
We are fortunate to be able to offer Forest School both on our wonderful grounds and in the nearby Kibblestone International Scout Camp. Forest School aims to promote the holistic development of all involved, fostering resilient, confident, independent and creative learners. It also offers our pupils the opportunity to take supported risks appropriate to the environment and themselves in God's wonderful world.
Derby Faith Trail
In October, Class 3 took part in the Derby Faith Trail in October. They enjoyed visiting a Hindu temple, a Mosque and a Gurdwara. A highlight of the visit was taking part in a Langar meal, and also watching the different types of prayer taking place.