Christian values are at the heart of life at Charlton Mackrell School and love certainly makes the world go round here!

‘The one who gets wisdom loves life.’ Proverbs 19:8

All children are expected to love their neighbour as Jesus taught us. The children flourish in this loving, family environment.​

We benefit from the full support of our village communities and our Parishes, namely Jenny and the Open the Book team who lead our worship at the beautiful St Mary’s Church, Charlton Mackrell every week.  It is always a lovely sight to see the whole school walking happily, two by two, across the road to church on Tuesday mornings.

Worship takes place every day. We celebrate all of the Christian festivals here and our Leavers’ service at the end of the year is a particular highlight.  Many people tell us that they can see just how loved the children are on these occasions and that Charlton Mackrell children are exceedingly lucky children!

We enjoyed a very successful visit from the Church School inspector, who recognised Charlton Mackrell as OUTSTANDING!  This is an absolutely fantastic achievement…

​‘The consistently high levels of attainment and progress are closely attributed to the inclusive Christian vision, ethos and values, which define and guide school improvement.’

​‘Singing plays a crucial role in worship. The exceptional quality is uplifting and unifying; it demonstrates a shared outpouring of collective and individual spirituality.’

CM SIAMS Church School Report July 2024

Religious Education Curriculum

Collective Worship

RE policy

Our CHRISTIAN VALUES are central to all we think, do and say. They help us to grow together and make our school a happy place for learning.

LOVE

We expect all people to love their neighbour as Jesus loves us.  In this way, we can forgive each other and make a fresh start, knowing inner peace.

RESPECT

Respect is fundamental; our school would not be the unique and special place it is today without a drive that respect should be at the core of what we do. Our Christian ethos makes this a very strong value in our school. Respect is far reaching – respect of self, of others, of the environment and of our world are key to building and growing a harmonious learning community. From the words we choose to use to the care we take of the equipment which supports learning, from the resolve to be inclusive and challenging in the face of discrimination to the emphasis on responsibility, team work and belonging, we believe our focus on respect can contribute to a better world for our children in the future.

DEVELOPING SPIRITUALITY – see Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Policy

COMMUNICATION

Communication is a vital skill. If children are to grow up, interact successfully and go on to lead happy, productive and successful lives, they must learn to communicate effectively. During their time at Charlton Mackrell, we teach children how to communicate orally, in writing, through use of their expression and body language and through the use of fast changing technology.

CREATIVITY

Creativity, in its very widest sense, is something we value greatly at Charlton Mackrell. We want children to understand process as well as outcomes. We want children to be innovative, confident and forward thinking, happy to calculate risk and push themselves to think outside the box and try things which are out of their own comfort zone. We aim to challenge children, make them think differently and encourage them to be resourceful learners with passion.

SELF BELIEF

Self-belief is crucial if we, as humans, are to achieve our potential. We acknowledge that there are times when self-belief is weakened and we strive to embed a sense of self-worth, love of self and understanding of the very important part each and everyone of us plays in the lives of others. We challenge children to want to fulfil their potential and respond to their own next steps. so that they meet their personal best. Sometimes, children can surprise us with a talent or skill which they possess but don’t share openly. We want children to have confidence to share with others and to feel a sense of pride in their own achievements.

BRITISH VALUES

Schools have a duty to ‘actively promote’ the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs. By promoting and teaching British values, we aim to ensure that our children and young people understand the importance of respect and leave school fully prepared for life in modern Britain.

To complement Collective Worship and other times during the school day, children are encouraged to be reflective and given opportunities to experience peace.  Our peace garden is an area to be reflective and experience peace.  We are also creating reflective areas throughout the school.

We have high expectations of behaviour for learning so that everyone is able to learn, play and work in the calmest atmosphere. We expect all children to respect everyone’s right to be able to learn in a peaceful, safe and purposeful environment. With this in mind, every member of our school family has a responsibility to contribute to the best learning environment possible.

Our rules, written by children and staff, are clearly known by all. There is a wide range of rewards for those who demonstrate these rules in daily school life as well as a set of clear sanctions when children forget that our rules help us to learn together effectively.

Our Rules

• Be ready
• Be respectful
• Be safe

Our school rules were agreed together with staff and children and are instrumental in making our school a happier and safer place to learn and play.  We use our school rules to talk to children about their behaviour. Children are praised for keeping our school rules and role models are recognised and rewarded. Children who break a school rule are encouraged to take responsibility for their own actions and consider the impact of their actions on others.  Children are learning about the importance of forgiveness and being allowed to have a fresh start.

Roles and Reponsibilities

Each of us has an important part to play in making our school and community the best it can be.

Children are encouraged to take on roles and responsibilities around our school from a very early age. As children grow in their understanding of community and citizenship, they may choose to take on key responsibilities. Some of these roles are nominated by and/or voted for by children and some responsibilities are awarded by staff who recognise those children who are role models in our school community.  They wear their badges with pride to show we have responsibilities to look after our school family:

School Council Members, Play Leaders, Truly Trusted Pupils, Buddies, Collective Worship Monitors and Rainbow ‘warriors’ who all have numerous responsibilities.