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Welcome To Our New Website!
Farway C of E Primary School

Christian Ethos

Our Christian Ethos is rooted in the parable of the 2 builders (Matthew 7:24-29).
 
The one who hears God’s word but does not do what it says is like a foolish builder who builds his house on sand. That house will be crushed in a storm. The one who hears the word of God and obeys it is like a wise man who builds his house on solid rock. That house will stand up to any storm.
 
Jesus’ teaching is the foundation of everything we do. If we follow Jesus and God, it is a good foundation for life. He inspires and motivates us in all that we do. Jesus is the light of the world. If we follow what he says then we should be aspiring, inspiring and it is what motivates us to be who we are- be the best possible version of ourselves.
Our Pupil Ethos Group

Message from the Ethos Group

At Farway CE Primary, we have created an ethos group with representatives from all year groups in. In this group, we will make decisions about how to make the school even better, lead some collective worships and have meetings to develop our school and school ethos. We also help raise money for charities and the school. Everyone had a chance to join, and in the end, after a vote, 11 people were voted into our ethos group. 

School Ethos Group (SEG)

Principles 

Ethos groups support the work of Governing Bodies in terms of the statutory duty to uphold and develop the school’s Christian vision. The SIAMS evaluation schedule contains one central question: 

How effective is the school’s distinctive Christian vision, established and promoted by leadership at all levels, in enabling pupils and adults to flourish? 

Ethos groups support the work of the Governing Body by undertaking work delegated to them in line with part of the SIAMS improvement plan. They report back to the Full Governing Body on work and progress on a regular basis. Developments are recorded in the SIAMS self-evaluation document. 

Membership 

Membership of a school ethos group will reflect the ‘broad school community’ and may include the following stakeholders: 

  • Headteacher and/or Head of Teaching and Learning
  • Religious Education Lead
  • Collective Worship Coordinator
  • The Parish Priest/incumbent
  • Parent representative
  • Members of the Parish
  • Foundation Governor

Pupil Voice 

Ethos groups need to find a mechanism to listen to and be responsive to pupil voice. Representative pupils may join the Ethos group, or a pupil Ethos group may feed ideas and recommendations to the full Ethos group. 

Functions 

The Ethos group needs to 

  • Ensure the school remains focused on the Christian vision set by the Governing body 

  • Review and develop Collective Worship 

  • Review and develop Religious Education 

  • Monitor and take forward the SIAMS action plan 

Monitoring 

Members of the Ethos group may carry out monitoring through learning walks, pupil conferencing, focus groups, questionnaires, book scrutinies etc. 

Meetings 

The expectation is that the Ethos group will meet half termly and report to the Local Advisory Committee and so will need to organise their meetings and related work around these dates. Christian distinctiveness updates regarding the church schools in our local East Devon Board are a rolling agenda point for Full Governing Body Meetings at Trustee level.