Church Links
We are a Church of England (Voluntary Aided) Primary School situated in the Diocese of Derby. More information about Church Schools in the Diocese of Derby can be found on the Derby Diocesan Board of Education (DBE) Webpage.
Church Links
We are an inclusive and nurturing Christian school rooted in the heart of our rural communities. Our vision is to be the school of choice for our local communities where every child is nurtured, a love of learning is ignited and each child can shine.
Christian values underpin everything which we hope to achieve at Longstone School. Each of our aims is linked with Christian teachings.
The National Society's vision of education is that is should allow children, young people and adults to live out Jesus' promise of 'life in all its fullness'. With this in mind, every person should be enabled to flourish in the widest sense: to grow in wisdom; to cultivate a wide-ranging knowledge that will help broaden life chances; to develop the spiritual, intellectual and emotional resources they need to live a good life; and to develop the character to live well together in community.
St. Giles' Church
Our school has strong links with Saint Giles Church. We are fortunate to have the church close by in the village and often have services there for key events such as Harvest, Christmas, Easter as well as special assemblies such as the School Leavers Service. Parents and friends are welcome to join us on these occasions.
We hold our Collective Worship at St Giles Church on the first Wednesday of each month.
To find out more information about Saint Giles' Church, click this link. St. Giles' Church works closely with Tradecraft, selling items by the door of the church. (Click the image below to find out more about Tradecraft.
Other Church's in our catchment include:
Holy Trinity Church, Ashford in the Water
The Good Shepherd Church, Wardlow
In The Service Of Others
Here at Longstone we try to think about others and to serve them. We do this through local events such as performing to the residents of the local care home for the elderly. We also do this through raising moeny for charities such as red nose day. Last Christmas our School Council organised a collection of bags which were sent to help the Syrian refugees for the organisation 'Refugease' in collaboration with the secondary school.
This year we are supporting the Bishop of Derby's appeal to help to protect the wonderful natural world that Our God has created through:
Prayer
Each classroom has a quiet space for prayer and reflection. Prayer is used on a daily basis in classrooms and Collective Worship. Prayer is also used at special times and during times of sadness.
Foundation Governors
Foundation Governors ensure that decisions made by the Governing Board uphold the Christian values of the school. As a Voluntary Aided School, the Governing Board must be made up of a majority of Foundation Governors. Like all School Governors they act as critical partners to the school. They have a passion for teaching and learning and they help ensure the maintenance of the Christian ethos of the school. They support the school in whatever way they can.
The Governing Board of the school holds places for up to seven Foundation Governors. If you are interested in becoming a foundation governor or would like to find out more about the role then please contact the school office.
Click here to read more about the Governing Board of our school.
Religious Education
We follow the Derby and Derbyshire Syllabus for R.E. This covers several world religions which include Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism, Judaism and Buddhism. We learn about and from these religions by asking 'big' questions about ourselves and our world. We give the children lots of opportunities to explore and reflect on their own beliefs, faith or indeed lack of faith and personal spirituality. We are inclusive of all individuals and believe that everyone's ideas are valid and important.
Our curriculum also delivers the 'Understanding Christianity' materials into school which explores key themes in the Bible and helps children to be 'detectives', looking at the deeper meaning of the text and to ask lots of questions.
We teach R.E. in blocks of time, usually over a week, rather than weekly short sessions. We find that the quality of teaching and learning is richer and deeper using this method.
Collective Worship
We hold a daily collective worship which takes a key theme linked to the Bible each week. Our Collective Worship is planned over a 3 year cycle, centred around Bi-Weekly Christian & Citizenship Values to ensure our children receive a broad character education.
Reflection Areas
As a school we feel it is important to have a focal prayer point for the whole school community to engage with. Currently, we are in progress in developing an outside prayer garden in partnership with our parent community.
Each class has an interactive spiritual display and reflection area, often linked to the term’s worship theme. Children really enjoy having the opportunity to respond to these areas. They are a place where the children can come to wonder, reflect and pray.
