As a Church school, we aim to show that we are distinctively Christian through the following:

Motto: Amaze, Excite, Inspire

Vision: to ‘Amaze, Excite and Inspire’ a confident, happy and resilient school community. To be an inclusive church school where everyone can be the best God has made them to be.  

Our Core Values:
These are all underpinned by Family

• Friendship
• Respect
• Forgiveness
• Perseverance
• Service
• Truthfulness

Aims:

To ensure that 

• the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of children prepares them for adult life and making a positive contribution to their community
• children feel happy, safe and secure
• children have basic moral values and are compassionate and respectful
• inquisitive minds are encouraged
• children value exceptional learning, that they persevere and build the skills to become independent, life-long learners
• children take satisfaction from trying new things and working hard
• children are given the lifelong gift of prayer
• equality is promoted, diversity is celebrated and prejudice is negated

Our Values Tree
Our Langley Values Tree was created by everyone. The trunk woven and interwoven, just as we are all linked in our special school.
When we talked about creating our tree, one of the children suggested that we use different coloured leaves for each of the values that we spot in each other. The Worship council got together and decided upon the colours to use for each value.
The value colours are: Friendship – Langley Yellow, Respect – Red, Truthfulness – Pale Blue, Forgiveness – Green, Perseverance – Orange, Service – Gold.

Our local church is St Peter’s Church, Kington Langley part of the Draycot Benefice within the Diocese of Bristol.

Further information can be found on the church website here.

Please also see the Bristol Diocese website here.

St Peter’s Church is the natural focus for the village of Kington Langley and is just over the road from our school. Recent internal modifications have created a beautiful open space, plus kitchen and disabled toilet facilities, all of which are freely available for village groups to use, including the school’s PTA.

As a Church of England School, our partnership with St Peter’s is very important. As a school we hold services in the church to welcome new pupils, celebrate Harvest, Christmas and Easter, and to farewell our Year 6’s. We also go to mark Remembrance and to hold our Christingle Service each year at Candlemas.

But the relationship is so much more than this.

Members of the Ministry Team are regularly in school to lead Collective Worship, support RE lessons and offer pastoral care. Mrs Bloomer works with our pupil Worship Council to help find new ways of being a church school – for example, the beautiful Worship cloth in Cherry Hall. She is also part of the school’s Christian Distinctiveness committee.

The St Peter’s congregation regularly pray for our school – and we pray for them. They support us with their time, skills and generosity, as well as organising multi-sensory Experiences in church to help us explore significant Church festivals, The Lord’s Prayer, what it means to be ‘Church’ and in 2022, Advent.

Our foundation governor, Rev Richard Priest, goes along to the parish church meetings to make sure we have good communication and to find ways to support one another. St Peter’s Church has been very generous in supporting a number of projects in school, including giving a Bible to each Y6 every year.

Prayer for the wider community of Langley Fitzurse:

Dear God

Please help us to appreciate all the people in our wider community that support us to grow and learn.
To the people of Kington Langley, thank you for your support in our events,
To our visitors who lead in collective worship, thank you
To St Peter’s Church who welcome us for our services and church experiences.
To all our visitors and helpers we thank you

Amen

We enjoy planning and sharing joint projects which also benefit the whole community, such as the Rogation walk about, Harvest on the Farm, and Scarecrow Songs of Praise.

We love being invited to join in with the Knitted Nativity, Thy Kingdom Come and in 2020 the Eco Lent Challenge. Click here for more information on the eco challenge.
There is more information on ‘Thy Kingdom Come prayer walk’ found here.

This relationship is very important to our school and parish church – and we are delighted to have been awarded for the Church /School Partnership Award from Bristol Diocese

What we do and don’t do to be a great Christian School – click here for a useful guide

Here’s our Church School leaflet

We conducted a Church School Survey in May 2020 – please find the results here.
We conducted another survey in March 2023 – check out the results  here.

We have close links with our local church, St Peter’s Kington Langley – you can read more about this here

We were delighted to receive our Church School Partnership Award in February 2022 – please read more here
Please also read our Church review document here.

The churches in North Wiltshire took part in a joint project to design a pilgrim trail around some of the lovely church buildings and countryside. Schools were asked to submit a stamp design for their local church that could be used for visitors’ pilgrim passports. Here is our design for St Peter’s church from one of our Year 6 pupils.

We recently took part in the Rural Schools Festival at Malmesbury Abbey – please click here for further details.

Christian Distinctiveness Committee

This comprises Karen Winterburn (HT), Richard Priest (Foundation Governor), Huw Solly (Foundation Governor), Tom Stables (Foundation Governor), Katherine Bloomer (Draycot Benefice) and James Osler (HoS).   The Committee meets every other term.

Please click here for the latest Christian Distinctiveness Committee minutes.

Previous Christian Distinctiveness Minutes
October 2023
28 September 2021
25 January 2022
May 2022
July 2022
Sept 2022
Nov 2022
Jan 2023
Mar 2023 
May 2023
June 2023

You can read our Collective Worship policy here.

As a Church of England School, we value the place of daily Collective Worship because it is a special time of day when the whole school comes together to strengthen the family feel. Our worship is of a Christian nature in the Anglican (Church of England) tradition, with God and Jesus as the focus. However, we aim to be inclusive, offering opportunities for children of both a Christian and non-Christian background to take part in ways that are appropriate for them.

Collective worship offers pupils and adults opportunities for spiritual development and includes time for silence and reflection. We try to offer variety in our worship, recognising that we are all unique, and make our time together engaging and relevant so we can ‘Amaze, Excite and Inspire’. Our Christian values are used as the basis of our termly worship themes. We explore what this value looks like ‘in action’ and the Bible stories relating to this value.  Our worship time always includes time for prayer and/or reflection, and we enjoy singing hymns and songs. Parents, carers and families are invited to join our Celebration assemblies, as well as festival services throughout the year.

Collective worship is carefully planned, and we follow the cycle of the Christian year marking special days and celebrations. This time is led by different members of staff within the school, as well as visitors from St Peter’s Church and the local community. This gives variety to appeal to different interests, ways of communicating, and interpretations of the Christian faith and how it is lived out. We follow a pattern of worship, which is laid out in our Collective Worship policy and the Guidance for visitors coming to lead worship.

A group of children from Key Stage 2 form our Worship Council. One of their roles is to help plan, lead and evaluate Collective Worship – this helps us keep improving and grows pupils’ confidence. It is also monitored by the head teacher and governors, to help assess the impact of our worship time and to ensure we meet the legal requirements.

What pupils say about Collective Worship:

• I like hearing Bible stories and learning about God
• It’s a space and a rest from work, it’s relaxing
• I like singing
• I like the visitor who uses a board to tell stories
• I like listening to and talking about the Bible stories
• I like being together, the whole school

You can see what we have been up to by looking in the class scrapbook, which is also monitored by members of the Worship Council, foundation governors and the head teacher.

Our School Collective Worship Timetable

All our school newsletters contain a Christian Distinctiveness section for home reflection.

At the beginning of every collective worship we say the words: ‘We have gathered in the name of God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit to worship together and think about…’
At the end of every collective worship we say: ‘We go in peace, we go in joy, we go in love, showing …’
The prayers that are said in our collective worship include: The Lord’s Prayer, Langley School Prayer, prayer for the school community, prayer for the village/church community, and an action Grace.

The Langley School Prayer
God bless our school,
that in learning together and playing together,
we may learn to love you
and to love one another.
Amen

Prayer for the school community 

Dear God
Please help us to appreciate visitors and helpers who come into school to help and support us.
To the adults in school who help us to flourish.
To our PTA who help to fundraise for things we value inside and outside of school.
Thank you Lord for all the adults in our school.
Amen

Prayer for the village/church community
Dear God
Please help us to appreciate all the people in our wider community that support us to grow and learn.
To the people of Kington Langley, thank you for your support in our events.
To our visitors who lead in collective worship, thank you.
To St Peter’s Church who welcome us for our services and church experiences.
To all our visitors and helpers, we thank you.
Amen

Spirituality

Spiritual development relates to fundamental questions about the meaning and purpose of life which affect everyone and is not dependant on a religious affiliation.

“Spirituality is not something we can see; it is something we feel inside ourselves. It is about awe and wonder, asking questions, inspiration and being aware of something ‘bigger’ outside of ourselves.”

Christian Education is concerned with the development of people’s mind, body and spirit. As a Church School we seek to explore spirituality through the lens of the Christian faith, but our desire to be inclusive means opportunities are created to raise awareness and nurture each person’s spirituality for those of all faiths or none.

To help pupils and adults to reach their full potential we foster:

• a strong sense of celebration showing the school is vibrant and ‘alive’
• a climate where pupils and staff understand their own self-worth and are willing to take risks and learn from failure
• an environment where all members of the school community are encouraged to be self-aware and attentive, not rushing around all the time
• a reflective physical space where pupils and staff can stop, reflect and recharge
• collective worship which is highly valued, with time for silent reflection embedded
• a curriculum where pupils ask big questions and teachers are confident to facilitate this, e.g. ‘What does this mean to me?’ ‘How would it be if everyone behaved in this way?’
• a sense of belonging through relationships with the wider school community and Church family,
• opportunities in the curriculum where a spiritual vocabulary is developed, e.g. use of symbolism; myth; religious language; music; dance
• opportunities for pupils to be reflective about their own beliefs, religious or otherwise, that inform their perspective on life and their interest in and respect for different people’s faiths, feelings and values

During SATS Week Mrs Bloomer creates a Prayer Space in school for the Y6’s.

Here are some comments from pupils:                                              

When I went inside I felt calm and relaxed. After when I came out I felt confident. It was lovely and nice and I would like to see it again.

First I was really nervous and then when I went in I felt calm. After I came out I felt confident.

It was really nice and calm and peaceful when I went in. It helped me relax during SATS.

It was a nice, calm, stress free place to go after doing our SATS. It was a great relaxing place to gather your thoughts.

Opportunities for spiritual growth

Most importantly, because God made each one of us unique – one size does not fit all!

• Some people say it is when they are connecting with family and friends.
• Some people say it is when they are learning new skills and get a sense of achievement.
• Some people say it is when they are giving to others.
• Some people say it is when they are more active. For example, going for a walk.
• Some people say it is when they are mindful, living in the present moment, aware of your feelings and thoughts, your body and the world around you.

Spirituality comes from within. We have to listen for it, find space for it and nurture it.

At Langley Fitzurse School there are many opportunities to explore and nurture a spiritual awareness which is inside all of us:

• Music
• Dance
• Sport
• Caring for the natural world
• Being creative
• Caring for Others
• Being outdoors
• Through Collective Worship
• Through RE

Langley Fitzurse Worship Council

Our Worship Council was set up in November 2013. The members are elected each year by their classmates and currently in this school year are Rose, Billy, Bo, Harry, Lola, Arabella, Johnny and Oliver.

Because we are a Church of England school, our role is to help our school evaluate collective worship, and to explore ways in which we can develop the distinctively Christian character of Langley Fitzurse. We enjoy working together to make a difference; hearing and discussing new ideas, having a say and input into changes to help the whole school community understand and enjoy worshipping God.

Why did you want to be a member of the Worship Council?

• I wanted to try something new
• I like being involved in worship, and wanted to do more
• I want to help create some outdoor worship spaces
• It sounded like fun!
• I helped design the worship cloth and wanted to do more

Each year we look at how we can improve our collective worship, update this web page, and design our notice board. We have opportunities to plan & lead collective worship, help in school services at church and with Experiences, and are invited to take part in Sunday services in St Peter’s Church.

What do you like about Collective Worship?

• I like hearing Bible stories
• I like being together, the whole school
• I like singing
• It’s a space, a rest from work – it’s relaxing

This year we are:

• Outdoor reflection area – keep developing this. Mrs Bloomer to get in touch with Amy about plant care and painting the cross. School to think about artwork/symbols to decorate the area – but not too busy!
• Create an Easter Trail for Early years/ KS1 (early T4)
• Church Trail – to link with NWMA Pilgrim Trail (competition to create a stamp for St Peter’s) For T5/6
• Developing opportunities for spiritual development

Achievements so far…

• Helping to choose the new school values 2018/19: friendship, respect, truthfulness, forgiveness, perseverance and service, underpinned by being part of God’s wide family
• Choosing a variety of lunch time prayers
• Running a competition and fund raising for the new cloth for our worship table
• Creating a display about being a church school
• Suggested questions for the new head teacher interviews
• Wrote prayers about our school values to share with the whole school
• Evaluated our class reflection areas and made suggestions for improvements
• Planned and led the whole school Christingle service in St Peter’s
• Looked at ways to involve parents in collective worship
• Guidance leaflet for visitors who come to lead worship
• Taking part in the SIAMS inspection and creating a guide to help other Worship Councils prepare for their inspection
• Designing the school mosaic to display our values, having helped to identify our core values in 2017: faith, family, friendship, respect and reflect
• Selecting the values for the year, and finding ways to extend their impact beyond collective worship
• Designing this web page
• Leading worship and taking part in school services
• Helping with Experiences in church
• Developing collective worship – highlighting what we find helpful, and ideas for improvement
• Developing the worship table in the hall – lighting the candle and using a cloth to reflect the colour of the church season
• Developing the prayer book
• Experimenting with ways to use the gazebo as a quiet space
• Creating a scrapbook, following a learning walk, to show how we are a church school

Our Worship Council meets each year with others from our village cluster schools to share ideas and celebrate our hard work. This good practice features on the Bristol diocese website.

Minutes of Worship Council Meetings in 2023/24
Term 1
Term 2
Term 3

Minutes of Worship Council Meetings in 2022/23
Term 1
Term 2
Term 3 and 4
Term 5
Term 6

Minutes of Worship Council Meetings in 2021/22
Term 1
Term 2
Term 3
Term 6

SIAMS (Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools) Report

Please click here to view our 2023 SIAMS report.

Please click here to view our RE Policy.

We were pleased that the inspector noted:

“Langley Fitzurse is a school with ‘heart and soul’. The school is an integral part of the local community and as such supports all to ‘be the best God has made them to be.’”
“Links with the local church are exceptional. This is because relationships are valued by both church and school.”
“Collective worship is highly valued and encourages deep reflection. It contributes profoundly to the flourishing of pupils and adults. “
“Friendships cross boundaries of age and everyone knows everyone, ensuring that there is a true sense of community.”

How are we addressing the development points from this inspection?

1. Improve the effectiveness of the Christian Distinctiveness (CD) team so they have the skills and abilities to accurately identify innovative improvements as a church school

• New enthusiastic members have joined the group, which now meets at least 3 times a year and has provided continuity through changes in school leadership. This has raised awareness of what it means to be a church school, and increased accountability for all governors
• CD is a standing item on the FGB, and the group has played an active role in supporting the school to craft its vision and values.
• Members have taken part in a range of training, including SIAMS, Understanding Christianity and monitoring. St Peter’s Church has generously supported in funding this.
• A Foundation governor has regularly attended the Worship Council to listen to pupils’ views
• The CD team has utilised contacts to enhance events such as the Ghana Day, plans for a Drumhead service, and links with the Ghurkha Temple at Buckley Barracks

2. Provide opportunities to engage with other faiths to enable children to gain first-hand experiences of the diversity of other beliefs and religions

• A priority in RE planning
• Engaging with Interfaith Week
• Regular item on the CD agenda – encourage virtual tours, inviting visitors, as well as ideas for visits to the Ghurkha Temple at Buckley Barracks, Synagogue in Bristol and a Gudwara in Swindon

3. Raise the importance of collective worship by providing creative opportunities for parents to be involved

• Survey to all parents in Autumn 2016 recorded no desire to attend daily CW or participate. Requested a termly invitation to Celebration worship
• Now an open invitation to parents to attend Celebration and learning worship, advertised through the school newsletter (8 – 20 parents/carers attend on average)
• Parent survey in May 2020 (46% response rate) recorded 100% parents felt welcome to attend Celebration worship and school services in church – please click here to view the survey responses
• School offers alternately morning and afternoon festival services in church to enable parents to attend.

The most recent minutes of the Christian Distinctiveness Monitoring Team can be viewed above in ‘What we do as a church school’.

Our Village Church School: A Personal Reflection
Langley Fitzurse School strikes me as being quite remarkable as a Church School. It is the ethos and ‘family’ feel that really chimed with me. I believe the school to have an actively caring culture, typified by the friendly demeanour of both staff and children.

Simply watching the way that the school community interacts with one another demonstrates this. I am impressed by the initiative and flexibility of the staff, who are readily helpful, adaptable and encouraging. There is a calm expectation of work, attitude and behaviour that is lived out by the whole school community, which seeks to grow and flourish together. I sense an atmosphere of hope and positivity which is modelled by the staff and ‘rubs off’ on the children. This culture truly lives out what a Church School should be. The Sense of ‘Life in all its fullness’ (John 10:10) is palpable. I am also reminded of Deuteronomy 30:19, where Moses, having set out the path God wants his people to follow, charges them to choose life.

It is, perhaps, tricky to prove visually what a good Church School is. Seeing a crucifix or scenes from the Bible in every classroom, along with the Lord’s Prayer being daily rehearsed by rote is not, to my mind, living out the way of Christ. It is far more important to think out what Jesus means when he answered the Question, “And who is my neighbour?” (Luke 10:25). The parable of the good Samaritan is an excellent choice for a Langley Fitzurse to adopt as its key Bible story, for it contains much challenge as well as agape love being demonstrated, with its overtones of sacrificial service. Investing in the staff is wonderful to see.

Knowing that the school staff are undertaking valuable continuing professional development is heartening, and this is wise investment in developing and improving this most valuable resource.
I am delighted by the way in which the church family at St. Peters wish to engage with and support their local church school and would be delighted to see this relationship grow and flourish further. There is much goodwill within the parish church, village community and school that could blossom and develop further.

Richard Priest
Foundation Governor and Parent