Roots to grow, wings to fly

Our school provides a Christian environment which stimulates a passion for life-long learning and nurtures happy, confident and resilient children. 

This means in practice we are:

• Passionate about providing the foundations for children to fulfil their potential in the ever changing world
• Committed to nurturing a Christian environment where we are tolerant, respectful  and care for each other in our community and the wider world
• Supporting growth of resilient children are adaptable, persistent and embrace learning from their mistakes
• Dedicated to shaping an inspirational environment which encourages a passion for learning
• Providing a wide and varied curriculum that allows our children to explore all their gifts, skills and talents
• Inclusive and value the whole individual

Our Values

Our chosen three core Christian values that underpin and provide the foundations for all that we do at Baydon are: 

respect

kindness

perseverance

Our values were chosen by key members of our community, including our pupils, parents, staff and governors. As a church school we are a community built upon these values that permeate into everything we do, inside and outside the classroom.

The Parable of the Sower

Our vision of providing all pupils the roots to grow, wings to fly and values of respect, kindness and perseverance are rooted in our Christian perspective of the Parable of the Sower. Through this parable our understanding is that it is teaching us that the human heart is like receptive soil to the seed of the Word of God, and that the soil that the seed falls upon represents four categories of hearers’ hearts and four different reactions: the hard heart, the shallow heart, the crowded heart and the fruitful heart. 

The parable is recorded in the bible in Matthew 13, v1-23, Mark 4 , v1-20 and Luke 8, v1-15.

Through the parable we are told of a sower who went out to sow seed. Some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. Some seed fell on the rocky ground with less soil, and while the seeds grew, they grew too quickly, were scorched by the sun and since they had no root they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew and choked them. Finally some seeds fell on good soil and produced plentiful grain. 

Some seed that fell along the path…

The hard heart hears the word of God but never really believes.  We feel that by choosing the Christian value of kindness we can give and receive encouragement and support.  We can develop and maintain open hearts and minds allowing us to grow, develop and believe in ourselves and others.

Some seed fell on the rocky ground with less soil…

The shallow heart hears the word of God, receives it with joy, but lacks a root so cannot be sustained.  By choosing the Christian value of respect, we learn to develop self-respect and understanding of ourselves.  We can then extend this to include those around us and finally to our wider community.  Respecting others and ourselves means that we do not have shallow hearts.

Other seeds fell among thorns…

The crowded heart is busy, distracted and loses interest and perspective.  The Christian value of perseverance encourages us to keep going even when things are difficult and we feel discouraged.  Persevering means we can remain focused, strong and true to our aims.

Finally some seeds fell on good soil and produced plentiful grain.

The fruitful heart hears and receives the word of God with joy.  Combining our Christian values of respect, kindness and perseverance means that we develop good strong roots, and wings that will allow us to fly into the future bearing the fruit of our time at Baydon St Nicholas.