St. Michael's as a Church of England School

                             'Live Life in its Fullness' John 10:10

Our vision underpins everything we do at St Michael’s. Inspired by the words of Jesus in John 10:10, we seek to create a community where every child is encouraged and supported to live life in all its fullness. We believe that every individual is uniquely created by God, with gifts, talents and potential that deserve to be nurtured and celebrated.

At St Michael’s, we are committed to providing an environment where children flourish academically, socially, emotionally and spiritually. We encourage our school community to embrace opportunities, face challenges with courage, and develop a strong sense of purpose and hope. Through our Christian foundation, we aim to inspire children to become confident learners, compassionate citizens and responsible members of society.

Living life in its fullness means recognising that success is about more than achievement alone. It is about developing strong relationships, showing love and respect to others, finding joy in learning, and understanding that everyone has a place within our community.

We want every child to leave St Michael’s with the knowledge, confidence and character needed to make a positive difference in the world.

We are an inclusive school that warmly welcomes children, families and staff of all faiths and none. Our Christian vision guides our work while respecting and celebrating the diversity of our school community.

We have strong links with our local churches - St. Andrew's and St. Michael's. We contribute to their services and hold our own special services in both . Various church members lead our worships once a fortnight. On other days of the week worship is led by the teaching staff and sometimes by the children themselves. The children play an active part in worship but there is also time for stillness, reflection and prayer. We also hold ‘Celebration Worships’, this is a time when parents are invited into school to join with us as we celebrate and give thanks for the children’s achievements.

Each half term we focus on one of our core themes that link to our Christian Values of 'Achieve, Thrive, Love and Belong.' This is given a full term's reflection. Pupils and staff are central to the delivery of these themes, all who visit our school are given the opportunity to spiritually discuss, reflect and question during both whole school and class collective worships. 

Our Christian Values 

Our vision is brought to life through our four core values:

Achieve - We encourage every child to aspire, persevere and be the very best they can be. Through high-quality learning experiences and a culture of ambition, children are supported to discover and develop their God-given talents.

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

Philippians 4:13

Thrive - We nurture the wellbeing of every child, helping them to grow in confidence, resilience and independence. Through rich experiences and opportunities, children develop the skills and mindset needed to flourish in school and beyond.

“May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed.”

Psalm 20:4

Love - We strive to be a caring and compassionate community where kindness, respect and forgiveness are at the heart of all relationships. Following the example of Jesus, we encourage children to show empathy, serve others and value every individual.

“Let all that you do be done in love.”

1 Corinthians 16:14

Belong - We foster a strong sense of community where everyone is valued, included and heard. Children learn that they are an important part of both the St Michael’s family and the wider world community.

“So in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.”

Romans 12:5

Pupil Chaplains - 2026-27

Our pupil chaplains heard of all the wonderful ways they could share God’s love with their peers, teachers, family and local community. They applied for the role and, after very careful consideration, were chosen for their wonderful characters, willingness to learn more about Gods word and their ability to show their support and love to those around them.

Those who serve as chaplains have a special responsibility and a precious opportunity to travel alongside children, staff and parents in learning and living; in times of sadness and through the fun and laughter of times of celebration.

It will be through the presence of the Chaplain and Pupil Chaplains in the school, through words, actions and example that the love of God is expressed and heaven glimpsed.

Spirituality at St. Michael's CofE First School

As a staff and governor team, we have agreed on a definition of spiritual development in our school community to support us as we talk about spirituality.

Spirituality is delighting in all things, being absorbed into the present moment, not too attached to self, and eager to explore boundaries of ‘beyond’ and ‘other’, searching for meaning, discovering purpose, open to more. (Rebecca Nye)

As a staff team:

• We have a staff understanding of spiritual development.
• We have a culture within our school that recognises the importance of spirituality to individuals, both children and staff.
• We revisit spirituality as an area for consideration in our staff meetings and offer training.
• Our governors monitor the impact of our spirituality focus. This is through regular meetings of our (PCG) Parent, Community Group, Governors Meetings, and our Ethos Committee, which focuses on the ethos, vision, and values of the school. Agendas are set by all boards. Consistent learning walks by Subject Leads and the Headteacher are fed back, and strengths are celebrated, and areas of opportunity are discussed.
• We have staff guidance accessible to continue to support staff in this aspect of our curriculum.
• We ensure new staff are aware of our school policy on spiritual development.
• We use models to support our own thinking in spirituality, such as the ‘Windows, Mirrors, Doors, Candle’ approach.
• We have a variety of spiritual spaces both inside and outside the school building for staff reflection and discussions with our School Chaplain.
• We are aware of spiritual development shown across four key areas of Self, Others, Beauty and Beyond (Andrew Rickett / Rebecca Nye).
• We utilise the Philosophy for Children approach at KS2 and implement a Thinking Deeply week for our KS2 children with a particular focus and theme, to allow children to make cross-curricular in Philosophy across all areas of the curriculum
• We recognise that children will have different ‘Spiritual Temperaments’ or ‘Sacred Pathways, through the work of Gary Thomas (2010) and Myra Perrine (2007). This will influence our planning as we look to nurture spirituality across the curriculum, not just in RE and Collective Worship. We encourage staff who are specialist subject leads to identify opportunities for spiritual development in their subject, and to share them with colleagues.
• We actively use the language we have agreed on with staff to nurture an awareness of spirituality and its importance to well-being and development with the children.
• We aim to help each pupil to develop a spiritual understanding in terms of their own cultural context.
• We share with parents, whenever possible, the outcomes of our focus on spiritual development through newsletters, social media, displays and our website.
• We discuss spirituality with our church and others who can further support this thread.

Our awareness and understanding of spiritual development will enrich what we offer to the children and to all in our school community.

Two Churches - One Family

We are very fortunate to have two churches within walking distance of the school and we use both regularly and they play a key role in our school's life. Every Thursday the whole school visits St Andrew's Church, to participate in whole school collective worship.  Local residents will be familiar with the sight of St Michael's children, in their uniforms walking to church.  All children love attending the Thursday church services and truly being part of the church community. When there is a religious celebration such as Christmas and Easter all the children at St Michael's C of E First School visit either St Andrew’s Church or St Michael's Church to participate.  We have approximately six additional services a year.

Father Simon, our parish priest has recently been appointed to the Diocese of Truro and, therefore, we are supporting the parish in the recruitment of a new parish priest. Meanwhile we are very lucky to have our weekly church worship officiated on a rota basis by the following: Jules (the parish children and families worker), Lynne (Exmoor Youth Project), Jess (Exmoor Youth Project). We are extremely grateful to have such a great, supportive church family.

Several members of the St Michael's and St Andrew's congregation are also actively involved in the school and act as foundation governors on our Parent & Community Governance Group (PCG).