Our Vision

Our vision is rooted in Psalm 1:3...

‘You are like a tree, planted by streams of water that never run dry. Your fruit ripens in its time; your leaves never fade or curl. In all you do, you prosper.’

We will offer an excellent education in a Christian context for our children through our work together. Our children will develop as well-rounded individuals as they grow together during their time in school. Ultimately, our children will achieve their potential and flourish.

Our vision can be summarised in the sentence:

Work together, Grow together, Flourish together

Theology of our Vision

It is a vision that relates to our geographical and social contexts. Our two small schools overlook the River Wye and the ‘Oak Meadow’ (a patch of ancient land situated equally between our two schools on the bend of the river). Both schools serve the Herefordshire town of Ross-on-Wye and the surrounding areas and are rooted in the rural, market-town experiences that our children bring to our schools. Oak Meadow is the name of our Federation and the oak tree found there forms the emblem of our ongoing and long-lasting partnership. “Remember, mighty oaks from tiny acorns grow” (14th Century English Proverb).

Our Core Christian Values

As the Church of England’s Vision for education follows the four elements of: wisdom, hope, community and dignity so our schools follow four core values, whilst weaving the Church of England values into our annual values teachings across collective worship and beyond.

Our core values are honesty, respect, friendship and happiness. We want our core Christian values to guide our pupils and help them to achieve fulfilling and happy lives.

From the roots of our school communities to the fruits of our children’s outcomes, we endeavour to live our core values engendering an understanding and appreciation of these values during worship, class time, playtime and with our friends, teachers and families. Chosen by our school communities these values grow and develop through the school like the growth of an oak tree.

Our vision and values, alongside the symbol of the oak tree can be summarised as follows:

1. Work Together ‘in Friendship’ – Our communities form the roots of who we are and how we work; it is the foundation from where we develop. They feed the tree. Like roots drawing water from the soil we draw inspiration from the Christian teachings that are at the core of our ethos. Through friendship we develop all the ways we work together.
2. Grow Together ‘in Honesty and Respect’ – The trunk of the oak represents the strength of the federation. The branches represent growth in terms of personal learning and development of us all; both educationally and morally. Our children grow by learning about the core values of honesty, to ourselves and others, and respect, for others and the environment in which we live. This includes the respect of the views of others, even when we do not always agree.
3. Flourish Together ‘in Happiness’ – The acorn is the fruit of the oak tree. In the same way, our ongoing development, achievements, successes and aspirations can be seen as ‘fruits’ of our labours. This is how we flourish in Happiness for our ongoing development.

Oak Meadow Federation is clear about its mission. We are here to foster and develop a love of learning of all kinds, just as the mighty oak tree grows and develops from a humble acorn so our children grow and develop during their time with us.

How do we view our Core Christian Values?

Honesty

• Work Together: Proverbs 16:8 states that "It is better to be honest and poor than dishonest and rich". We discuss how being honest with yourself is important – that everyone makes mistakes but that everyone is not perfect in the eyes of God, everyone is growing and no matter what, we should always forgive.
• Grow Together: The Bible teaches that God created all people as unique and loved individuals, but all people have fallen and make mistakes. No one is perfect in the eyes of God, therefore we practice grace and should always forgive each other. This will help us to grow as a stronger and wiser community and is a key part of the Lord’s Prayer.
• Flourish Together: Being honest with friends and family is important for personal relationships and for us to feel comfortable with ourselves. Honesty in friendships and at home, in the classroom and in the school community helps us to be trusted amongst peers and those in the wider community. Being fair and open with each other, agreeing always to tell the truth helps others to see us as trustworthy and reliable.

Respect

• Work Together: Within our school, we encourage all, "to treat others as you would want them to treat you" (Matthew 7:12).
• Grow Together: This is valuing everyone and everything and celebrating our differences. Respect can mean simply treating each other with politeness, courtesy, and recognising that everyone's contribution is important and that everyone's feelings should be considered.
• Flourish Together: We believe that everyone is special, everyone's opinion matters, everyone's contribution is important, everyone's feelings should be considered, and everyone's faith is sacred.

Friendship

• Work Together: Friendship is a key concept in the Christian framework, with Jesus being criticised for being "the friend of sinners" and eating with those whom society rejected (Matthew 11:16).
• Grow Together: Friendship is an undisputed value in our society, with children often spending more time with their friends than with family.
• Flourish Together: Feeling comfortable in each other’s company, being able to share joys and sorrows are all features of friendship and these are things of immense value. True friendship enables each person to grow and ensures that the unique individuality of each person is recognised.

Happiness

• Work Together: “Blessed-or happy-are those who continually hunger and thirst for righteousness-or fair play” (Matthew 5:6).
• Grow Together: Happiness is part of well-being, satisfaction and flourishing. It does not always just happen and can be personal to individuals. Small steps can be taken to help yourself and others to feel happy. In school, we try to encourage these steps.
• Flourish Together: The secret to happiness is to make everyone around you happy. In return, you will get the satisfaction of bringing joy to others and their positive energy will come back to you. School rules and the laws decided by parliament are all written to encourage ‘fair play for all’ and a happier place in which to live.

Our Annual Coverage of Christian Values:

• September - Respect (Core)
• October - Honesty (Core)
• November - Peace
• December - Happiness (Core)
• January - Wisdom (CofE element)
• February - Friendship (Core)
• March - Dignity (CofE element)
• April - Hope (CofE element)
• May - Love
• June - Responsibility
• July - Community (CofE element)