Brightwell cum Sotwell CofE Primary School

Church School life

"Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing." 1 Thessalonians 5:11

We are a small village school in the beautiful, community-minded village of Brightwell cum Sotwell. We are an inclusive school where all members of our school family are valued as individuals and for the contributions they make. Our children enjoy coming to school and our Christian ethos ensures that they learn and grow together successfully, understanding the importance of supporting one another to achieve their full potential. Everything we do as a school is underpinned by our school values and our drive to ensure that every child flourishes as they develop a life-long love of learning.

Our school values, as can be seen on our 'Vision and Values' page, were chosen through contributions from the entire Brightwell School community ready for the start of the 2023-24 academic year. Each half term sees a focus on one value which is explored in class as well as in our collective worships. Each value can be reflected upon by all of our students, regardless of their beliefs and strives for not only a life-long love of learning but so that we add value to our local community and wider society. Classes have their own 'reflection' or 'quiet space' that children can use.

Whilst we are a Church of England School, our values ensure we teach children to respect other worldwide religions and beliefs and to understand the value of ‘faith.’ You can find out more about our Religion and World View curriculum and how it is delivered on our curriculum page.

Our church, St Agatha's, is in walking distance from the school which means we are able to regularly participate in many of the church festivals throughout the year, including Harvest, Remembrance Day, Christmas and Easter. We also enjoy a special 'leavers' service at the end of the summer term for our Year 6 children and their families, followed by services at the church for the whole school. During the rest of the year, we have the vicar, as well as other local pastors, come and deliver regular collective worship in our school hall.

Service is of utmost importance as we always seek ways in which to teach children about ‘caring for others.’ At Harvest, we collect donations of food which are then passed on to the Wallingford Food bank for distribution to those families who need it most and we show support for locally or nationally recognized charities through fundraising events - our children are also often inspired to do their own fundraising activities outside of school in order to support charities close to their own hearts!

Please see our churches page for more information about St Agatha's and St James' in Sotwell.

Spirituality - what does this mean at Brightwell?

Our children are all individuals and wonderfully unique: they have all been on very different journeys and will continue to travel their own paths, but as part of our school vision, we aspire for them all to reach their full potential by being given opportunities to learn, grow and flourish together, something that is supported by the Church of England’s Vision for Education, which recognises the importance of children experiencing, ‘life in all its fullness’ (John 10:10).

It is very difficult to define ‘spirituality’ because it is a very personal experience which differs from person to person, and often spirituality changes within a person's lifetime. Spirituality is not the same as having a religion or faith: a child can be spiritual without having a particular faith.

Here at Brightwell, we see spirituality as the opportunity to stop, think, reflect and grow into the type of person that you want to be now and in the future. It is about the opening of both hearts and minds, by becoming aware of the awe and wonder within the world, by reflecting and drawing inspiration from bigger ideas and things outside of ourselves, and by learning about how we can move forward and make choices to become the best versions of ourselves.

'Spirituality is about our relationship with ourselves, our family, friends, those around
us, to God and to all of creation’
(Prof Ursula King)

We believe that spiritual development should influence all areas of education and life and we aim to integrate this in all aspects of our curriculum and life at school enabling all of our children and adults to flourish.

A good starting point to learn about spirituality is to think of Windows, Mirrors and Doors (developed by Liz Mills)

Collective Worship

At Brightwell, our daily act of worship sometimes includes the whole school, a Key Stage or even a single class. There are times when we sing and there are times when we are quiet and reflect. We welcome visitors to our school to share in our worship and we also share our worship at special times, in the local church with our families. We welcome the contribution of all staff and children to lead worship, and we remember the importance of our Christian Values at the heart of what we do.

Collective worship gives pupils and school staff the opportunity to: