Our School & the Church
Christian values are built into our ethos and teaching. Our school is distinguished by the special character of its religious education and Christian worship and within this teaches an awareness and respect for other faiths. We are committed to the education and welfare of the children in our care and our success is based on strong collaboration between school, home, church and community.
Worshiping together
Collective worship and sharing time together is a crucial part of our broader school life. We come together in worship four times a week, plus a ‘celebration’ assembly of children’s achievements on a Friday. Children are also involved in collective worship in their classrooms. These acts of collective worship reflect the vision and aims of our school.
Worship is led by either the Headteacher or a Class Teacher and on a Wednesday morning by a member of the clergy or other faith leaders. On occasions we may also have visitors come in to deliver and share worship with us.
Collective worship in our school is carefully planned to link to our school values, Christian festivals and key dates in the Christian calendar. The Headteacher and the visiting faith leaders work together to ensure the topics to discuss are relevant and meaningful to the children. Themes are developed across the week to help develop a deeper and lasting understanding of the message.
Parents are entitled to withdraw their child/children from Collective Worship if they wish. Alternative provision for the withdrawn child is negotiated with the individual family. Contact the Office if you would like to discuss this.
St Mary’s Church of England Church, Clymping
Our school is a member of the Diocese of Chichester and we are blessed and privileged to have strong links with and the support of our local church St Mary’s of Clymping. Many of our Foundation Governors attend St Mary’s Church and the Reverend Richard Hayes leads Worship in school on a regular basis. The whole school attends St Mary’s Church for Worship at key religious festivals during the year.
Find out more about St Mary’s Church.
Deanery Schools
We work closely with our Deanery group of schools, and have a shared vision to support our work together:
An Effective Church School
The Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools (SIAMS) inspection focuses on the impact of the Church school's Christian vision on pupils and adults. The inspection examines how effective the school’s distinctive Christian vision, established and promoted by leadership at all levels, is in enabling pupils and adults to flourish.
Our latest SIAMS inspection took place on 20 October 2023.
This was a very successful visit with a very clear 'has met' judgement.
- Download the full St Mary's SIAMS inspection report.
