The purpose of a Church School is to offer a spiritual dimension to the lives of young people, within the traditions of the Church of England, in an increasingly secular world.
It is a place where the Kingdom of God can be seen outworking in practical reality. A place where there is welcome and hospitality, encouragement and comfort, trust and understanding, a place where good things happen and everyone enjoys being there; healing and wholeness are present and there is a sense of peace. It is a place that feels alive and can do good for the community.
You will see therefore that the encouragement of a supportive family and local community are an important part of our faith in action. It’s important because we all want children to grow up in a caring environment both at school and at home. We therefore do a lot of work with parents to help them support their child’s education and our family learning programmes are ‘top notch’.
An important point to note is that the school is set up to serve the community; those pupils that live locally, welcoming children of all faiths and of no faith. No priority is given to children from Church of England families, or to children from the wider Christian community. We also admit children of all abilities and as part of our belief in serving our community we are delighted that the Local Authority commissions 10 additional places in our Alternative Language Provision for children from across Sunderland who need specialist language support.
We are closely linked with the Church of England, our local parish and St. Cuthbert’s Church nearby on the estate. Children attend services and events there from time to time. More information about Religious Education and parents rights are to be found in our RE curriculum policy or in the teaching and learning part of our website.
Ethos Statement of the Church of England for all its schools
Recognising it’s historic foundation, the school will preserve and develop it’s religious character in accordance with the principles of the Church of England and in partnership with the Church at parish and diocesan levels.
Northern Saints Church of England (VA) Primary School aims to serve it’s community by providing an education of the highest quality within the context of Christian belief and practice. It encourages an understanding of the meaning and significance of faith, and promotes Christian values through the experience it offers to all its pupils.