Welcome
Welcome to St Oswald's Church of England Academy.
A welcome message from Mrs Patton – Executive Headteacher
I am delighted to welcome you to our school. There is something very special about St Oswald's and we are incredibly proud of our unique children, supportive parents, inspirational staff and forward thinking governors, where we all work together to make St Oswald's a safe, happy and fun place to learn.
At St Oswald's we have learning and high standards at the heart of all we do. We encourage all our children to achieve the best they can across every area of school, from the rich and broad curriculum to the wide range of extra-curricular activities.
Our aim is for our children to be confident, caring, resilient, inquisitive young adults with a desire to learn and achieve the best they can, in all they do.
Our children are wonderful ambassadors, so if you would like to know more about our school family then please contact the school and our children and I would be delighted to show you around and introduce you to everyone who makes St Oswald's such a special and incredible place.
We hope that you enjoy your visit to our website, and that you find the information you are looking for. Please feel free to contact the school direct with any queries you may have.
A message from Mrs Furniss - Head of School
I am so pleased to welcome you to our website that showcases our wonderful school! It is a privilege to work with the fabulous children and staff team that make St Oswald's such a special place to attend - we consider ourselves to be like an extended family and this is apparent if you ever spend time within our building. We have close connections with Holy Trinity and St Oswald's Church in Finningley village, which dates back to Norman times, and we visit there as often as we can, welcoming Reverend Neil and Reverend Carol to worship with us each Wednesday.
We are proud to be an Eco School, caring for our environment and promoting a desire to protect our world for the future - demonstrated by our adoption of a sloth in Costa Rica called Pringle, who you can find out all about in our reception area, where we proudly display our Gold Mark for Geography awarded by the Geographical Association.
Our commitment to developing our children as future global citizens is also reflected in the work we carry out to promote diversity, and we were awarded the Rainbow Flag Award last year in recognition of this commitment. The development of tolerance and respect for people's individual liberty is close to out hearts and reflected in everything that we do and our children display kindness and respect to each other at the highest levels.
We value our place in the beautiful village of Finningley and we enjoy making connections with the local community - including the resident peacocks who sometimes find themselves wandering our extensive outdoor area and forest school!
I hope you enjoy finding out more about St Oswald's on the website, but if you have any questions, or would like any further information, please do not hesitate to contact us and we will do our very best to help!
Mrs Furniss
Ethos Statement
OUR SCHOOL VISION
Church-School-Community
We are a Church of England primary school with big aspirations; nurturing caring and curious individuals who respect and value our world and each other. The heartbeat of our school is rooted in our Christian Values enabling all to flourish.
We look towards the parable of the Good Samaritan as our guide. We aspire for our school to be a place where all children are valued, where they feel safe, are happy and learn well. We want our school to have a warm, friendly atmosphere, which supports families, builds relationships and sets children up for a life of learning. We want our Christian values to guide our pupils along the right path and help them to achieve fulfilling and happy lives.
‘Love your neighbour as yourself’ - Parable of the Good Samaritan Luke 10:25-37
Once upon a time, a Jewish man was travelling along a road carrying his goods with him, when suddenly some thieves attacked him. They beat him and stole all of his belongings. That Jew was badly wounded. He was so injured that he could not even get up.
After some time a Jewish priest passed by him. He was a religious man who worshipped God. That priest should have helped the wounded Jew lying there. But he left him there. After this, the priest’s assistant passed from there, who was a Jew. He also did not help the injured person.
If we were there, we would have been sad to see that injured person and would have tried to help him in any way.
Then a Samaritan came along. The Samaritans and Jews considered each other enemies. But still, that good Samaritan supported the wounded Jew.
First of all, he bandaged the injured man’s wound and then took him on his donkey to a place where he could be safe. The Samaritan then arranged for the man to be taken care of and also paid for his treatment.
After the story was over, Jesus asked the person, “So now tell me who is your neighbour?”
Now in compulsion, the person had to take the name of Samaritan whom he considered his enemy.
“All the Samaritans and every person who is wounded, who is in sorrow, they are all our neighbours.” The man said to Jesus.
Now that person had understood what he had to do.
Our Vision
Our school vision reminds us that leading by example and demonstrating those values we hold close is powerful and engenders a sense of community and advocacy for all. Our vision is big and firmly sets the emotional, social, spiritual and academic growth of our pupils at the heart of everything that we do.
As we journey together. we learn to live as good neighbours, demonstrating love, compassion, tolerance, dignity and respect to all in our communities.
Through this we aspire to become global citizens, courageous advocates and people of wisdom and integrity.
Our school songs: I am the Earth (Glyn Lehmenn)/ Shine (Nick Jackson)
In our school community we believe in being Samaritans, not only for each other but for our world and our environment. In 2023 we successfully achieved both the Rainbow Flag Award and Eco Schools (with distinction) Awards, which demonstrate our commitment to promoting caring, tolerance and respect for both others and the world itself. We have chosen this song as it represents our role in being Samaritans for the world.
Our school prayer:
The Lord's Prayer (traditional version)
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done;
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.
Our Values
Our values which are firmly aligned with our Christian ethos and rooted by biblical foundations. This means that we live, learn and teach by a set of values that will ensure our pupils develop the skills to be good citizens in the future. Our curriculum is underpinned by these values and these values are woven into our teaching and learning on a daily basis helping our pupils to develop improved social and emotional skills that will positively affect behaviour.
Our Christian Values are:
Generosity Thankfulness
Compassion Trust
Courage Perseverance
Forgiveness Justice
Friendship Service
Respect Truthfulness
We revisit these during our daily acts of worship, on a two year rolling programme, which is supported by our local church through Rev Neil Redeyoff and Rev Carol Lee.
We aim to preserve and develop our religious character in partnership with Holy Trinity & St Oswald’s Church and the Diocese.
