‘Within the love of God, working together, growing together for all to flourish.’

Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” In other words, Jesus wanted us all to ‘flourish’. (John 10:10)

St Michael’s is a Church of England School and is proud to have been caring for and educating the children of Kingsteignton for over one hundred and sixty years. We endeavour to provide the highest quality of primary education within the context of a caring and supportive Christian ethos and our six Christian values of Friendship, Perseverance, Justice, Compassion, Courage and love are at the heart of all that we do. Children have a good understanding of how these link to Christianity through our well-planned collective worship programme, school vision and ethos, behaviour policy and curriculum opportunities.

The strong Christian ethos in our school is reflected in our Religious Education (RE) curriculum. During their RE lessons, children are encouraged to explore and ask big questions about life, to find out what people believe and what difference this makes to how they live their life. RE helps pupils to make sense of religion and beliefs, reflecting on their own ideas and ways of living. Exposure to other cultures and beliefs increases their cultural currency in a diverse world and helps them to better understand their place within it. Children are encouraged to consider their own spirituality and to have an opportunity to marvel and find awe in the world around them. From the earliest age, we teach children how to voice and develop opinions in a respectful way.

Collectively, we aim to:

• Foster a love and enjoyment of learning.
• Create a happy, spiritual and purposeful environment in which children can develop socially, physically, creatively and intellectually.
• Encourage children to respect and care for themselves, each other and the environment.
• Help children recognise their own self-worth and know that their views and opinions are valued. That each of them is special and unique.
• Stimulate children’s natural curiosity and love for the world around them, helping develop their ability to question and search for answers.
• Value and encourage the active partnership between school, home and the wider community.
• We recognise that in our schools we have children from a variety of faith backgrounds and that many children have no religious background at all.
• Great care is taken in our collective worship to ensure that all children feel valued and special and that their integrity as human beings is consistently upheld.