Dr Walker’s Church of England Primary School is a small village Voluntary Controlled community school, in the heart of Fyfield, Ongar. Due to the size of the school, year groups are hosted in mixed year group classes, which change annually. Being affiliated with the Church of England, we preserve and develop its Christian ethos, principles and character. Working in partnership with the local church (St Nicholas) and the Diocese of Chelmsford we develop pupils’ wisdom, knowledge, skills, and understanding. However, we welcome and respect pupils and staff of all faiths and none.
Our school aims to be An Exceptional Place to Flourish, where we work together with the pupils to help them grow, progress, achieve and develop to become well-balanced British and global citizens; aspiring to live a life in all its fullness and to succeed.
Our vision and ethos are based on believing in individual potential and trust in God. This is reflected in the Biblical text of Job 8:7 – Though your beginning was small, your future will flourish indeed.
We believe that every school day counts and that every child is valued, nurtured and cared for. We seek excellence by ensuring a safe, dignified, and respectful learning environment, where diversity, differences, talents, and interests are celebrated.
Our pursuit of excellence embraces our associated Christian Values aligned with the fundamental British Values, namely:
- Standing with COURAGE for what is right.
- Using CREATIVITY in problem-solving and making life beautiful.
- Treating every person and everything with RESPECT.
- Having COMPASSION for others.
- Completing every task with PERSEVERANCE.
- Taking RESPONSIBILITY for ourselves.
- Living with HOPE for a better future.
We offer an engaging, broad and balanced, two-year rolling curriculum to enable the delivery of the full National Curriculum to our mixed year group classes. We aim to provide opportunities to develop creativity, sports, healthy lifestyles, and Spiritual, Moral, Social, and Cultural development, broadening pupils’ horizons and supporting them to take risks and learn from their mistakes.
To achieve success, we encourage and support pupils to develop:
- Belief in self and the development of confidence, respect, and trust for others and an appreciation of spirituality and an understanding of faith in God;
- Engagement in a love for learning by nurturing curiosity and independence; and
- Excellence in reaching personal goals by demonstrating resilience and positive behaviour.
Where possible and appropriate, we provide additional clubs and use resources to support pupils and extend the curriculum outside of the classroom, such as initiatives, educational visits, and residentials, to further enhance learning.
Being part of a small school has many benefits, but also presents its own unique challenges. We encourage everyone in our school community to work well together and contribute positively to school life, in support of collective responsibility, mutual accountability, and emphasising the importance of dignity, respect, honesty, kindness, courtesy and consideration.