Headteacher's Welcome
St. Stephen's is a happy and vibrant school and where our shared values unite all members of our community. Our rich diversity of language and culture provides pupils with a true experience of modern Britain. Children form friendships with peers of a different culture or faith background to their own and they learn that difference can be celebrated and our shared humanity and values unite us. It is often noted by visitors just how calm, warm and friendly our school environment feels. We believe that our values have the power to transform our community and our aspirational curriculum will give children the confidence to succeed in life. Our values link to British values and these are built into our curriculum so that pupils gain a sense of belonging to a wider community than that which is local.
"Aspire to Greatness" is our motto and the word "Aspire" is an acrostic which outlines the key aims for our pupils and staff. We want all of our school community to feel that it is possible to be better than they ever thought they could be and to believe that they can make a real difference within our community.
"For we are the handiwork of God, born in Christ Jesus to do good works that God has pre-planned for us to do"
Ephesians 2:10
Mother Theresa once said, "be kind and merciful, let no-one leave you without feeling happier".
Archbishop Desmond Tutu said, " Do your little bit of good where you are. It is those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world”
Jesus said, "Let your light shine so that others may see your good works". Matthew 5:14-15
The word Aspire has been selected by our school community and stands for:
Achieving Highly - we all need to try to do our best.
Succeeding with self belief - a sure key to success is growing in confidence and courage.
Perseverance - the attribute which accepts failure but determines to learn from it and to try again.
Including everyone equally and celebrating difference - we all need to feel we belong and have a voice.
Respecting oneself, others and property - we are taught by Jesus to "love one another" and to care for the world around us.
Enjoying learning - we want pupils to feel a sense of joy as they learn, developing spirituality and connection to God's world.
We aim to teach a rich and vibrant curriculum by prioritising questioning, developing vocabulary and language skills and allowing children to retrieve information so that they can reason for themselves. Staff and governors are committed to doing their best and to enriching the lives of those who are educated and who work at the school.
We look forward to meeting you soon. In the meantime, we hope you enjoy browsing through the pages on this website.
John Coxhead
Headteacher