“Belonging, Serving, Succeeding”
Vision for Banks St. Stephen’s Church of England Primary School
“We actively promote a sense of pride in belonging to this community. Leading by example, we seek opportunities to serve God by serving others. We are ambitious for each individual and determined to enable every member of the school community to flourish and succeed.”
“I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.” Philippians Ch4 v13
"Belonging"
Firmly grounded in the community of Banks and the surrounding area; knowledgeable and proud of local history and our heritage. Also encouraging each child’s sense of belonging; for example, to their own family’s religion and ethnicity and also belonging to the Church Community of St Stephen’s in the Banks.
"Serving"
Serving others. Serving the community. Being thankful and appreciative for the service of others to the school and encouraging children to make a positive contribution.
"Succeeding"
Committed to high standards and determined to ensure children have every opportunity to succeed. Being ambitious for every child and giving them the chance to shine. Enabling every member of the school community, both children and adults, to flourish.
We teach the children by example to serve God by serving others. The late Queen was a superb example of serving others as a result of her Christian faith. We find that the more we do and the more we give, the more we get back. The families, individuals and local businesses of Banks and the surrounding villages are incredibly generous. For example, we are a designated charity for Banks COOP customers Community Fund, who have raised more than £1500 for our brass band!
At the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month Year 6 holds a ceremony of Remembrance for the fallen soldiers of Banks Village at the War Memorial at St Stephen's Church. The children learn about WW2 and its impact on the local community. We are grateful to Rev'd Rebecca for leading the ceremony, to Mr Tom Cropper our Chair of Governors who organises the wreath and to Mr Bill Abram of Banks Brass Band who plays the Last Post. The ceremony is extremely moving and each year we have more and more members of the community coming to join in the ceremony. Our band also plays.
Every Monday is Generation Club (starting again Spring 2023) when Miss Squibb and Miss Sykes take a group of children to visit the residents of the local care home. During the pandemic we missed Generation Club very much. We sent a picture with the children's thumb prints on it to the care home, to let the residents know that we are still thinking about them. We also sent letters and received some wonderful replies, which are on display outside Mrs Owen's office.
We look forward to Carol Singing at the care home in December!