Christian Ethos
Harvest Festival
We were delighted to invite parents to join our Harvest Celebrations held in the School Hall. Rev Nicola Lenthall led the Service with Oak sharing their Harvest poems and Hornbeam sharing information about The Bishop of St Albans' Harvest Appeal, 'Water is Life,' Donations were gratefully received to support The Bishop of St Albans' Harvest Appeal. Families donated food which has supportted the local foodback in Dunstable. Children enjoyed taking their parents on an eco walk into the Forest School and Pencil Garden searching for nature to bring back to the Harvest Table
Whipsnade Tree Cathedral Service September, 2021
The children in Hornbeam class planted autumnal-coloured plants to grow in our school cross. The cross, originally introduced during lockdown, invited children and families to lay pebbles to say thanks and think of people during lockdown. The pebbles will now be placed on the Thank You board outside the main entrance.
The cross will be a seasonal focal point for reflection and to give thanks.
The School Remembrance Service was held by our School Cross. Poems and prayers were shared as well as honouring soldiers from Kensworth, laying a
wreath and sprigs of rosemary by the cross.
Faith at Home- The Church of England
Faith at Home is a national campaign that builds on the work of the Church of England’s Growing Faith vision and Everyday Faith campaign to support the faith development and pastoral care of children and young people. You will find there a variety of resources, activities, experiences and networking opportunities, and new content will be published each week - so do keep watching for the updates! The Schools Team will also be keeping you regularly informed.
Our Christian Vision
We carry God’s love in our hearts as we aspire to greatness, achieve our goals and stretch our limitless imaginations. Our Christian values empower us to love learning; are the foundations that shape our school community and create future citizens. Feeling happy, safe and confident, together we will progress. 'For nothing will be impossible with God.' Luke 1:37
Guided by our motto:
With God by our side, we can move mountains
chosen by our children June 2019
Our school vision and Christian values underpin all that we do at Kensworth. All members of the school community played an active part in the rewriting of the Kensworth's school vision. Reverend Nicola, staff, children and parents considered the aims and context of Kensworth, guided by the school's ongoing journey the four gospels formed the basis for this development. The vision has played a key role in the development of our curriculum review. Our newly created vision identifies the following aspects that form some of the key elements of our new curriculum:
A values-based Christian ethos
- The idea of a learning journey that uses the creation story to demonstrate how we develop the whole child over time.
- The idea that everyone achieves their full potential (pupils and adults)
- An inclusive environment that promotes development for all
- Nurturing and Growth are identified within our vision, building on the idea of learning over time
At Kensworth Church of England Academy wants our children to ASPIRE through the curriculum and encourage and enable them to be:
Aspirational – in their outlook, aiming to be the best they can be, achieving their goals for the future
Successful – in achieving/celebrating individual, step-by-step challenges in all areas of learning
Prepared for life – through their personal development of Christian values, equipping them for life in our multi-cultural society; through being confident and skilled in using and applying their learning in our ever-changing, technologically advancing world
Independent – learners who are self-motivated and take responsibility for their learning; confident in managing themselves, their feelings and their belongings
Resilient– recognising and embracing the positive opportunities for personal growth and learning offered by facing challenges
Empowered – by encouragement, growing confidence and self-awareness of their own strengths, to be effective learners, responsible and considerate members of the local and wider community, prepared and open to face future challenges and opportunities.
We aim for our children to leave Kensworth with these values, attitudes and learning characteristics.
Church School
Kensworth Church of England Academy is a small village school located in Central Bedfordshire, on the outskirts of Dunstable. Kensworth is part of the St Alban’s Diocesan Multi-Academy Trust, DSAMAT. The involvement of the Church commenced in 1853 with the installation of the original building which is still in use today.
The school has a duty to uphold its Trust Deed which encourages the school to maintain a distinctive ethos. The school enjoys a very special relationship with St Mary the Virgin Church, Kensworth. The Year 6 Leavers’ Service takes place at the Church, along with other services throughout the year that the whole school community are invited to attend. Reverend Nicola Lenthall visits the school on a regular basis and leads a monthly Collective Worship.
Kensworth has an active association with the Diocesan Board of Education. The Diocese and Multi-Academy Trust provide guidelines, information, resources, support and training relating to Church school concerning Christian character, RE and Collective Worship.
Collective Worship
Collective Worship at Kensworth is a highly valued time of the school day, where the whole school community gather together in a time that is honouring and worthy to God. During Collective Worship, our values provide opportunities for discussion about diversity, spiritual growth and development in our children and adults, demonstrated through the teachings of Jesus, stories from a range of cultures and backgrounds. The school uses the Christian Values of the ‘Roots and Fruits’ materials to add depth to the values teaching.
Each half term the theme of our Collective Worship is based on our value as well as the suggested themes set by the Diocese of St Albans. In addition, we link the festivals and seasons of the church calendar, to national celebrations and special days and enrich our whole school ethos.
The Christian character of our school positively contributes to the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of our children by providing opportunities for them to learn about other people’s faiths, feelings and values during Collective Worship, including those planned by pupils, reflection times, RE lessons and extra-curricular activities.
We extend a warm welcome to Reverend Nicola to lead collective worship on a regular basis. We also warmly welcome parents, carers and other family members to join us in our Special Services held at Mary the Virgin Church, Kensworth, school and the Methodist Chapel.
During our residential trip to Christian Youth Enterprise, CYE, Chidham, the children enjoyed Collective Worship on the boat and a night visit to the beach for a time of reflection.
What's happening at Kensworth...
