Trent Young'sCE School

Ethos

Education at Trent Young's CE School takes place within a Christian atmosphere and environment where we put God’s love into action. We provide a caring and supportive learning environment, underpinned with challenge and high expectations, which nurtures each child as they achieve their full and unique potential. We are aware that each child has different interests, strengths and needs which will influence the way in which they learn. 

Flourishing from the actions and teachings of Jesus, our vision guides us in all that we hope to be, enabling every part of our community to grow and develop. This, along with our Christian Values are at the core of everything we do. They underpin our teaching and learning, and provide an environment which prepares our pupils as confident, happy citizens. 

Our Vision

Let your light shine Matthew 5:14-16

Our vision for each member of our community stems from Matthew 5:14-16

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

Being the best we can be, for ourselves and others

At Trent Young’s CE School, we believe that every child and adult can shine and that this can be for the benefit of all. We recognise that we are all special in God’s eyes and have unique talents, which we nurture so that each of us has the opportunity to become the very best person that God intended us to be. We want to see everyone being inspired and growing in wisdom, knowledge and dignity. We want to see children flourishing and excelling in everything that they do through providing rich experiences which give everyone the opportunity to achieve more than they ever thought possible.  We do not want the brilliant things that we do and learn to be hidden. We want to encourage our children to aspire to great things and for the light of their lives to shine and make a difference in their classrooms, throughout the school and when they return home and into their community. As we all demonstrate our Christian values of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control,  in a supportive atmosphere of mutual respect and trust, our hope is that light will shine from Trent Young’s in many ways, every day - for the benefit of all and for the glory of God.

Valuing ourselves

We also believe that developing a sense of self-worth is of paramount importance. When he was on earth, Jesus once said: ‘I am the light of the world’ (John 8:12). However, as he spoke to those around him during the Sermon on the Mount, he also used these words: ‘You are the light of the world’. In addition to letting their light shine on others, we want our children to recognise the value of their own light: to be proud of their personal achievements; to value and respect themselves; and to know how loved they are both by God and by others. We aim to develop a Growth Mindset so that the members of our school are able to face the future with hope and aspiration and embrace all that life has to offer.

The words of the Sermon on the Mount remind us that a light should not be put under a bowl – it should give light to everyone, including oneself. In possession of God’s light and His love, it is possible for us all to show something of his light in our families, in our school, in our community and throughout the world.

​​Christian Values

Our school values are taken from Galatians 5:22-23:

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”

Daniel England, pastor from the local charity Vine Youth Ministry, helped us remember these values with his own visual interpretation of the fruits of the spirit. In 2014, our Ethos Group chose to adopt these because in the words of our pupils, “They are easy to remember.”

 We reviewed our values with our vision during the Summer Term 2018, and overwhelmingly chose to keep them, as not only are they key to living out our vision, but an integral part of life at Trent Young’s.

There are so many things that make our school a very special place, not least of which are our wonderful children, parents and staff who all work closely together to create a very supportive community. Below is just a small taste of school life. If you would like to visit us to find out more, please contact the office for an appointment. 

​Inspectors think our school is a wonderful place and so do we!

"Pupils are happy at school. Staff have created a nurturing, calm school. Pupils enjoy coming to school and behave well in lessons. In lessons, pupils are keen to discuss their learning and talk enthusiastically about the school's curriculum... Lessons are focused and purposeful."

Ofsted December 2019

We are a Forest School​. The philosophy of Forest Schools is to encourage and inspire children of all ages through positive outdoor experiences.

By participating in engaging, motivating and achievable tasks and activities in a woodland environment, each child has an opportunity to develop intrinsic motivation, sound emotional and social skills. These, through self awareness, can be developed to reach personal potential.

Whole school walks take place every term with the support of the Gore Farm Educational Trust

Walking Club featured in Radio 4's "Ramblings."

Music Is An Important Part Of School Life

We have a number of opportunities to learn about music and play instruments at Trent. All children in Year 4 learn to play an instrument and all children have opportunities throughout the year to perform in large venues to wider audiences, for example in Salisbury Cathedral and in the Merriott Theatre at Sherborne Girls' School. 

There are also opportunities to learn other instruments taught by specialist teachers: drums; piano; guitar; and violin.

A Close Partnership Between School and Parents

Friends of Trent School 

Our active PTA known as the Friends of Trent School is a major fundraising source for the school. Please have a look at the Friends of Trent School  page for further details and news! 

Support for Armed Forces Families 

We have a dedicated member of staff responsible for liaison with service families - Mrs Alyson Bevan - who ensures new families are welcomed and children are supported.  The school has a number of systems in place to support families where service personnel have been deployed including; a support booklet for all service parents,  pastoral support time for pupils (and parents if required), a dedicated email address for children to use to send scanned work and messages to absent parents and a growing library of reading material for parents and children specifically written for service families.

The school’s Christian values permeate the life of the school, have a significant effect on children’s achievement, personal development and on their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

There are areas for reflection in each classroom and children say that this “gives me time to think” and “gives time to realise how you feel”.  Our gardening club is currently creating a remembrance garden in the school grounds so that bereaved children and members of staff will have somewhere quiet to go to process their grief. 

Collective worship is distinctively Christian and is a key part of the school day.  Children value prayer and sometimes write their own prayers in response to a theme or sometimes pray aloud spontaneously in response to worship. Children’s spiritual development and their understanding of Christianity is enhanced by the variety of collective worship leaders including staff, the local vicar and Daniel England from the Vine Youth Ministry.  Celebration Assembly is held on Friday afternoons. 

Children’s understanding of Christianity is enhanced by links with the Village Church, St Andrew's. Services are also held at St Andrews and Reverend David has recently taught a series of lessons to about Communion to Year 5 and Year 6 children and prepared them for Communion.