Christian Ethos
The Deanery School Christian Ethos
Our School Motto – ‘Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam’
Translated this simply means ‘To the Greater Glory of God’.
Vision
We believe that everything we do is a faithful response to God’s faithfulness, shown to us through Jesus Christ. Our vision is to reflect God’s Glory in every season of life, in all aspects, from the little things, to the big.
Beliefs and Values
We believe that God’s heart is for his children to thrive in a happy, secure, and caring environment at the Deanery. It is an essential part of our Christian ethos that we thank God for how he has demonstrated peace, love, faith, joy, grace and hope to us. We seek to reflect these core values throughout all areas of life in the school.
We believe that education, strengthened by our faith, is the vehicle with which children can achieve their full potential.
School Culture
At the Deanery we aim to provide opportunities and experiences for everyone to learn and develop their social, creative and academic skills within a motivating and stimulating environment.
We aim to:
• Foster an environment that is enriched spiritually, morally, ethically and socially through the Christian faith.
• Value each child as unique, regardless of faith, ability, gender or ethnicity.
• Nurture children to be polite, respectful and considerate towards one another.
Offer a range of opportunities and experiences to develop their confidence, self-esteem and independence.
• Encourage each child to fulfil their potential within all areas of the curriculum.
• Promote knowledge and understanding through a secure, stimulating and enriched environment.
• Create a broad educational experience that is enriched both morally and spiritually through partnership with staff, governors, parents, the local community, parishes of the Deanery and Birmingham Diocese.
• To enable each child to value themselves and have aspirations for the future.
• To recognise everyone’s place in the wider community.
Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam
‘To the Greater Glory of God’
The Deanery School Values
Below is a list of The Deanery School’s values and where they come from. The children are currently being taught what it means to embody these values, which have deep roots in scripture across the Old and New Testament.
Whilst learning about these values and where they come from, we are thinking about: How has God displayed these values to us? How can we faithfully respond by demonstrating these values to others?
We recognise that these stories in scripture are not the only places where God demonstrates our school values to us, but they are a good place to start.
Faith – Noah’s Ark – Genesis 6-8
Noah knew nothing about building boats when he built an ocean liner… but with God in our corner we can achieve things we never thought were possible.
Hope – Lost Sheep – Luke 15:1-7
Jesus is our shepherd, and he cares deeply about us. No matter how far we feel from Him, we always have hope because there is nothing that he wouldn’t do to bring us back home.
Joy – Mary Running from the Tomb – John 20:1-18
Some news is just too good not to share! When we learn something life changing, we can’t help but want to share it with those around us.
Love – The Good Samaritan – Luke 10:25-37
God loves all of us no matter who we are. He welcomes and cares for us all. Jesus said that your neighbour is the person you are least lightly to want to help. How can you serve and show love to people that you don’t get on with?
Grace – Prodigal Son – Luke 15:11-32
God never stops loving us, even when we make bad choices. He will always welcome us back home no matter what. How can we show this kind of forgiveness and compassion to others?
Peace – Calming the Storm – Mark 4:35-41
Even when the storms rage, we can still trust in Jesus. He calls us out to walk with him amongst the waves and calms every storm.
