We are delighted to be part of the wider family of Church of England schools.  We thrive as an organisation by building strong partnerships. This starts with our links to the Salisbury Diocese and St Michael’s Church and, significantly, as part of the Initio Learning Trust.

Being a church school means that, at our very core, we look to reflect biblical principles in how we conduct ourselves and in what we want to achieve for our young people.

This mission is explored below in our wider Vision statement and in how we develop values throughout school.

At Verwood First School and Nursery, we take every opportunity to be the light and hope.

We draw inspiration from Matthew 5:16 whereby we recognise the inner glow from within that signifies our personal growth and positive change. We believe that God lights our path, even though we don't always know the destination. We hold onto the hope described in Hebrews 10:23, that God will never let us down.

Our core values support us in living out this mission.

Respectful relationships:

A simple outlook is to work hard, play hard and care deeply in all that we do. Meaningful connections within the school community are the bedrock of our daily mission. To achieve this, we must show tolerance and empathy to all, which supports respectful relationships. We have to reach beyond our school boundaries to find greater diversity in culture and belief.

Engagement:

To be engaged means many things at Verwood First School and Nursery. We want to engage in the world around us, notice things, and allow our spirit to flourish. In the classroom, we look for a strong commitment to the knowledge, skills and understanding we are taught. We work with the expectation (hope) that we will be the best versions of ourselves every day and in doing so we will help other people to achieve too!

Readiness:

To be ready is to be attuned to your immediate surroundings and aware of the next steps. We know how important it is to embrace new experiences and feelings.  At Verwood First School and Nursery, we pride ourselves on showing that we are ready to learn and take on new challenges with the expectation (hope) that we will be successful if we are fully prepared.

Our children’s reflections on our vision:

Light and Hope live in all of us. Your light is always in your shining heart, and it will stay there forever. 

Believe you can. Never give up.

It guides us through the hardest/darkest times.

Hope means getting the chance to try again.

If we have light and hope, anything is possible.

Be the Light that gives hope to those in need and help guide the way.

Light and hope are in all of us, and we need it to be our best selves. 

Your light will always be there, even when you don't think it is.

It means to be the light and hope for other people.

We are the hope and light of the world, and we all need it to grow happily.

I am the light, you are the hope. Together, we form life.