To borrow the wonderful words of The Rt. Revd. Rose Hudson-Wilkin, Bishop of Dover. “There is a Zulu word called ubuntu. It means “I am, because you are”. In other words, we are people together. We are interdependent. We do not exist by ourselves. No one really flourishes unless we flourish together. Black and white, young and old, rich and poor, with and without disability. We are all God’s children. We will flourish not on our own, but we will flourish when we are all together. And that’s a wonderful message to remember as we go forward, daily living our loves. I am, because you are. Together we will flourish.”

And that is what every day is, and should be about for us as a family of educators, together. Ubuntu.

Core Values

In all our schools, and across the system we strive (or should be striving) for an inclusive culture of equity and equality; a culture that recognises the right of every child to an exciting and fulfilling education that takes account of their individual needs, their personality and talents, their cultural background and the community in which they live. Our schools are there to provide a family in which everyone is valued; a community which supports and champions all to improved life-chances and individual success; and an outward-looking focus where we can bring our purpose, skills, experience and family together in service and advocacy to impact positively on the opportunities for each other; and for the communities we serve and meet with.

Our lived values alongside our collective purpose to provide education for all that improves life chances gives us the impetus to make change for the better, to become better informed and to make a difference now so that the lives of the children we serve, our children and their children are better and that they may all flourish. Through this I hope that we will come to know our pupils, and each other individually – to know, understand and respect one another, and to work together for the best of the people we serve – the children, their families and each other.

Another musical analogy [sorry!]

We strive to become better informed, building for the future, aspiration, inspiration, setting new horizons and stepping out TOGETHER in faith and focus. Flourishing Together. We can only do this because everyone brings something unique and special to our family and our work together.

You matter, every single child and their context matters. You are truly one of a kind, and being in a world full of billions of people, it can sometimes be easy to forget that we are unique, fearfully and wonderfully made – a soul complete with special talents and gifts – in a body that is ours and only ours – unique, and loved.

In our world today it is difficult not to look at others and to compare ourselves. We are always watching others, and often wish that things were different, or that we could keep things the same as they have always been.

But in a world so big and intricate, with only one you, we are all here for a reason, and that is to provide the best for the children and young people in our care; and to prepare for those to come into our care.

We seek to live out our values and our mission as educationalists as a shining light because, no matter the role, the size of the contribution – everyone has an impact on and plays a significant part in the opportunities and outcomes of all the children and young people in our school family.

Singing and music is a huge part of my life. I am fortunate to play in bands and in ensembles, and to sing in choirs and groups – and over the last few years I have been trying to improve upon my skills of home recording. The process is a bit complex… and I’m never satisfied with the results, but the process does demonstrate a parallel to the impact that each of us has in flourishing together.

There is an overall vision for the final piece, and each instrument has a key part in the realisation of the final vision. Not all instruments will play throughout the whole piece; some will play a vital supporting role; whilst others take a lead. Each undertakes its role with the vision of being part of the whole. Individually they are ok on their own, but make little sense or impact in relation to the wider vision of the piece.

But each is an important part of the whole, and without it the final ensemble song just won’t sound as intended.

We all play a huge role in the work that we do in bringing the best possible chances to the children and young people in our care. The role that each of us plays is essential, and part of a much bigger picture. Like the separate instruments in a recording – our role is not to do absolutely everything. On our own we can do really well, but we each must play our part – focused on the strength and the uniqueness that that we each bring… The part that we each play is essential to the whole; but together we are stronger, have greater capacity, complete the picture, and become the change we want to see.

Our role is to flourish together as an integral part of the whole.

This final video, I hope, shows the analogy fully – we flourish together, but are celebratory of the part that each person plays, the uniqueness each person brings, and the light that each person shines.

This song is a contemporary Christian song by a band called ‘Jars of Clay’ and is called ‘No-one loves me like you’. We are all loved by God as unique – there is no-one like us, and no-one who loves us more.