Through AYJS PRIDE, we nurture each individual to flourish, achieve and live out Christian values.
We are very proud of our Church School status which is central to the ethos of the school and permeates all aspects of its life. We believe that Jesus Christ is at the heart of all that we do and we endeavour to deliver his message to all the children who attend AYJS.
We believe that it is important to provide the children at AYJS with a variety of Worship Styles, enabling them to see and understand that there is no one fixed approach and that worshipping God can take on many forms. It can be still and silent or loud and noisy with lots of action! The crucial thing is that the children find it memorable and know that it is a time when they can come closer to God.
We reach out into our community and receive worship support from the following people and groups:
SIAMS Report
All Church of England dioceses and the Methodist Church use the Church of England Education Office's framework for the Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools (SIAMS) under Section 48 of the Education Act 2005. The SIAMS Evaluation Schedule sets out the expectations for the conduct of the Statutory Inspection of Anglican, Methodist and ecumenical Schools under Section 48 of the Education Act 2005. AYJS was rated 'Outstanding' at our last SIAMS inspection in November 2016.
Policies
All our policies can be seen here.
Religious Education Curriculum
Religious Education assumes an important role in our school curriculum and is a fundamental feature of school life generally. The Religious Education curriculum aims to develop the child’s awareness of religion and the religious beliefs and practices, which influence the lives of so many people. Religious Education is part of the core curriculum, and contributes to the overall aims of education to promote the spiritual, moral and cultural development of pupils at the school and to prepare them for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of adult life.
It is taught in accordance with the requirements of the City of York Agreed Syllabus (SACRE 2021-2026). Parents retain the right to withdraw their children on religious grounds from this subject. Please also see RE Curriculum Links.
Collective Worship
In the daily acts of Collective Worship we aim to:
encourage children to appreciate and live out our Christian values of generosity, love through compassion, friendship, perseverance, respect and reverence and courage (AYJS Christian values 2022-2023)
have regard for the beliefs and practices of the Church of England
acknowledge and build a special relationship between the school and the parish church
The spiritual, social, cultural, and moral welfare of our pupils, whatever their background, is of prime concern to us at school. However, Christian values are built into our ethos and teaching, and are reflected in the cycle of themes on which our daily acts of worship are based.
Collective Worship is organised on a whole school basis, and is led by staff, clergy, visitors and the pupils themselves. One of the ways our school expresses its Christian character is by having services in our local church each term.
Parents do have the right to withdraw their children on religious grounds from acts of Collective Worship, but we believe that pupils so excluded would miss an important part of school life. If any parents wish to exercise their right, they are asked to discuss this matter with the Headteacher, and alternative arrangements will be made.
Assembly Worship Plan
Worship Team
The Worship Team is a group of pupils taken from all the year groups who share our Christian Values. They meet regularly to consider worship themes and plan whole school worship. They often lead worship. Their role is to focus on our Christian ethos within our school, our community and the wider world.
JAM Club (Jesus and Me Club)
We run a weekly JAM club. We welcome all children to come and explore their christian faith, learn about Bible heroes and stories, play games, do crafts and quizzes, make music, pray together and have fun!