Every morning students will start their day in their form groups and will join together in prayer. This prayer in linked to the particular strand within the Curriculum for life offer that builds and develops students wider and spiritual education. Towards the end of this morning session students and staff will take part in a reflection that links to the gospel theme of the week.
Students also have the opportunity, once a week, to gather as a community and take part in our year group collective worship. This is led by the Chaplaincy Team, along with pastoral leads and senior leaders. Students enter to worship music and are taken on a journey to explore, reflect and respond to key themes and events within the liturgical calendar. This is also an opportunity to celebrate those students who have demonstrated our core Christian values of respect, ambition, resilience, and compassion.
As an Academy our vision is to ensure all student flourish and thrive, we achieve this by celebrating what makes us unique and we work together for the good of all in the light of Jesus Christ.
We are committed to the development of confident, independent and responsible students who are emotionally and spiritually strong, welcoming and tolerant of all cultures and communities and committed to the stewardship of the environment.
Our Academy Values are unpinned in gospel truths and our goal is to ensure that all staff and students demonstrate these values daily. This ensures that the Academy of St Nicholas is a welcoming, calm and purposeful Academy where everyone feels valued, supported and challenged. Our Academy is a place where students’ desire for learning and achievement is met by the passionate commitment of all the staff to the Academy of St Nicholas.
Through the provision of engaging, creative and imaginative curriculum we see our students grow in self-esteem and learn to become articulate, mature and independent learners who appreciate the needs of others and understand the value of teamwork and partnership. They also develop a love of learning that will last a lifetime.
Matthew 7:12 “Do to others what you want them to do to you.” This scripture encapsulates our core value of Respect at the Academy of St Nicholas.
Psalm 86:15 “You, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.” It is through Gods compassion that we can be compassionate and as a core value we encourage it throughout our daily life at the Academy of St Nicholas.
Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ, who gives me strength.” Resilience is at the heart of what we do, building for a greater future through this core gospel value.
Mark 10:27 “With Man this is impossible, but not with God; all this are possible with God.” We want students to be ambitious in life and know that they can achieve their dreams.
Chaplaincy
‘Chaplaincy’ covers a wide range of things that we do at the Academy, from daily Collective Worship to charity and community work, to pastoral care. Chaplaincy is for everyone, of all faiths and none, of any background, culture, age or ability. Chaplaincy seeks to help students understand more about themselves, about others, about the world around them and about God. It encourages questioning, deep thinking and self-reflection. All students engage with Chaplaincy when we gather to learn and reflect each morning, but some students may also engage further through 1-1 support, group work and social action opportunities.
Charities
Each half term we support a particular charity, and we try to ensure that these include local, international, Christian and secular charities such as Nugent Care, Alder Hey and the Trussell Trust (Foodbank). There may be other one-off appeals throughout the year for a particular crisis or event within our community. Students are always keen to be involved in being agents of change and planning our charity events and we are amazed at the generosity of our community to give to others in need. It’s been great to have representatives from some of these charities come to school and talk about their work, and students have also been able to visit certain charities, such as the local Foodbank, to see first-hand the impact of their generosity. Our 6th form student leadership team and faith union have been involved in being courageous advocates for charities and causes, raising awareness and donations throughout the year.
Community
Our local community is really important to us at the Academy of St Nicholas. We have close links with many of the local primary schools and they are welcomed into the Academy for events, such as our Christmas experience that saw over 600 primary students take part in an immersive journey through the Christmas story. Our student leadership team invited elderly residents into the Academy and treated them to a Christmas celebration party which included food and entertainment. As a school we try to help those in need in our community through food parcels, Christmas hampers and signposting to further support. We have fantastic links with local churches of various denominations including All Saints, St Aidan’s and St Ambrose in Speke, St Michael’s and Long Lane in Garston and Freedom Church in Childwall. Members of these churches, and others, form a 30-strong Chaplaincy Team who support the school through volunteering, prayer and crisis funding.
Chaplaincy Team
Our Chaplaincy is led by Chaplain Sarah-Joy Gillard and the team is made up of staff members who are keen to be involved in collective worship, as well as our local faith community. The team consists of a mix of Anglican and Catholic members, as well as other Christian denomination represented. We also have a Chaplaincy Action Team that is a group of students that are keen to get involved with leading collective worship, raising awareness for our charity focus, as well as demonstrating our Christian values to be role models to other students. There are a range of lunchtime groups that meet in the chapel and offer support to other students. We have a passionate group of 6th form students that meet with one of our local church leaders each week in the faith union. They are advocates for change and actively get involved in our charity focus of the school term.