Dear Friends & Colleagues -

Last week I was listening to BBC Radio 4’s Thought for the Day (29 June 2026), which resonated deeply. Bishop Nick Baines reminded listeners that Christians will find God is among them, but not always as they might expect. Further, he said that if Christians are looking for ‘power on a war horse,’ it becomes easy to miss ‘the baby in a manger or the carpenter in a village’.

This made me reflect on Paula Gooder’s vision of the ‘Everyday God’, present not only in extraordinary moments but ever-present in the quiet rhythm of daily life. I was also reminded of the theology of Rev Jonathan Arnold, who encourages Christians to live lives of social justice through ordinary acts of care and compassion.

At this point in the school year, we rightly celebrate extraordinary moments—sports days, performances, leavers’ services. These are joyful and significant.

In our primary schools, the return of statutory data next week (and, for secondary colleagues, later in the summer) brings a mix of anticipation, pride, and perhaps some anxiety as outcomes are released. Yet it is in the ordinary days that the cultures of your Church schools are truly shaped: in the greeting at the classroom door, the encouragement when learning feels hard, the patience shown in moments of challenge, and the quiet inclusion of every child no matter what their background, culture or starting point.

Through daily worship, simple acts of kindness, and the steady living out of vision and values, you build communities rooted in dignity, hope, and love. These are not one-off achievements, but habits you have nurtured over time—often unseen, but deeply transformative.

There is much to celebrate. You have nurtured confidence, restored hope, built relationships, and shaped lives in ways that cannot always be measured. While it is right to acknowledge both the effort behind the data and the outcomes themselves, numbers should not define you, your staff, or the community you have built.

Your work is far richer than any set of results: in every child who feels known and valued, every act of forgiveness modelled, every opportunity created, every spark of curiosity ignited. These are the true markers of a thriving Church school.

So, as you head towards the final weeks of term, take pride in the ordinary, faithful work that has made a difference day by day. It is through small, consistent acts that children’s lives are changed, families are supported, and communities are shaped. It is in the ordinary and the extraordinary that God is quietly at work—and that work, entrusted to you, is good, faithful, and deeply worthwhile.

‘Beware you be not swallowed up in books: an ounce of love is worth a pound of knowledge.’ — John Wesley

from June Richardson, School Effectiveness Advisor