To many of us this can be quite confusing, but a simple description has been kindly made by the Diocese of Ely using the analogy of a wheel............

The carefully crafted wheel is made of three distinct parts—each has an important part to play in the functioning of the whole and should one fail the wheel collapses!  At the centre of a wheel is the hub, the core which holds the whole together and on  which everything depends—the wheel cannot be built without it.

For a Christian this has to represent their belief in and relationship with God, and the teachings of the Bible which is the core of their being.  In a church school this could be encapsulated as the two Great Commandments—love of God and love of neighbour.

From the hub comes the spokes—these are what could be called Christian values.  The values are firmly rooted in Christian teaching, they are not free floating, and Christians will be able to link them with the teaching and example of Jesus or other pertinent Bible teaching.  Christians (and church schools) are called to be Christ-like and rooted in God, just as the spokes are “rooted” in the hub.

Finally comes the rim—the part of the wheel which meets the road or the world.  This is effectively what everyone sees of the Church or the school.  In the church school this could be policies, relationships etc.  It may be that in appearance these out-workings of the church school look strikingly similar to those of other schools, but if you follow back the route taken to reach these decisions you should be able to find they go back to Christian principles.