St Mary's C of E (VA) Primary School

Statement of our Vision, Values and Ethos

We want to share the school's vision and values with you, please read the information below:

The school’s Vision and Values

St Mary's Church of England Primary School is a Voluntary Aided Primary School within the Diocese of Chelmsford. Our wider vision as a school is ‘We nurture our pupils to be the best they can be in every way, in an inclusive and supportive environment, rooted in Christian teachings' with the motto 'Let your light shine… as you grow', (inspired by Matthew 5: 15-16) embedded into everything we do; we live this ethos within the school each and every day.

Our wonderful children are accepting of others and are encouraged to follow our six core values of perseverance, truthfulness, friendship, respect, trust and compassion and time is spent exploring what is distinctly Christian about these particular values. In addition, many other values are explicitly taught throughout the school day such as, forgiveness, courage, gratitude and good manners.

Our Ethos

St Mary’s is an inclusive, supportive and friendly school

• We encourage our children to be the best that they can be within an inclusive, Christian learning environment and to achieve high standards within the context of a rich and varied curriculum

• We value the contribution that every individual makes to the school

• We provide a firm foundation that will equip children for the opportunities and challenges of the modern world

Our Curriculum Objectives:

• To educate children to the highest possible standards, by providing a curriculum which fosters their imaginative and creative potential

• To help children to have a positive self image which enables them to make good choices, to communicate confidently and show consideration for others at all times

• To encourage growth mindset which is guided by the idea that we can impact the development of our children’s abilities. When we exhibit this mindset, we allow our children to understand that they can learn through hard work

• To stimulate children’s desire for learning both as individuals and as part of a team

• To encourage initiative and independent thought, enabling children to engage positively in investigative work and collaborative activities

• To encourage all individuals to celebrate their own and other cultures

• To enable all children to have access to the opportunities provided by the school

• To encourage personal and professional development for all staff whilst maintaining a work-life balance

We encourage our children to make good choices, to communicate confidently and show consideration for others at all times and our pupils enjoy being active members of the school and wider community. Our dedicated staff and governors appreciate that everyone is an individual and we work hard to create an environment where all children are nurtured, not only in their academic life, but also in their personal, social and emotional development.

We strive for excellent relationships, making our school a happy place to work and learn. We expect that every member of our community shows care, respect and self-control and we encourage everyone to enjoy being active members of the school and wider community. The dedicated staff and governors appreciate that everyone is an individual and we work hard to create an environment where all children are nurtured, not only in their academic life, but also in their personal, social and emotional development. We encourage our children to make good choices, to communicate confidently and show consideration for others at all times. We also strive to develop parent/carer partnerships, to encourage a sense of community and to facilitate community use of the school premises