At St Mary’s Church of England Primary School, we line our Christian vision with the Diocese. The vision is deeply Christian, with the promise to Jesus of ‘life in all its fullness.’ We believe that each learner is uniquely created by God and special to him and should be supported to flourish in their potential as a child of God. This vision is supported through our school motto ‘Dream, Believe, Achieve’. We want the children to aspire to be the best that they can be, growing and learning in a school community inspired by Jesus' love.
Our vision is to dream big. Our children, parents and staff will hold a common ambition for excellence.
We believe in ourselves, our ability and our capacity to make our dreams a reality.
Together, working with our community, we will achieve excellence, ensuring the very best for our children, enabling them to develop, the knowledge, skills and character not just to excel in the modern world but to help change it for the better.
Our school is a safe, happy and welcoming place, based on Christian principles, where we care for each other, grow together, follow our dreams and aspire for excellence in all we do. Individuals are given opportunities to recognise their self-worth and use their sense of belief to allow them to achieve whatever they set their mind to. Learners are encouraged to ‘dream and believe’ through self-reflection and recognise achievements in themselves and others. Learners understand that they can accomplish their potential when working collaboratively in many different contexts.
Our intention for teaching and learning:
- Every child a reader: A reading-rich curriculum which enhances learning, supports the development of communication skills and results in the acquisition of knowledge which is retained, so that pupils know more, remember more and learn more.
- Being good citizens: A curriculum which celebrates difference, develops an understanding of right and wrong, and which ensures pupils develop a strong moral compass.
- A love for learning and being curious: A curriculum that is exciting and engaging, which challenges children to think, question, problem solve and reason and offers hands on experiences.
- Learning behaviours for success: A curriculum which nurtures the learning behaviours and character traits that will help children to succeed in life: Resilience; Excellence; Self-awareness; Positivity; Empathy; Communication; Teamwork.
Supporting us to achieve our vision are our key Christian Values of Friendship, Perseverance, Respect, Courage, Compassion and Thankfulness which lie at the heart of everything we do. Each one contributes towards achieving our motto:
- Friendships support us during our learning and our play allowing us to work together as a team to achieve dreams we set for ourselves. Individuals are encouraged to ‘Love thy neighbour’ within the community of school and Hinckley itself.
- Learners need to persevere in order to achieve the dreams they set for themselves as they aim high within their school life, this will support them to achieve more. We foster children’s individuality and strive to reach high standards for all.
- Doing the right thing and treating everyone with respect ensures our school environment is a safe and nurturing place, enabling all learners to believe in themselves, celebrate their differences and achieve.
- Kindness and Compassion encourages the children to respect and care for themselves, each other and the environment. This ‘togetherness’ allows everyone to achieve their dreams through the support of others. All individuals have a voice and know that their views and opinions are valued.
- Having aspirational dreams as learners takes courage in order to believe they can and will achieve them. Staff foster a love and enjoyment of learning, ensuring children are more willing to break barriers and have the confidence to achieve. They are given support to question and search for answers. They provide a supportive, stimulating but challenging environment to enable all children to fulfill their potential.
- Thankfulness encourages the children to be grateful for what they have, to thank God for his love and support in their lives and to help them to develop into polite, respectful individuals.
- Our distinctly Christian values make a positive difference to those around us. They underpin our teaching and learning and the daily life of the school and the ethos of St. Mary’s. They are demonstrated through our collective worship, prayer, reflections and within many curriculum opportunities. We encourage full expression of each child’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural growth, all set within a strong foundation of Christian practice. We recognise that in the modern world there are a variety of faiths and as a Christian school we actively support all learners from all backgrounds of faith or other worldviews. Our RE teaching is two thirds Christianity, this ensures all learners respect and tolerate the different beliefs and opinions of others.
‘Finally, everyone must live in harmony, be sympathetic, love each other, have compassion and be humble’ 1 Peter 3:8