Our Vision & Values
"Aim for the best; growing in God's love."
Our Vision
Our vision, as a Church of England primary school set in a caring and nurturing village community, is deeply rooted in strong Christian traditions. We aim to develop happy people with enquiring minds and a lifelong love of learning, who are inspired by the world around them. We will ensure that they have the skills, knowledge and adaptability to thrive and flourish in life.
The Bible verse that sets our vision statement in context comes from the words of Jesus:
“I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” John 10:10.
Our Core Values
We have five core values which stem from our vision and underpin everything we do at school. They are rooted in the scriptures and children are taught what Jesus teaches us in the new testament about:
Forgiveness
Courage
Friendship
Respect
Perseverance
All members of our school community sign up to our Christian vision and values, which underpin all we do at our school, from forming relationships to academic achievement and school improvement. Our vision and values are evident in the children's great attitudes towards their learning and everyone's positive relationships with each other in school.
British Values
At St Mary’s School, we actively promote British values through our school vision, ethos, agreed rules, curriculum, and teaching. As such, we promote tolerance of, and respect for, people of all faiths (or those with no faith), cultures, and lifestyles.
We prepare children and young people positively for life in modern Britain by supporting them through our words, actions, and influence, not just within school, but also within the wider community.
Promoting Our Values
The government defines British values as:
Democracy.
Rule of law.
Individual liberty.
Mutual respect.
Tolerance of those of different faiths.
At St Mary’s, we value the diverse ethnic backgrounds of all pupils and families and undertake a variety of events and lessons to celebrate these. We have found this approach to be enriching for all parties, as it teaches tolerance and respect for the differences in our community and the wider world. Underpinning all of this is a range of curriculum topics that have strong links to the British Empire. We actively challenge children, staff, and parents expressing opinions contrary to fundamental British values, including ‘extremist’ views.
As part of The White Horse Federation, we passionately believe that by working together, children have a higher quality of education, and that as colleagues, we will also benefit from and reap the rewards of a values-based organisation where no one is left behind.