“Direct my footsteps according to your word” Psalm 119:133

At St Mary the Virgin CE Primary School and Nursery, we believe everything is possible for all our children.  The school and nursery belongs to the children.  Our Christian values underpin all aspects of school life and our children’s personal and spiritual development as human beings.

Our vision – ‘ Direct My Footsteps According to Your Word’ Psalm 119:33 is rooted in the parable of the Good Samaritan where Jesus asks-

‘’Which of these three do you think was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”

Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

Our vision encourages children to ‘go and do likewise’,  following in the footsteps of the teachings of Jesus.

Theology of our Vision
Love your neighbour as yourself’
As a church school, we believe that ‘’ Love your neighbour as yourself’ is reflected in our whole school ethos and our Christian Values. Our curriculum encourages children to’ look through a window’ onto the lives of others. Our caring and compassionate school nurtures all and stresses the importance of loving yourself.

‘And who is my neighbour?’
We walk alongside our children, families and community. The curriculum is designed to be diverse and inclusive. Children understand how people from diverse backgrounds, lifestyles and faiths leave a legacy for us today that shape our futures.
‘Go and do Likewise’
The ethos of the school and the actions of the school community enable children and adults to grow in confidence, to develop a wide range of skills, knowledge and understanding and to be aware of their own and others’ needs, which prepares them for and interests them in the modern world.

Our Values
As a Church School, we are a community founded on Christian Values. These values underpin our vision, provide a basis for our principles and support everything that we aim to achieve for all who come to our school. These values are present in our school to encourage an understanding of the meaning and significance of faith through the experience it offers all pupils and adults in the school community.
We identified our values based on our families’ and children’s voices for how our school is recognised within our community. Our six core values fully encompass how we as a school, embrace our Christian distinctiveness and how our families and pupils live this every day. Our values have created a golden thread which is reinforced within our curriculum, teaching and learning policies and involve all staff and pupils. We are proud to share our vision and values to our parents and community through our website, newsletters and services.

Our School Values are:

Love
As in the parable, we have enough love for everyone. We are an inclusive school with room for everybody around the table- it can always be extended.
Justice
The Good Samaritan acted for justice. Our children start their advocacy journey with us; recognising the need to have a voice and stand up for what is right.
Hope
As our motto states ‘ Everything is possible- just believe’. We have high hopes and aspirations for our future, our school and community. We also understand that faith gives us hope for both now and for the future, and that this hope brings confidence. Having hope isn’t always easy, but it is that beacon of light during difficult times that allows us to learn from our mistakes and never give up. Our behaviour regulation policy and the restorative conversations we have with the children allow us to see how we can do things differently next time and learn from our mistakes first hand.
Koinonia
Wherever we are, whoever we are we are yoked together through our shared experiences of being human. As the Good Samaritan shows us- we are all together under one sun.
Courage
We strive to have the courage to ‘ go and do likewise’ , to stand up for what is right even when others look away or walk on the other side.
Respect
As Jesus states in the parable- ‘ go and do likewise’ . If we want respect we must show respect to others. We are conscious that God created all people in His image and our values are clear that people (including those who are different from us) are equally valuable; as a response we show respect for all.

The  images we use to represent our values were designed by our children and our values were voted for by our children and staff.

Our children understand their rights and responsibilities as global citizens.  This is the children’s school; their voice is the most important one here.  This growth of children’s independent spirit can be seen in all aspects of school and Nursery life, whether they are planning collective worship, organising fundraising events or undertaking office duty.

Our school and nursery are committed to developing children as Global Citizens and it is through our innovative curriculum, RE curriculum and our school values and vision that we promote the British Values of:

• Mutual Respect
• Personal Responsibility and Liberty
• Tolerance of Culture, Faith and others
• Democracy
• Rule of Law

We share this commitment with families and the local community.  We will actively challenge the children, staff or parents expressing opinions contrary to fundamental British Values, including ‘extremist’ views.

 

Promoting British Values

Children have the right to think and believe what they want, and to practise their religion, as long as they are not stopping other people from enjoying their rights. Parents should guide their children on these matters – Article 14 UNCRC

The DfE have recently reinforced the need “to create and enforce a clear and rigorous expectation on all schools to promote the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs.”

The Government set out its definition of British values in the 2011 Prevent Strategy.

British-Values.pdf