Our Christian Distinctiveness

Our Vision

'We believe, we achieve, we succeed in God's family.'

With God, all things are possible. Matthew 19:26

St Mary's C of E Primary School is a loving and inclusive community where all are valued and treated with compassion and kindness. The school’s Christian vision is deeply embedded and lived out. Pupils are supported to be the best version of themselves; as a result of this, pupil’s flourish and succeed. Pupils love coming to this school. They are safe, having developed trusted relationships with the adults who care for them. They epitomise the school’s core Christian values of thankfulness, compassion, community, truthfulness, courage and forgiveness.

Spiritual development is a fundamental aspect of children's personal progress that exists beyond faith or religious affiliation. We work to enable children to develop holistically in order that they become happy, fulfilled, spiritually aware, and socially and emotionally engaged.

Our core Christian Values

Spirituality at St Mary's C of E Primary School

Spirituality is not possible to teach. It is like the wind ‐ it makes a difference but is uncontrollable for each person. It might change someone’s understanding and beliefs but ultimately is an innate sense of awe and wonder. It is about understanding that there is something more than just ‘me’. Promoting spirituality should not be confused with developing faith. Faith is a set of beliefs by which you live your life by and could be a response to a belief in God. Faith is something you choose whereas spirituality is an aspect of human development ‐ it is not separate but integral to who we are and what makes us whole. Spirituality is for everybody regardless of faith.

Our Definition of Spirituality

Spirituality allows us to experience and appreciate the beauty of our world and all things great. It is that sense of enjoyment and being fascinated in learning about ourselves, others and the world around us.

In our school, spirituality creates a feeling of belonging to our school family where we show love and kindness.

We build connections between ourselves, God, nature and the world around us; so that we can all flourish.

We make time for moments of quietness and stillness to reflect and think about our own thoughts and feelings and to make choices about how we want to live in this busy world.

We seek to build an understanding of our place in the world and be aware that there is something or someone greater than ourselves.

Opportunities for spirituality development come when:

• children are given space to stop, look, listen, think and reflect

• children feel safe to share opinions and think differently from others

• children use their imagination Children need:

• time to be listened to;

• adults that are respectful;

• space to explore, think and discuss;

• opportunities that encourage wonder and surprise;

• to know that there is not always a product or end result;

• to know there is another way.

• time to ‘just be’ and to experience peace and stillness

St Mary's C of E Primary School's Statement of Entitlement

RE Statement of Entitlement for Church Schools

Collective Worship

At St Mary's C of E Primary School, Worship allows children to learn, express their views, listen to others opinions and think more deeply about the world around them. It is a time for awe and wonder, to reflect on something ‘bigger than ourselves’ and to reflect on who we want to be.

Each half term, we focus on one of our core Christian values. Every class has their own 'Prayer Leader' and they support with the delivery of collective worship.

The collective worship is enriched by the use of:

Quotes and questions to encourage deeper thinking about each value
Photographs and posters to root the teaching in the everyday experience of children
Stories, poems and art, much of which has been especially commissioned for this book
Prayers and guided reflections from traditional and contemporary authors