Welcome

Our Faith underpins everything that we do at St Mary's. We use our faith to help us to develop through The Gospel Values and teachings and is essentially part of who we are as individuals and as a family. We gather in the hall, the prayer garden or in our own classrooms, there is an opportunity to pray and worship and reflect in a variety of ways, and to have our own private time with God.

We worship daily through our daytime prayers and through assemblies and worship. We also love inviting families in to worship in school. We have the Mission Team who are our GIFT team they are responsible for helping all children in school to be Growing In Faith Together. These children lead and carry out their duties with integrity and respect, each year they make and action pllan for the year where they decide what they would like to achieve in school throughout the year. We are incredibly lucky to have our own Church next door and our children have opportunities each school year to attend masses, lead class masses and to visit the church at different points in the liturgical year. We have excellent links with our Church, Parish and Father David our Parish priest.

VISION STATEMENT

Rooted in God’s love, we believe, achieve and flourish together.

MISSION STATEMENT

Mission Statement

Rooted in God’s love and together with Christ,

we believe, achieve and flourish.

At St Mary’s, we are a loving Catholic family

where every person is known, valued and called to grow.

Guided by the Gospel,

we use our gifts and talents,

care for one another, serve those in need

and help to build God’s kingdom.

This mission explains how we will live out our vision. We believe that every child is unique, loved by God and called to grow. We want our pupils to achieve well academically, but also to flourish spiritually, morally, socially and emotionally. Through prayer, worship, Religious Education, Catholic Social Teaching, service, stewardship and strong relationships, we help pupils understand that faith is something we live every day.

Our tree branding helps us show this vision and mission in a clear and memorable way. A tree reminds us that every child needs strong roots, care, light and nourishment in order to grow. At St Mary’s, our roots are in Christ. From these roots, our school community grows together in faith, learning and love.

The roots of the tree represent Christ, prayer, scripture, faith and Gospel values. They remind us that everything we do is grounded in God’s love.

The trunk represents St Mary’s Catholic family. It shows the strength, belonging and nurture that hold our community together. Like a strong tree trunk, our school supports every child to feel safe, valued and ready to grow.

The branches represent our three key words: Believe, Achieve and Flourish. These show the journey we want every child to make at St Mary’s.

Believe is shown through gold. Gold reminds us of the light of Christ, the importance of faith, prayer, worship and hope. It represents our call to trust in God, listen to scripture and follow Jesus.

Achieve is shown through purple. Purple connects to our St Mary’s school identity and represents aspiration, dignity and high expectations. It reminds us that every child has God-given gifts and talents and should be supported to use them well.

Flourish is shown through green. Green represents growth, life, wellbeing, service and care for creation. It reminds us that pupils flourish when they are loved, included, challenged and encouraged to care for others and for God’s world.

The leaves of the tree represent the values and actions we want to see in our pupils: love, respect, courage, forgiveness, service, stewardship as our core values with many others such as compassion, justice, peace and hope displayed through actions. These are the visible signs that our mission is being lived.

Through this tree, our vision becomes something children can see, understand and talk about. It will be developed further and used in displays, worship, assemblies, prayer spaces, classrooms, certificates, policies and school communication. It will help everyone remember that at St Mary’s we are rooted in Christ, growing together and called to flourish.