Values-based education
At St Mary's, our Christian values underpin everything that we do. Through our inclusive Christian values, we empower the school community to be thoughtful human beings by showing respect for themselves, for others and for the world around us. We strive for all to have the integrity to achieve our full potential through resilient endeavours.
Adults model values and give time for reflective practices. We believe that this empowers individuals to be effective learners and good citizens. The values that we teach help pupils to develop their character, to respect and value differences, to be resilient, to know the difference between right and wrong and to behave accordingly even when nobody is watching and to respect one another.
Our values underpin our work to actively promote fundamental British values of democracy, individual liberty, mutual respect and tolerance of those from all faiths, backgrounds and cultures A rounded programme of collective worship and events promote children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, enabling them to develop their own moral and ethical compass to guide what is right and what is wrong.
Our core Christian values
We have three core Christian values that guide children's choices, behaviour and learning. These values are the basis of all our values teaching and will help children understand connected values.
Our core Christian values are:
These values have been chosen by understanding which ones would develop children the most morally and educationally.
How we teach the core Christian values
Children in Early Years start by focusing on just the core values and understanding what they mean. As pupils move through years 1 to 6, we begin to widen their understanding of each core value by connecting with similar values. The focus with every value is what the value looks like to us and how it looks in action. Teaching of values is cyclical. We return to each core value frequently to deepen understanding.
Fundamental British Values
At St Mary's, our values are a framework for living and learning. We equip our pupils with the necessary skills to be the best possible people they can be. Using the fundamental British values of: Democracy, Rule of Law, Individual Liberty and Mutual Respect and Tolerance; our pupils are prepared for life as citizens of the United Kingdom.