CATHOLIC LIFE AND MISSION OF ST MARY’S

The Catholic Life of the school is at the heart of what we do at St Mary’s and weaves through all aspects of school life. We have a welcoming, inclusive and caring community built on Christian values, where all members, adults and children are valued and encouraged to achieve their potential as children of God. The Catholic Identity and ethos is explicit through the learning environment, chaplaincy provision and community cohesion.

The St Mary’s Mission Statement:

We Grow with Jesus to be the best we can be.

Our mission statement is the foundation stone on which we build the Catholic Life of the School and we aim to achieve our mission by:

• Establishing, maintaining and developing a Catholic ethos which is permeated in everything we do and is apparent to all those who enter the school
• Providing frequent opportunities for conscious and active participation and leadership in collective worship
• Creating a place of learning where faith is central
• Providing an enriched curriculum which is creative, inspiring and inclusive for all pupils
• Being an outreaching centre of God’s mission on earth in promoting the virtues of faith, hope and charity
• Ensuring that the Gospel values are permeated through all policies such as inclusion, behaviour, curriculum etc.
• Developing children’s understanding of vocation, that God created each person for a unique and special purpose
• Supporting the Sacramental Programme within the Parish
• Aiming to bring about an awareness of the needs of others
• Developing links with the parish, diocese and wider community.

Other Faiths

Our school respects and learns about other faiths, with a focus in the Advent Term on Judaism. During the Lent/ Pentecost Term, children learn about one other world religion each year, as outlined in the Come and See RE curriculum. We are lucky enough to be able to provide our children with visits to local places of worship to learn about the customs and traditions of other faiths, as well as inviting guests into school to talk about their religion.

Parents

We believe that parents are the first educators of their children; we work collaboratively with our families to ensure we are providing the very best Catholic education we can. To keep our parents informed, we hold a Parent Curriculum Meeting at the start of the year where we outline the Religious Education programme.

Please see our monthly newsletters for regular updates on the Catholic Life and Mission of the school.