Our School Mission Statement

St Mary’s school community follows the teachings of Jesus Christ, working together to develop the whole child in a spiritual, moral, academic, physical, social and emotional way, within a caring a supportive environment.

Our school mission statement underpins everything that we do here in school. It can be seen on the door of every classroom and in a variety of places throughout the school in addition to on every policy or relevant document. It truely is at the heart of what we do at St Mary's and is lived out in both the words and actions of our school community.  Our mission statement puts faith at the heart of all we do and was used to generate our school motto: Love, Listen and Learn. We recognise that central to a successful education is the relationship between school, home and parish and uphold this as paramount in our mission.

 CATHOLIC LIFE AND MISSION POLICY SEPTEMBER 2025 

Our School Saint

Our school saint is Mary the Mother of God.

Feast Days: Our Lady has numerous feat days throughout the year.

Mary was chosen by God to be the mother of Jesus, who was God's son, making her the "Mother of God". She was a Jewish woman from Nazareth who trusted God's plan, even when it was scary. She said "yes" to God, which made it possible for Jesus to be born. Mary cared for Jesus and is considered a role model for how to have faith and follow God. 

Key Facts About Mary

God's Special Choice: God chose Mary, a young Jewish woman, to be the mother of His son, Jesus. 

She Said "Yes" to God: When an angel told her God's plan, Mary was scared but said "yes" to God's will. This is called her "fiat" or "yes" to God, which was a big act of faith.

Mother of Jesus: Mary conceived Jesus through the Holy Spirit, and Jesus was God, making Mary the "Mother of God". 

Mother of All Believers: Jesus, as He was dying, told His disciple John to take care of Mary, and from that moment, Mary became a mother figure for all of Jesus' followers. 

A Role Model for Faith: Mary showed great courage and trust in God throughout her life, making her a great example for people of faith. 

She Witnessed Jesus's Life: Mary was there for Jesus's birth, when He performed His first miracle (turning water into wine), when He was crucified, and when He rose from the dead. 

She Helped Spread God's Message: After Jesus returned to heaven, Mary gathered with the disciples and helped share the message of Jesus with others. 

 

We consider Mary to be a massive inspiration to us and strive to follow in her footsteps remaining faithful even when times are challenging or hard.

 

Other Faiths

 

As part of our Religious Education programme which follows the new RED, 'To Know You More Clearly', the children are taught about other faiths, we study Hinduism, Judaism and Islam.

In addition to the teaching which is laid out in the Dialogue and Encounter unit of the To Know You More Clearly framework, the children have the opportunity to experience a hands on Judaism workshop in the autumn term and a virtual Islam workshop in the summer term.

We recognise that the teaching about other religions is important because:

  • Learning about other religions and cultures is one of the ways in which we fulfil our call to love our neighbour. As the Church says, “The love for all men and women is necessarily also a love for their culture. Catholic schools are, by their very vocation, intercultural.” (Congregation for Catholic Education p61).
  • The Church states that schools “try to understand better the religion of one’s neighbours, and to experience something of their religious life and culture.” (Catholic Bishops’ Conference p3).
  • The Church suggests that schools “find ways in which pupils can learn to engage in dialogue and to develop an attitude of respect for religious diversity. This will necessitate the inclusion of a broader study of both Christianity and of other world faiths in the Religious Education syllabus.” (Bishop’s Conference of England and Wales, 1997)
  • It prepares our children for life in modern Britain, giving them an understanding of the beliefs of others.

 

 other faiths planning overview 2025-2026 

 

Judaism Workshops

Each autumn all of our children get to experience a stand-alone Judaism workshop and assembly delivered by Ruth Jampal from Judaism From Schools- the children get to handle authentic Jewish artefacts, explore and attempt Hebrew writing, taste traditional Jewish food and learn about a variety of Jewish Holy Days and festivals! This year Ruth will be visiting us again in October but have a look below of some of the experiences and pupil voice from last year:

    

Visits To Other Places of Worship

Following the introduction of Dharmic Faiths into the new RED, 'To Know You More Clearly', year 6 organised a trip to a local Hindu Temple; the Dharma Mandir. The children got to explore the beautiful statues and pictures and listened to exciting stories delivered by the local devotee whose passion for his faith really enagaged the children who were able to deepen their own understanding about the beliefs and practices of Hinduism. We cannot wait for our next visit there in the summer term!

 

  

Visits from other places of worship

In the summer term last year, our Reception children were lucky enough to have a visit from a member of a local mosque. They had a great time learning about some of the important Islamic festivals and loved looking at artefacts, pictures and symbols. It was brilliant to see the children enjoying learning about another faith and sharing their own with our visitor. We look forward to another visit soon!

 

Have a look at some of the work which the children have completed when exploring other faiths:

       

RSE

Informed by the Church’s moral and theological teachings, RSE promotes the dignity of the human person, the sacredness of the body, and the vocation to love. Rooted in Catholic anthropology, it fosters virtues like respect, chastity, and responsibility, and aligns with Catholic Social Teaching principles of the common good, family life, and care for the vulnerable.

We use the TenTen: Life to the Full scheme in order to deliver our RSE lessons. It is is a fully-resourced scheme of work in Relationships and Health Education for Catholic primary schools and is approved by Catholic dioceses throughout England and Wales.

Life to the Full has been approved by our diocese.  Furthermore, Ten Ten have entered into a partnership with the Catholic Education Service and the Department for Education to provide training for teachers in Catholic schools on the subject of the new statutory curriculum. Therefore, we are confident that this programme is a very good fit for our school. Through their programme, Ten Ten understand the foundational role that parents have in educating and nurturing their children on these matters. Within the programme, they have built in resources which will not only keep you informed about what is being taught in school, but will also give you the opportunity to engage your children in discussion, activity and prayer. We are required to consult when a new statutory subject is introduced into the curriculum and would like to have your feedback on our approach so please don’t hesitate to contact us with any comments, questions etc. before the end of the spring term.As part of our subscription to Life to the Full an Online Parent Portal is provided for parents.Parents should visit the following webpage: https://www.tentenresources.co.uk/parent-portal/                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            The parent login is as follows:                Username:      st-marys-en3                    Password:      lady-3

 

 RSE POLICY 2025-2026 

 

 TEN:TEN PLANNING OVERVIEWS 

 

 TEN: TEN PROGRESSION OF SKILLS