At St. Mary's Catholic Primary School we promote ‘British Values’ through our spiritual, moral, social and cultural education which permeates through the school’s curriculum and supports the development of the ‘whole child’.
At St. Mary's, we recognise that such development is most successful when those values and attitudes are promoted by all the staff and provide a model of behaviour for our pupils.
The ability to communicate is the most important area of learning. At St Mary's we ensure that pupils are given a ‘voice’ to communicate. The method of using this ‘voice’ could be using words, objects, photographs, pictures, symbols, touch cues, eye pointing or body language.
We empower our pupils by giving them opportunities to make choices about the things that they believe to be important. By valuing each ‘voice’ and by listening and responding to that voice we demonstrate that we support democracy and liberty.
We involve pupils in setting codes of behaviour; helping pupils to make decisions and choices that are acceptable to the school community and society at large.
Pupils are helped to learn to manage their behaviour and take responsibility for their actions. Staff are committed to providing a consistent and predicable learning environment within the school and beyond. We can help some pupils to understand the connection between actions and consequences. This type of environment enables pupils to feel safe and secure; this in turn, promotes the optimum conditions for learning to take place.
Pupils at St. Mary's are encouraged to become good and valued citizens. We do this by supporting each pupil to become as independent as possible. We endeavour to demonstrate that everyone has rights; this includes the right to say ‘No’ to ideas or activities that they do not want to take part in. Some pupils will be able to take responsibility for particular roles and to understand that with certain rights comes a level of responsibility. Learning to do things independently is an important part of learning to understand yourself. We support others by participating in charitable events such as: Red Nose Day/Comic Relief, Children in Need, Support an Orphan abroad and the distribution of food through Henley in Arden foodbank. At St. Mary's we believe that by engendering a caring and helpful environment and by learning to be independent can boost and nurture a healthy self-esteem.
We promote each pupil’s inclusion, where possible, in a range of activities, settings and locations. The children in Early Years have opportunities to integrate with other children in the school. As pupils move into the other Key Stages, further planned events and circumstances are planned for pupils to go into the community to meet with a range of people in a variety of situations which include: sports events, community events and shared participation with other schools.
It is important to facilitate opportunities for St. Mary's to be part of the community as the pupils, families and staff have much to offer in the development of community cohesion.
St. Mary's Catholic Primary School serves a multi-faith community where each person is respected and valued equally without regard to ability, gender, faith, heritage or race.
Cultural appreciation and development forms part of our curriculum. We place great emphasis on providing encounters and participation in events and celebrations to broaden all pupils’ experiences and awareness of others.
Our Assemblies help all pupils to find out about themselves and others linking their lives to the communities in which they belong. The themes cover areas such as: friendships, helping others and celebrations from a range of faiths and world events.
Pupils are encouraged to experience British Culture through our curriculum themes. For example, pupils have visited: The Palace of Westminster, War Memorials and places interest linked to British Values. The Shakespeare Theatre groups have performed plays. As a school, we take part in local sporting activities which helps to instil ‘fair play’ and engender a ’team spirit’.
The staff work closely with parents, carers and other professionals to ensure that the pupils at St. Mary's Catholic Primary are happy, well cared for and enabled to learn the skills they need to live a fulfilling life as part of their community.