Aims and Values

Our Mission is to provide an independent Catholic education for boys and girls of all faiths aged 0-18; to provide individual challenge towards holistic and balanced development, service and achievement for life and beyond; and to try to show our Faith by the way we live, showing care and consideration for each other, those around us and the environment.

Our Vision is to be an exemplar Edmund Rice School, with an enviable reputation amongst our peers, both as an organisation and for the services and facilities we provide, making us first choice for parents and pupils in our geographic area.

We aspire for St. Mary’s to be the leading school in the area through excellent achievement, cutting edge and future orientated educational innovation, exemplary holistic development of pupils through opportunities to become confident, generous and considerate ambassadors of the Christian message and values who contribute proactively for the wider common good.

At St. Mary’s we provide a Christian school community in which pupils feel welcome, safe, recognised and known by name – supported by a framework of love, order, stability and affection. We strive to bring the Gospel to bear in all aspects of school life and policy.

The values of the school are articulated through the motto of the school badge i.e. ‘we show our faith by the way we live, love and learn’.

This is underpinned by the values of an Edmund Rice education:

• Building a Christian community by promoting spiritual development and sharing the gospel message
• Striving for excellence in all that we do
• Developing the Whole Person for life and beyond
• Showing compassion for those in need, educating for justice
• Valuing, developing and enabling staff to grow themselves and to share our message

Our aims, which embody the eight essentials of an Edmund Rice “education for the whole of our life, here and hereafter”, are:

FIDEM VITA FATERI: Catholic, Christian ethos and values shown in all we do. An inclusive community of all faiths and none that lives out the values of Blessed Edmund Rice. To create a true communion, where we see others as another self, sharing their joys and sorrows and welcoming and prizing their talents. We welcome people of all faiths and none to make their own valued contribution in forming and strengthening our community.

EXCELLENCE: Pursuit of excellence for every individual. To enable pupils to achieve their fullest selves and the highest outcomes of which they are capable, encouraging excellence in all spheres in gratitude for the gifts God has given us; to instil a lifelong appetite for the adventure of learning, a sense of compassion and service and a zest for living life to the full

OPPORTUNITIES: Provide opportunities for all to flourish and engage fully in the life of the school. To listen to and prepare our young people for life beyond school and in particular to develop personal integrity, moral values and a sense of justice, enabling them to become leaders at all levels.

CONTRIBUTE FOR OTHERS: An asset to the local and wider global community and environment. To develop well-informed, socially aware pupils with a strong sense of justice, who know what must be rightfully done and recognise their own ownership and responsibilities for the society and world around them; to instil in our pupils an active concern for others, especially vulnerable others, and the infinite value of each individual person

LOOKING FORWARD: A future orientated and ecologically responsible education. To prepare pupils for a rapidly changing world of work through technological advancement, the embracing of innovative approaches and systems, the ability to function and develop in a sustainable way for the longer term good of our world. To promote an awareness of equal opportunities, social justice, peace and global issues

THE PLACE TO BE: An exemplar employer. To nurture and develop spiritual growth and leadership in all staff and Governors supportively that they teach by witness and example in the privileged task of forming our young in our Christian-catholic traditions.