Our Mission Statement
As God’s family we are STARs within a loving and thriving community, celebrating our diversity. We ignite lifelong learning where everyone becomes a positive influence on our world.
St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Primary School was opened in 1967. It was built due to the generosity of the Sisters of St. Mary of Namur and the Roman Catholic community of Lowestoft who raised all the capital for the building.
As a faith school, the Catholic ethos is at the heart of everything that we learn. It underpins the discipline and shapes the policies which determine the accepted practices of our school. All children are taught to value each other as members of God’s family; each child is taught that he/she is unique and special.
We ensure that all the children in our school feel cared for and secure in surroundings where Catholic values are practised, and where their gifts and abilities are recognised and developed, in an atmosphere of respect and friendship.
Every person is a valued member of our community, invited to follow Christ’s call to a life of love, hope and forgiveness. We respect and support each other to live in peace. We embrace challenge and develop the courage to create a better world for us all.
We are committed to fostering high expectations and developing the full potential of each individual so that they may become compassionate, interdependent, lifelong learners, striving to create a better and more peaceful world.
Positive relationships between all members of our community are the key to maintaining a supportive and effective learning culture. These twelve values are integral to our community and help us ensure that;
We teach children that democracy, rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance are upheld in our communities as universal human rights for every citizen.
We teach children that intelligence is not fixed, that humans can develop ‘growth mindsets’ (to think about thinking and to learn about learning) that support a lifelong love of learning.
Everyone learns together, with each other and from each other.
All adults who work in our school, whether a paid member of staff or a volunteer, are expected to work and behave in a way that actively promotes our school mission statement.
In planning the curriculum we attend to the development of the whole child; the physical, intellectual, emotional, moral and spiritual. We believe that this is a very important element of securing deep-rooted learning.
BRITISH VALUES
The government has set out its definition of British Values as:
- democracy
- the rule of law
- individual liberty
- mutual respect
- tolerance of those of different faiths and beliefs
As a Catholic School we actively promote values, virtues and ethics that shape our pupils' character and moral perspective, through the teachings of the Church. We are confident that our continued focus on the Gospel Values will give our pupils the necessary awareness of what it means to be a good citizen in Britain today, and embed in them the building blocks of a future successful and productive life.
St Mary’s is committed to the values outlined in the Declaration of Universal Human Rights. These values encompass the four areas which have recently been identified as fundamental British values.
Democracy
Children are offered choices and have many opportunities to make decisions from the earliest age. Throughout the school, their views are actively sought both in formal ways, for example through surveys, and more informally through a continual dialogue about their learning. An elected School Council provides a forum for democratic discussion and responsible group action. Through example and through their curriculum studies, children learn that good governance is about service, not the exercise of power. They also develop a sense of pride in who they are, and how they can contribute to the common good of the nation.
Rule of Law
The school is an orderly community which is regulated by consent. Children help to create class and school rules and develop a strong sense of fairness, justice and commitment to the common good. Expectations are clear, and there are effective procedures for tackling behaviour and attitudes which are contrary to the school’s moral code. Children are helped to distinguish right from wrong, and to understand the importance of honesty, compassion, forgiveness and reparation.
Individual Liberty
Each child is cherished as an individual, with equality before God. There is strong support for children in developing their self-knowledge, self-esteem and self-confidence. Drama, role-play and philosophy discussions are used to encourage children to articulate and develop their own framework of opinions, beliefs and understandings. Originality and creativity are encouraged, both in class and through school events such as talent shows. The school has effective procedures for ensuring inclusiveness and combating bullying.
Mutual Respect and Tolerance
A wide range of ethnic, cultural and religious groups are represented in the school population, and their diversity is celebrated as a microcosm of British society as a whole. Children gain practical experience of working and playing with those from different backgrounds, and tolerance and mutual respect are firmly embedded in all aspects of school life. Children learn about other religions in a spirit of appreciation, and gain a sense of empathy for viewpoints and perspectives which are different from their own. Mutual respect and tolerance are recurring themes in weekly assemblies and in their follow-up class sessions.
