Vision – ‘Care, Grow and Flourish in God’s Loving Hands.’

The theological underpinning of our school vision is the Parable of the Mustard Seed—Matthew 13:31-32
Jesus told them another parable: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like this. A man takes a mustard seed and sows it in his field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it grows up, it is the biggest of all plants. It becomes a tree, so that birds come and make their nests in its branches.

Rooted in God’s love, our nurturing ethos enables all members of our school community to thrive and flourish. We tend to the academic, social, moral, physical and spiritual needs of our school family so that we grow into confident, respectful, aspirational and active citizens of our ever-changing modern world. We do all of this in God’s trusted and loving hands.

Here is how our work and commitment at St. Mary’s School is demonstrated through the parable:

The Kingdom of Heaven is like this.
The ethos of our school is inspired and empowered by the life and teaching of Jesus to encourage others to live flourishing lives today. Children and adults are invited to allow the light of Christ to shine in their hearts through their words and actions in the world. At the core of our ethos is flourishing relationships at all levels. St. Mary’s School is an inclusive space where everyone is welcome, and where all people can grow and thrive holistically.

A man takes a mustard seed and sows it in his field.
With our caring and nurturing ethos firmly embedded in all that we do, every member who joins our school whether child or adult, like the small mustard seed, is tended to so that they grow and flourish in its broadest sense—academically, socially, morally, physically and spiritually.

It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it grows up it is the biggest of all plants.
The ethos of the school and the actions of the school community enable children and adults to grow in confidence, to develop a wide range of skills, knowledge and understanding and to be aware of their own and others’ needs, which prepares them for and interests them in the modern world.

It becomes a tree, so that birds come and make their nests in its branches.
Through their thorough and rich grounding, our children are equipped to be respectful citizens and make valuable contributions to the communities they will serve in the future. Children are encouraged to look beyond themselves and recognise that by showing care for others, they can provide support and love to enable them to grow and flourish too.

Whilst we have chosen the Parable of the Mustard Seed to underpin the work we do here at St. Mary’s, there are aspects of the life and teaching of Jesus which constellate around this parable which purposefully inform it.

And just like the words in a stick of rock, our vision permeates all that we do at school.

Mission (what we will do)

• We will recognise every child as precious and unique
• We will ‘live’ Christian values in our daily lives within a caring Christian environment
• We will enable every child to make the very best progress and growth through excellent teaching and we will deliver an inspirational curriculum to encourage them to flourish.
• We will work in partnership with children and families to promote growth, confidence and self esteem
• We will prepare children to confidently face the challenges of growing up in the 21st Century
• We will provide children with an understanding of local, national and global communities and faiths.
• With St Mary’s Church, Brookside Methodist, and other local churches, we will further develop understanding of Christian values in action through worship.