St Mary's Church of England Primary School aims to:

Unlock every child’s potential as a unique child of God.

Our aim is to ensure that every child’s unique strengths are celebrated and strengthened alongside gaining an excellent academic, social, emotional and physical education.

At Shenfield St Mary's we are committed to enabling the flourishing of pupils and adults. 

'Whenever we dream about the ideal school, it is not only a place of forgiveness but one of redemption.  It is a place where those who are broken are made whole, where shalom is brought into being and where healthy developments is allowed to develop.  It is where the whole child matters and where every child matters, a place where the curriculum is balanced to the needs of the area and the range of children, where the school's systems reflect the kingdom of God in bringing about redemption.  A school where love is explicit, where forgiveness operates, where work is balanced with adequate rest and play.'

Worsley

Theological Rooted

We seek to reflect aspects of God’s character and the fullness of life that He wishes for all human beings. 

Unlocking every child’s potential speaks of the school’s desire for all to flourish. “May the Lord give you increase, both you and your children. May you be blessed by the Lord, who made heaven and earth” (Psalm 115:14-15). We aim for excellence in learning – to enable and encourage pupils to pursue God-given “wisdom and instruction, understanding of words of insight and instruction in doing what is right and just and fair” (Proverbs 1:2-3).

Our hope is to unlock every person’s potential ( 'We are God’s children… what we will be has not yet been revealed' - 1 John 3.2). Our aim is to enable all children and adults in our community to achieve their full potential by providing experiences, opportunities and encounters to ensure they flourish.

As well as their intellectual development, the school is concerned for the children’s emotional and social development and want love and well-being for all in our school family and strive to create a loving environment where everyone belongs and everyone’s uniqueness is celebrated – “God’s special possession” (Peter 2:9). We recognise each person is unique - God has endowed each person individually as He desires (1 Cor. 12.11) so we celebrate the uniqueness of each child - “God’s special possession” (1 Peter 2:9) and foster their emotional and social development.

Our vision statement refers to being a ‘child of God’. This reflects St Mary’s ongoing commitment to our whole school family - “So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, Our faith in Jesus Christ confirms our identity as a child of God.” (Galatians 3:26, 1 John 3.1). To this end we strive to create a loving environment where everyone belongs and everyone’s wellbeing is sacred.

In summary, our aim at Shenfield St Mary's Primary School is for all pupils, staff, governors and our wider community to achieve their full potential in all areas of school life. As Jesus promises ‘life... in all its fullness’ (John 10.10), we seek fullness of life for all.

This is underpinned by Ephesians 3.17 - 19 'May Christ dwell in your hearts through faith, that being rooted and grounded in love, you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and know the love of Christ that surpasses all knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.'

Our Christian Vision allows the pupils and adults in our school to flourish. Every member of our school community is a child of God, and therefore the vision applies to us all. The Christian vision is the driver behind all decision making in school. Our curriculum is carefully considered with our vision in mind and pupils are given opportunities to extend their learning further, through curriculum enhancement to unlock their potential. We hope that our vision supports us to transform our pupils lives by giving them opportunities to try new things, engage with the local community, ensure a sense of belonging and inclusion in all areas of school.

We ensure well being is at the centre of all we do, because happy, regulated children and staff who feel safe and loved can thrive in school. 

We focus on one Christian value each half term.  The themes rotate on a three yearly cycle.

Our Christian Values are the threads that weave our vision through the school; in collective worship, in lessons and in the playground.  Our pupils have an understanding of spiritual awareness, a sense of their own worth and an appreciation of the world around them. Our Christian Values feed into every area of school life and are used by all members of staff. These are based around the teaching of Jesus and are used as a model for our lives for how we should live and treat each other.

St Mary's Primary School is a has 7 main Christian Values that are at the heart of our school. These are:

• Forgiveness
• Trust
• Responsibility 

• Thankfulness
• Justice
• Humility
• Respect

We take ownership of a value each half term and we focus on it as a whole school. This approach means that the children are immersed in each Christian value through worship, assemblies, homework and lessons. 

Our local church is St Mary's. We visit regularly as a whole school.  Father Darren leads our worship as well as Bible led Worship by the children and visitors including Sue Evans from the Brentwood Schools Christian Workers Trust.  

We have a pupil worship committee called our Worship Leaders in school made up of children from year 6 and Guardian Angels from all year groups.. Our Worship Leaders meet regularly to discuss worship, evaluate it, plan and lead worship and to undertake projects in school. Each week a pair of Guardian Angels reflect on our Monday' whole school worship. The Worship Leaders work with Mrs Bundy, in leading Worship and developing their roles.

We link with Chelmsford Diocese and regularly invite our advisor into school to help with school improvement. Staff are given opportunities to take part in Diocesan training which develops their understanding of our Christian Distinctiveness. 

Our Reflection Area

Our reflection area in school gives pupils a quiet space to be thoughtful, reflective and to pray.  This area has something for the children to engage with and to reflect on, but it can also be a spot to simply be quiet and calm. It is easily accessible for all pupils and develops their spirituality by giving them a designated space to enhance a sense of peace and purpose. 

In October, we welcomed Mrs Naeem to our worship. She gave the children a very informative talk about her Islam faith using a power point and artefacts to help the children understand. Having visited many schools, she commented several times about how impressed she was with the children's knowledge of both Islam and Christianity. The children enjoyed having the opportunity to dress in traditional head coverings and clothes as well as beating a special drum the way Muslims do when celebrating Eid at the end of Ramadan.