Ponsbourne St Mary's Church Of England Primary School

Let Your Light Shine

Our Vision and Ethos

Our Vision

Our vision is that every member of our school community flourishes, in a school where we are living God’s love through our Christian values and by serving others, respecting and celebrating differences and becoming life-long learners.

Linked Bible Verse

Our vision is theologically rooted with links to our school Bible verse and class Bible stories.

You are like light for the whole world.  A city built on a hill cannot be hidden.  No one lights a lamp and puts it under a bowl; instead he puts it on a stand where it gives light for everyone in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they will see the good things you do and praise your Father in heaven.

(Matthew 5:14-16)

Ethos

Through our collective worship themes, we teach our Christian values of respect, love, forgiveness, wisdom, peace, trust and hope, as well as promoting British Values of democracy, rule of law, individual liberty, mutual respect and tolerance.  To develop a growth mind-set, we encourage all to develop our six 'R's: respect, responsibility, reasoning, resilience, resourcefulness and reflectiveness.

Mission

We follow the Church of England's mission from the Vision for Education:

Educating for wisdom, knowledge and skills: enabling respect, confidence and delight in seeking wisdom and knowledge, and developing talents in all areas of life.

Educating for hope and aspiration: developing health and wellbeing, forgiveness and reconciliation; coping wisely with whatever life brings – both good and bad; opening horizons and possibilities

Educating for community and living well together: focussing on relationships, participation in communities and practically demonstrating our school values of Respect, Love, Forgiveness, Wisdom, Trust, Peace and Hope.

Educating for dignity and respect: valuing each person as precious in God’s sight; treating everyone as a unique individual of inherent worth and embracing diversity.

Educating for life-long learning: promoting good behaviour for learning and positive attitudes; preparing children to contribute to a rapidly-changing world, leaving it a better place.

 

Linked Class Bible Stories to help articulate vision

Adventurers – The Good Samaritan

Our children understand that we should care and show respect for everyone.

Explorers – The House on the Rock

We should build our lives on firm foundations and wisdom, on the important things that matter. Jesus' teaching gives advice on how to live well together.

Pioneers – The Lost Sheep

We cannot ever do anything so bad that God will not forgive us and search for us. We should try to forgive others when they make mistakes too.

Discoverers – The Widow’s Offering

Everyone should do what they can to help others - even if this is something little. We can all 'Let out Light Shine' by using our gifts and talents for good. God sees our efforts.