Our Values

At St Mary’s, our Christian values are Respect, Joy, Love, Forgiveness, Kindness and Courage.

Our values were chosen following consultation with children, staff, parents and governors, ensuring that they reflect what is important to our whole school community and the Christian character and ethos of St Mary’s. They are not simply words that we display; they express the qualities we want to nurture and live out together as we seek to ‘Shine Brighter and Brighter’.

These values are at the heart of our school community and guide how we learn, behave and care for one another. We explore and reflect on them during collective worship, encouraging children to think deeply about how living with — and sometimes without — these values can affect ourselves, our families, our friendships and the wider world. Through discussion, reflection and everyday experiences in school, pupils are supported to understand how these values can shape their choices and actions.

Our Reflection Space

Our Reflection Space provides children and adults with a dedicated place and the opportunity to pause, reflect, respond and pray in a way that is meaningful to them. It is an inclusive space where everyone is encouraged to engage in their own way, without judgement or expectation.

There are many ways to use the Reflection Space. Children and adults might choose to write their own prayer, respond to our current Big Question, nominate someone they have noticed living out one of our Christian values, or simply share a question, thought or comment of their own choosing. They may also choose simply to spend a quiet moment thinking and reflecting.

There is no single ‘right’ way to engage with the space. We want children to develop their own capacity for reflection, spirituality and thoughtful questioning, recognising that prayer and reflection can be experienced and expressed in different ways. By providing opportunities for choice, stillness, curiosity and personal response, we encourage everyone to interact with the Reflection Space in a way that has meaning for them.

Values in Action

Our Values in Action Team helps to recognise and celebrate pupils who demonstrate our Christian values in their daily lives. Anyone in our school community can nominate a child who has shown one of our values through their words, choices or actions.

These examples are shared and celebrated with the whole school, helping children to recognise what our values look like in practice and inspiring others to consider how they too can live out Respect, Joy, Love, Forgiveness, Kindness and Courage each day.
If you know a child in our school community who has shown that they are living out these values, we would love to hear about it. Please let us know by sending an email to admin@stmarys916.herts.sch.uk.