What is our Vision? What are our Values?

Welcome to   Our Vision and Values at English Martyrs

One of the core functions of the Governing Body is

‘Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction’

We have recognised that this is not always clearly articulated or visible to our school community so we have decided that this needed to be addressed. This project was started in September 2020 and encompassed developing a vision for our school that is clearly articulated and understood, agreeing a set of values that would be visible in the everyday life of the school, and having a strategic plan to achieve our vision.

 In collaboration with Staff, Pupils and Parents we have chosen the following 4 Values that we want to live by in our school:

Community, Respect, Inspire and Belief

These values were chosen by looking at what we all believed were important to us, listening to staff and pupils, understanding what they relate to and why.

As part of this process we also looked at vision statements for each of these values so that we have a common understanding of what these are. In a parent survey we asked for feedback on what was most important to you and this has resulted in the following vision statements for our School Values:

Community: We have a responsibility to inspire, believe and respect each other within our school and wider community

Respect: We listen, all voices are heard and valued.  We encourage diversity, we respect difference

Inspire: We have a curriculum that is engaging and interesting to all. We understand what inspires and motivates the pupils

Belief: Our pupils believe in their ability and strive to do more

What does this look like for the children?

 We have looked at each of our values and exploring what they mean to us, why they are important and what they look like when we are living them out in our school.   The children have designed logos that represent each value in English Martyrs school.

After the restrictions of Covid ended and children were able to mix again, we also restarted our House system and renamed our Houses according to our four values.  The children thought about mottos for their houses, a house song, a house prayer and having our Houses named after our values means that they are an integral part of our day-to-day life in school.  

Each value also has a badge on our 'Marvellous Me' system, where we send texts and images to parents / carers to show the great things their child is achieving in school.  This means that parents know when we are proud of their child for living out our values of 'Community', 'Inspire', 'Respect' and 'Belief' and can celebrate this with their child.  

Our Vision: we then defined our vision for the school, ensure that it is shaped by our values:

 "Our School is a safe, caring and engaging environment for all pupils and staff.  Pupils develop and progress, recognise their talents and thrive on challenges.  We set high standards and expectations for behaviour, attitudes and achievement and take immense pride in these.

At the heart of the school is a rich curriculum, that caters for all capabilities and needs and is built on the interests of the pupils. It makes best use of its assets, both physical (i.e. outdoor learning space), and intellectual, facilitating the imagination  and creativity of the teaching staff and pupils. 

All pupils achieve and are challenged in their learning.  Pupils will leave our school fulfilled, confident and capable.  They will be ready to take the next step in their learning journey and will be proud that they were a part of our school.  

Our faith community provides a strong foundation.  We draw on the expertise, wisdom and support that it provides.  We have strong links with our 2 parishes. We have formal links with other schools and work in collaboration with them in order to provide the best opportunities for our pupils and staff."

What's next?

Our English Martyrs Vision and Values shape and are being embedded through our School Development Plan (https://www.englishmartyrs.w-sussex.sch.uk/school-development-plan/), and we are taking pride and enjoyment in seeing them come to life in our school!  Please do have a look at the slide show below of photos  for just a few examples of how our Vision and Values are being lived out in the day to day life of our school.

We would love to hear any feedback about the Vision and Values of our school.  Please contact clerk@englishmartyrs.school.

Thank you.