About Us
Welcome to St Mary's CE Primary School
"Love your neighbour as yourself" Luke 10:27
St Mary's CE Primary School is a small, village primary school at the heart of its local community, which comprises of Portbury, Portishead, Pill and surrounding villages.
We are a vibrant, learning community with high expectations of all of our children. Every child at St Mary's experiences a learning journey that will enable them to become powerful, independent learners, able to choose, design, research, pursue ideas and evaluate their learning. We want learning to be a joyful experience and we achieve this through our highly engaging curriculum offer.
We are very fortunate to have a rich outdoor environment, which includes our field, conservation area and orchard and our new vegetable plot, all providing many exciting learning opportunities.
In our school we recognise that we are stronger when we work and learn together. When you "Love your neighbour as yourself" Luke 10:27
Children are celebrated as individuals and known by all in the school community. We support and challenge the children to aim high and motivate them to do their best at all times. As a close, family-feel community, we pride ourselves on the quality of the relationships between children, parents and staff and the wider community including the church and local residents.
We are passionate about our children developing their creativity and curiosity and use a wide range of enrichment opportunities to broaden children's horizons, this has included whole school tobogganing, visits from the Theatre, Museum trips, guest speakers, Easter Festival week, Week of light and outdoor learning. We are eager for our children to have a positive impact on the wider world. They are active Eco ambassadors, working to make the world a better place. We want our children to leave a positive legacy and to feel empowered to make decisions in their own lives.
Children flourish at our school in an environment where they are celebrated both as individuals and for the contribution they make to our community.
I feel very fortunate to lead such a welcoming and happy school.
Please contact the school office if you would like any further information or to arrange a visit.
We look forward to hearing from you,
Amy Townsend (BA, PGCE, NPQH)
Executive Headteacher
Mission Statement
We aim for all our children to ….
- have a sensitive, considerate and respectful attitude towards others
- understand and appreciate Christian values
- be proud of their school and their achievements
- be able to work co-operatively, collaboratively and independently
- be enthusiastic learners and confident in applying their skills
- develop an enquiry-based approach, to become lifelong learners
- have essential skills in literacy, numeracy and information technology
- achieve the highest standards of which they are capable
- extend themselves in mind, body and spirit
To achieve these aims for our children we will ….
- give clear, challenging but achievable objectives that are shared with the child
- complete careful planning which includes continuity, progression and differentiation, using assessment to target learning needs
- provide a stimulating, organised, learning environment with appropriate resources
- give clear instructions; provide achievable tasks, with perceptive teaching and supportive guidance
- ensure all areas of the curriculum are covered for all pupils and provide a variety of activities to challenge and extend learning
- plan opportunities for children to ask questions, teach strategies and provide resources for them to find answers
- use a range of teaching approaches and plan for different learning styles
- involve parents and carers in school life
- promote the development and use of the children’s self evaluation skills
- give praise and recognition for effort, achievement or talent
- give clear guidelines on acceptable and unacceptable behaviour through the behaviour policy and encourage children to take responsibility for their actions
- encourage children to take an active and responsible part in decision-making
- set a good example in the way we behave towards others and give children opportunities to explore Christian values and develop their spirituality
- work together collaboratively as a community and strive for continuous improvement in all we do
We hope this website provides you with just a glimpse of what makes St Mary's CE Primary School such an amazing school family to belong to.