Vision and Ethos
Success Criteria
- Children will learn to love and love to learn
- Adults will make a genuine difference to the lives and education of children in their care.
- Saint Finian’s Primary School will be of value to and be valued by the community that it serves.
School Mission Statements
- St Finian’s Primary school exists to serve the Newtownards and surrounding Community through the provision of a caring and effective education service which will enable children to make the most of their potential for academic, religious and human development.
- As a Catholic Maintained Primary School, we are committed to the Statements of Aims of Catholic Schools and to the promotion of an ethos throughout the school which reflects the Christian teaching and values of the Church and places the child at the centre of our daily work and decision making.
- St Finian’s seeks to establish a caring community centred on Christ so that his values and Gospel message instil the life of our school.
- The central focus in terms of our ethos is a ‘child centred’ approach, whereby all partners involved in the pupils’ learning development have a key role to play. We consider our parents to be a proactive force in the partnership between home, school, parish and wider community.
- We expect that the extended school community be committed to the aims and values of the school since we recognise that the school is part of this community, responsible to it and provides an important community service.
- We promote a strong and positive Pastoral Care system that permeates all aspects of school life, thus providing a caring service, which recognises the human value of the pupil, teacher and parent and facilitates efficient and effective learning and teaching.
- The service we provide, and in particular the curriculum we offer, is one that is planned, developed, monitored and evaluated to the highest professional standards so that each pupil gains the maximum amount of benefit from their pastoral and academic experience at our school.
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School Aims
As our primary aim, St Finian’s Primary school considers that, as a Catholic School, the entire school community should be fully committed to the general Statement of Aims of Catholic Schools.
For the children the school will aim to:
Provide a broad and balanced curriculum, suitably differentiated to meet the needs of all.
Provide opportunities/experiences for the spiritual, cultural, physical, moral and intellectual development of everyone in our care.
Form an awareness of their own talents, skills and abilities.
Develop a love of learning, knowledge of how to learn, and the motivation to produce their best work.
Form an awareness of, and an appreciation for, their environment both locally and global through acquiring a knowledge and understanding of the wider world in which we live, of the interdependence of individuals, groups, religions and ways of life.
Develop an attitude, which leads to self-discipline, courtesy, good manners and a respect for everyone.
Promote a positive Pastoral Care system incorporating fairness, tolerance, compassion and forgiveness – whilst setting appropriate standards of respect for self and others
Encourage effective communication between all members of the school community through the promotion of sound, respectful, interpersonal relationships which contribute to the Catholic ethos of St. Finian’s Primary School.
Develop a lively and enquiring mind, the ability to question and make informed decisions/judgments.
Provide opportunities to enhance and enrich their learning experiences across the curriculum, through the use of ICT.
For the staff [teaching/non-teaching] the school will aim to:
Provide a broad, balanced, relevant and practical curriculum to meet the needs of a changing environment by providing a rich and varied bank of learning resources supported by an enriching range of extra-curricular activities.
An ethos of support, challenge and encouragement will infuse innovative teaching and foster an investigative approach to and Love of learning.
Seek continuous improvement by working collectively as a high performance team in a self-evaluative context.
Secure the strong future of the school by ensuring the proactive and personal development of all team members and embracing the pastoral welfare needs of all.
Ensure staff are given every opportunity to continue the process of their own professional development, and receive adequate/appropriate training for the development and delivery of the curricular and administrative needs of the school.
For the parents and extended school community we will aim to establish:
Proactive harmonious relationships with parents, other local schools/playgroups, parish and community groups, and consequently create an atmosphere in which parents in particular feel they have a meaningful contribution to make towards their child’s education.
11 April 2011