‘Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid. Do not be discouraged for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. ‘ In knowing that God is always with us in everything we do our belief is that everyone can go on to fulfil our mission statement As a Church of England School, the Christian faith is the foundations of everything that we do at St Mark’s CE Primary. In all learning and life experiences, we aim to fulfil our school vision. We promote an environment where all children feel known, accepted, and valued as individuals, within a caring community, where our Christian faith affects not only what we teach, but also how we teach. We believe that it is fundamental for the children to belong to a safe and nurturing community, founded on strong Christian values where children will develop an array of skills that will enable them to make their own positive contribution to our global society. Our aims for all the children in RE are:

• To provoke challenging questions about the ultimate meaning of life, beliefs about God, the nature of reality and morality.
• To develop pupils’ knowledge and understanding of Christianity, other principal world religions, religious traditions and world-views, which offer answers to ultimate questions.
• To encourage pupils to develop their sense of identity and belonging, in order to flourish within communities, as responsible citizens in society and global communities.
• To teach pupils to develop respect for others and their beliefs and help to challenge prejudice.
• To prompt pupils to consider their responsibilities to themselves and to others, and to explore how they might contribute to their communities and to wider society encouraging empathy, generosity and compassion.