In October 2017 we conducted a survey at Parent Consultations to find out what parents felt about the school’s distinct Christian nature.
The results were overwhelmingly positive which shows how much the parents and families of pupils at Ashford St Mary’s understand and appreciate it’s Christian ethos.
Response to Parent Questionnaire October 2017
| Strongly Agree | Agree | Disagree | Strongly Disagree | |
| Ashford St Mary’s CEP School has a set of clear and explicit Christian values which are understood by all | 87 | 56 | 3 | 0 |
| The staff and governors of the school promote Christian values | 75 | 65 | 3 | 1 |
| The school has high expectation of behaviour which reflects its Christian values | 82 | 55 | 2 | 3 |
| Relationships between all members of the school community (staff, pupils, parents, governors) reflect the school’s Christian values | 68 | 69 | 7 | 1 |
| The school teaches Christian values that help my child(ren) to develop spiritually | 67 | 65 | 7 | 0 |
| The school enables my child(ren) to develop morally and socially | 76 | 62 | 2 | 1 |
| The school provides opportunities for the cultural development of my child(ren) | 65 | 74 | 2 | 0 |
| Collective worship (assembly) is important in the life of the school | 70 | 69 | 3 | 0 |
| My child(ren) is given opportunities for prayer and quiet reflection / thoughtfulness | 47 | 62 | 11 | 0 |
| My child(ren) has a good knowledge and understanding of Christianity | 72 | 64 | 9 | 0 |
| My child(ren) has a good knowledge and understanding of other world faiths | 59 | 75 | 7 | 0 |
| My child(ren) is making good progress in RE | 46 | 88 | 4 | 0 |
| There are good partnerships with St Mary’s Ashford church | 67 | 74 | 1 | 0 |
| There are good relationships between the school and the wider community | 56 | 82 | 2 | 0 |
In response to this, we are trying to develop the reflection areas in the classroom and around the school, to give children more opportunities to have the opportunity for reflection and quiet prayer. We are also making sure we include longer periods of reflection in Collective Worship.
As last year, we will be holding an RE week the week we return from the Christmas Break, and will be exploring how Christianity is celebrated in other parts of the world, which will develop the children’s understanding of other cultures.
We also take parent feedback after Class-led worships and Year-Group worship in the church. This is some of the things that people have said:
It’s great, really lovely.
Nice that we’ve got our own little candle to light
Liked the unaccompanied Psalm
You can definitely see the Christian values in Collective Worship