OUTSTANDING – CSI Report 5th May 2023
Diocesan inspection report said:
“Leaders and governors are inspirational in promoting the school’s mission. They are deeply committed and passionate and constantly support everyone. The school seeks to work well with the local parish and show a commitment to its mission. The school promotes parental engagement; they are highly supportive of developing their child’s vocation.
One parent commented, ‘The school’s ethos supports and reflects the Catholic faith. Christ is at the centre of everything that they do.’
Staff speak highly of the care and love that leaders demonstrate and told inspectors, ‘Our school promotes a love of faith which is engaging and inspiring for all our children. Our Catholic ethos is intrinsic in all that we say and do.’ There is an open-door well-being policy, and staff feel confident they can readily access support. One staff commented, ‘St Mary’s is a wonderful place where strong relationships are formed, and everyone is respected.’ Governors make highly significant contributions, effectively evaluating with rigour, analysis, and targeted improvement.”
OFSTED report said:
“There is a strong sense of pastoral care across the school, which reflects the school’s Catholic values.
Leaders promote pupils’ personal development well. They teach them how to be responsible, active citizens. Pupils raise money for charity or make donations to organisations in the local community.
Parents and carers value the opportunities available to their children. A comment made by a parent reflects the views of many others: ‘My child is not just learning academically, but also spiritually and how to be a kind and caring person.” OFSTED December 2022
Our Mission at St. Mary’s
The Catholic Life of the school is given the highest priority where the development of an authentic Catholic ethos is actively sought by all. Children are empowered to have a thorough understanding of the Church’s liturgical year, its seasons, rites and symbols. Within the school community, prayer has a profound and visible effect on the development of all pupils and staff irrespective of ability or faith background. As a school, we promote a love of faith; engaging and inspiring our children to take responsibility for promoting the Catholic ethos of our community whilst seeking to lead and develop this further. Developing a greater understanding of vocation is fundamental in giving our children a meaningful reason to live out their faith. Teachers ensure that children are provided with opportunities to develop their thinking and respond to questions of faith. Our school celebrates, develops and enhances the Catholic Life of our children and ensures our Catholic ethos underpins all that we do and strive to achieve.
Christ has no body on earth but ours.
Ours are the hands with which He heals.
Ours are His eyes, His feet, His lips.
Ours are the hearts through which He loves.
Teresa of Avila
Our Curriculum – Catholic Social Teaching Coverage
Our whole school curriculum is centred around the principles of Building the Kingdom and Catholic Social Teaching. In principle, this means bringing the unchangeable values of the Gospel into an everchanging modern society. Our curriculum and pedagogical approach provides our children with a foundation to make the world a better place. Our children realise that they are not too young to make a difference and that each individual’s unique vocation is not for the future but for now. All of the children’s learning leads them towards answering one of these Big Questions at the end of each learning block. Please see our ‘Curriculum’ page to view our overviews and find more information.
Today, we celebrate the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, two great leaders of the early Church who shared the Good News of Jesus with courage and faith. Their lives remind us of the importance of trust in God and standing firm in our beliefs, even when it's difficult.
On Friday, the children took part in a special liturgy to commemorate this important feast day. Through prayer, song and reflection, they learned more about the lives of St Peter and St Paul and how we can follow their example in our daily lives.
Let us pray:
Lord God, you chose Peter to lead your Church and Paul to bring your message to the world. Help us to be strong in faith like them, to speak your truth with courage and to live with love in our hearts. Amen.
St Peter and St Paul, pray for us.
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Today Reception thought about the Jubilee Journey of Hope and took part in their own pilgrimage. They were introduced to 4 special places of pilgrimage for Catholics: Rome, Assisi, The Holy Land and Lourdes. They walked quietly around listening to information about each, and jointly asked that each saint “Pray For Us”.
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✝️🌍To mark the Jubilee Year Pledge Launch Day, Year 5 and 6 set out on a local pilgrimage to share St Mary’s pledge to reduce plastic waste as part of their Catholic Life Pledge for this learning block. Along the way we held a peaceful parade, proudly spreading Pope Francis’ powerful message about caring for our common home. Inspired by Catholic Social Teaching and the principle of stewardship, we are committed to protecting God’s creation – one step, one pledge and one act of kindness at a time.🌍✝️ #catholiclifestm #year5stm #year6stm … See MoreSee Less
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✝️ Jubilee Year Pledge Day at St Mary’s ✝️
Today, St Mary’s came together as a school community to mark a truly special occasion — our Jubilee Year Pledge Day.
We began the day by gathering together to introduce our whole-school pledge: to reduce plastic waste 🌍♻️.
This morning, we learnt all about plastic pollution and reflected on ways we can reduce our use of plastic both at home and in school. Our children also led us in a beautiful Pledge Day Liturgy, filled with prayer and promise.🕯️
As part of our Jubilee journey, we also took part in a very special Pilgrimage Afternoon. Our school grounds were transformed into six sacred destinations: Walsingham, Lourdes, Rome, the Holy Land, Fatima and Assisi. Children travelled between each one reverently, learning about the rich spiritual history of these holy places and pausing to reflect and pray along the way.
It was a powerful and moving experience that helped us feel more connected to the wider Church and to Christians all around the world 🌏.
Through our promises, our pilgrimages and our adventures with Luce the Jubilee Mascot, we continue to embrace this Jubilee Year with open hearts and faithful footsteps 🕊️👣
A heartfelt thank you to our incredible Catholic Life Leaders, who led the afternoon so beautifully.
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What an amazing day
✝️The Sacrament of the Eucharist ✝️
Today has been a truly special day for our St Mary's school community, as our children made their First Holy Communion.
Surrounded by family, friends and faith, they received the Body of Christ for the first time — a beautiful step in their journey with God.
We are so proud of each and every one of them.
Thank you to the families, parish and staff who have helped to prepare the children so thoughtfully and prayerfully for this sacred moment.
May God bless our communicants today and always. ✨🙏
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Congratulations to all the children and their families on such a special service 🙏
A beautiful Mass. Xx
Amazing 😻
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🎉 Happy 60th Birthday, Canon Paul! 🎉
Today we give thanks for Canon Paul on his 60th birthday — a wonderful shepherd to our parish and a true friend to our school. The children were so excited to celebrate him on his special day and show just how much he means to us all!
Canon Paul gives so much of his time, care, and kindness to our school community and the children are always delighted to see him. In honour of his special day, they made some beautiful birthday cards to express their love and gratitude and we think you’ll agree, they did a fantastic job!
We are so blessed to have Canon Paul walking alongside us in faith and joy. 💛🙏💙
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Happy Birthday Canon Paul, from all of the staff, learners and parents/carers.
Happy 60th Birthday Canon Paul 🎂
Happy Birthday , Canon Paul , hope you are having a good day. God Bless, Gemma.
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As you know, last week Reception were lucky enough to have a visit from Rent-a-beast. This tied in with World Environment Day. We decided our final Catholic Life pledge for this year would link to Stewardship of God’s Creation so we made Bug Hotels for the minibeasts in our outdoor area. Scroll through the photos and see the finished results.
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Today, we were joined by Liv and the wonderful Fishers from St John Fisher for a special retreat in preparation for our First Holy Communion on 21st June. ✝️
We spent time reflecting on special meals we’ve shared with our loved ones and thought deeply about the significance of the Last Supper. We learned how the Eucharist is our way of sharing a sacred meal as the family of God 🙏💒
We also got creative by making a beautiful mosaic artwork of the loaves and fishes 🐟🍞 and ended the afternoon joyfully singing some of the hymns we’ll be sharing at our First Holy Communion Mass 🎶😊
A big thank you to Liv and the Fishers for a fabulous and faith-filled afternoon!
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What a fantastic school link
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St John Fisher Catholic College