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.
Catholic Life Gallery
🕯️All Souls’ Day – 2nd November 🕯️
Today, on the Feast of All Souls, we pause to remember and pray for all those who have died and are now resting in God’s loving care.
As a school community, we remember especially those who have been part of our St Mary’s family and are no longer with us. We hold in our hearts the family members, friends, staff, former pupils and loved ones who have touched our lives and whose memories remain precious to us.
All Souls’ Day reminds us of the hope we have in Christ’s promise of eternal life and the comfort of knowing that God’s love reaches beyond death.
Today, we invite our whole school community to take a quiet moment to remember someone special and offer a prayer for them.
🙏 Eternal Rest Prayer 🙏
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon them.
May they rest in peace.
Amen.
May the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.
#catholiclifestm …
0 CommentsComment on Facebook
🙏 Happy All Saints’ Day! 🙏
Today, we celebrate All Saints’ Day, a special feast in the Catholic Church when we remember and give thanks for all the saints who have followed Jesus and shown us how to live lives filled with faith, love and kindness.
The saints remind us that we are all called to holiness. Each saint has their own unique story of courage, compassion and trust in God and they continue to inspire us to follow in their footsteps.
As our Year 6 children prepare for the Sacrament of Confirmation, they will have the special opportunity to choose a saint who inspires them to be their Confirmation saint. This is a wonderful chance to reflect on the qualities of the saints and consider how their example can guide them on their own journey of faith.
Today, we ask ourselves: How can we follow the example of the saints and bring God’s love to others?
All holy men and women, pray for us.
#catholiclifestm #year6stm …
0 CommentsComment on Facebook
Here is this week's Wedneday Word to share at home with your families.
Please note this is a bumper edition for the half term break.
wednesday-word.paperturn-view.com/half-term-holiday-special?pid=MTA101634&v=224.9
#catholiclifestm …
Half Term Holiday Special – Magazine – Page 1
wednesday-word.paperturn-view.com
Wednesday Word0 CommentsComment on Facebook
🌍📦 October Half-Term RE Homework – Getting Giving Going with World Give! 🌍📦
This October half term, we are inviting our whole school community to come together for a very special project as part of our Catholic Life Pledge.
We are delighted to be continuing our partnership with World Give, a wonderful charity that spreads kindness and generosity to children and families around the world.
As a Catholic school, we are called to put our faith into action by showing love, compassion and generosity to others. This project is a fantastic opportunity for our children to live out these values and discover how even the smallest act of kindness can make a big difference. ❤️
Some of our children have already had the wonderful privilege of helping World Give pack their gift boxes, gaining a first-hand understanding of the difference these donations can make. Take a look at our video to see them in action! 🎥
We would love every class to contribute towards filling gift boxes that World Give will distribute to children around the world.
Each class has been allocated a particular item to donate. By working together, we hope to collect a wonderful variety of gifts and essential items to brighten the lives of others.
Class Donation List
🌟 Nursery
St Mary – Small teddy bear
🌟 Reception
St Gabriel – Small toy car
St Joseph – Mini puzzle
🌟 Year 1
St Andrew – Yo-yo
St George – Bouncy ball
🌟 Year 2
St David – Toothbrush
St Patrick – Toothpaste
🌟 Year 3
St Catherine of Siena – Crayons
St Dominic – Felt-tip pens
🌟 Year 4
St Stephen – Small notepad
St Maria – Hair bobbles or clips
🌟 Year 5
St Paul – Small, individually wrapped bar of soap
St Teresa – Flannel
🌟 Year 6
St Rita – Small musical instrument
St Peter – Bucket hat
❤️ How can you help?
Over the half term, we are asking families who are able to do so to donate one new item from their child's class allocation. There is absolutely no pressure to contribute, and every donation will be gratefully received.
⚠️ Please remember:
All items must be brand new and small enough to fit inside a gift box.
Bars of soap must be individually wrapped.
No war-related toys, second-hand items, sweets or chocolate.
🎥 Please watch our video for inspiration, examples of suitable items and guidance on what cannot be included in the boxes.
When we return after half term, we will bring our donations together as one school community, ready to support World Give in spreading a little happiness, hope and kindness across the world.
✨ Small acts of kindness, big differences! ✨
Thank you, as always, for your incredible generosity and support. Together, we can show our children what it truly means to live out our faith through love and service to others.
We can't wait to see what we can achieve together!
#catholiclifestm …
0 CommentsComment on Facebook
🌍 Introducing World Give – Getting Giving Going! 🏠
We are delighted to share that we have been working with World Give, a wonderful charity dedicated to spreading kindness and making a difference to the lives of others, both around the world and closer to home.
World Give supports communities overseas through thoughtfully prepared gift boxes but they also believe in the importance of charity beginning at home.
We have already been fortunate enough to receive some generous donations, including breakfast items and the occasional special treat, which our children have thoroughly enjoyed! As you can see from our little video, there have been plenty of happy faces!
This is just the beginning of what we hope will be a wonderful partnership. We are looking forward to working closely with World Give on a variety of exciting projects, helping our children understand the importance of generosity, compassion and making a positive difference in the lives of others.
✨ Watch this space for more exciting projects with World Give! ✨
A huge thank you to everyone at World Give for their kindness and generosity. We can't wait to see what we can achieve together!
#catholiclifestm …
1 CommentsComment on Facebook
💜 Sacramental Preparation – Reconciliation 💜🙏
Today, our children took part in their second session of preparation for the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
We explored the difference between good and bad choices, reflecting on how the decisions we make each day can either bring us closer to God or distance us from Him.
Through the Scripture story of Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1–10), we learnt that Jesus loves us even when we make mistakes and that it is never too late to make a fresh start. Just as Zacchaeus recognised his wrong choices and changed his ways, we too are called to say sorry, seek forgiveness and choose to follow Jesus.
The children reflected on how their words and actions affect others and how making loving, kind and thoughtful choices helps us grow closer to God.
A beautiful reminder that God's love and forgiveness are always there for us and that every day is an opportunity to make good choices and follow Jesus.
#catholiclifestm #prayerandliturgystm #sacramentalpreparationstm #year3stm …
0 CommentsComment on Facebook
⛪️✨ Combined Schools’ Mass ✨⛪️
Today our Year 6 children had the wonderful opportunity to attend the Combined Schools’ Mass alongside children from across St Gabriel the Archangel Catholic Multi-Academy Trust at St Gregory’s Catholic Church in Longton. 🙏
The Mass celebrated the life of St Francis of Assisi and reminded us of the importance of humility, kindness and compassion. Through his example we reflected on how we can follow in Jesus’ footsteps by showing love and care to those around us. ❤️
A lovely opportunity for our children to come together as one Catholic community in faith, prayer and reflection. 🕊️
#CatholicLifeSTM #year6stm #prayerandliturgystm …
1 CommentsComment on Facebook
Here is this week's Wednesday Word to share with your families.
wednesday-word.paperturn-view.com/invitation?pid=MTA101634&v=222.8
#catholiclifestm …
Invitation – Magazine – Page 1
wednesday-word.paperturn-view.com
Wednesday Word0 CommentsComment on Facebook
🐑 ✝️ Sacramental Preparation – Reconciliation ✝️ 🐑
Today, our children preparing to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation began their first preparation session.
We explored the Parable of the Lost Sheep and reflected on its beautiful message that God knows each one of us, loves us and always welcomes us back to Him.
We thought about how the Sacrament of Reconciliation brings us back to God when we have made wrong choices and reminds us that His love and forgiveness are always there for us.
To finish our session, each child wrote their name on a sheep and chose one word to describe how they had felt during our time together, including words such as loved, safe, welcomed and happy.
A lovely first step on their journey towards receiving this special sacrament. 🙏
#catholiclifestm #prayerandliturgystm #sacramentalpreparationstm …
0 CommentsComment on Facebook