– Education is not about knowing things or taking lessons but about being able to use three lingos: those of the head, the heart, and the hands… learning so that you can think about what you feel and do, can feel what you think and do, and can do what you feel and think. Unity within a person.”
Pope Francis
Loving, Learning and Reaching out to All
Our Mission Statement defines all that we hope to achieve as a living Christian community. At Our Lady’s, we are committed to promoting the teaching of the Catholic Church, not just during lesson times, but in those moments of awe and wonder that are present in each and every day. We use our Christian values to shape and nurture our children both in times of celebration and in times of need. We place the love that Jesus has for each of us firmly at the heart of all that we do.
Loving
- Mission statement daily
- Our day-to-day nurturing environment
- sharing daily prayer and liturgy/continuous provision
- Preparing for children receiving the Sacraments
- Providing a safe, welcoming and nurturing school where all are valued and welcomed
- Promote acts of love and friendship, e.g. by sharing, towards one another
- Celebrate and share success through assemblies, displays, rewards, Star assemblies, Twitter, Reach More Parents
- children involved in planning and leading collective worship and reflection
- Supporting local and global charities: Nugent Care, Zoe’s Place, food banks, Share Knowsley refugees, CAFOD, Shoe Box Appeal, through fund- raising and raising awareness, gift bags for the homeless, Christmas Cards to Whiston Hospital
- By listening to each other and valuing, respecting and responding to opinions
- Promoting good role models (school C & buddies’ roles, prefects)
- Using manners daily living like Jesus taught us
- Promoting positivity during discussions, giving rewards and certificates
- Promoting positive relationships with everyone in school
- Promoting the understanding of other faiths and cultures (theme weeks, anti- racism, kindness week NSPCC visits)
- Journey in Love taught in school
- Classes celebrate Mass and other services at Church
- Pastoral/wellbeing team are available to talk with staff and children
- Throughout every aspect of our Catholic Life, we aim to involve all stakeholders in prayer, worship and liturgical celebrations. From Reception through to Y6, parents and carers are invited to assemblies in school, which celebrate the work completed by the children in their Religious Education lessons. Further invitations to collective worships and masses are offered throughout the year.
Learning
Religious Education at Our Lady’s is a core subject in the curriculum and influences all that we teach and enables us to develop the whole person.
Through religious education teaching and learning, we aim to:
- Provide each child with the opportunity to develop their relationship with God through hearing the scriptures.
- Promote knowledge and understanding of Catholic faith and life and beliefs.
- Develop awareness and understanding of the impact of faith upon our daily lives.
- Foster attitudes of respect towards all who live in our society through dialogue and encounter.
- Recognising every child is made in the image and likeness of God; therefore striving to personalise learning
- Providing an exciting, stimulating curriculum; catering for all learning styles; learning through play EYFS
- Promoting a variety of extra-curricular activities through clubs and wrap-around care
- Build commitment and resilience through residential visits
- Making learning enjoyable
- Pupils contribute through school council
- Using Reading Plus, staff and adult readers (Parish) helpers
- Providing a stimulating and safe learning environment which provides opportunities for all to celebrate success
- Promoting combined learning for school, parents/carers, staff and children through Family Learning opportunities: Family Funs, Meet the Teacher, Parents’ Evenings, Sports and writing workshops
- Promoting Home Learning and challenges
- Stay and Play sessions in our Nursery/Reception
- Links with high schools, Collective Worship and performances/transition sessions
- School Games Award encouraging competition and being active
With support from Liverpool Archdiocese, we introduced the new Religious Education Directory (RED) ‘To Know You More Clearly’ in Nursery, Reception and Year One in 2024/25. Years Two, Three and Four will embark upon this journey this year 2025/26. This is an exciting time for our school as we continue to launch this new scheme further, before rolling it out fully to all our children by September 2026.
Reaching Out to All
Following the teachings of Jesus, we aims to create a positive, stimulating and happy environment through which all members of the school community can develop their skills and thrive. The school is committed to ensuring that all members of the community are treated fairly, justly and with respect in every aspect of school life.
We actively encourage children to support those who are vulnerable and in that way we are displaying the core gospel values taught by Jesus. Throughout the year we support
Nugent Care
Cafod
Mission Together
Mary’s Meals
Buckets of Love
The Food Bank
Muscular Dystrophy
- Visiting members of the local community
- Keeping parents/carers well informed through the school website/social media platforms and our weekly school newsletter
- Signposting parents/carers to receive the weekly parish newsletter
- Valuing parents’/carers’ and pupils’ views and opinions via annual questionnaires and less formal discussions
- Inviting members of the parish and local community into school to meet pupils
- Inviting in outside agencies such as: Knowsley CLC, police, fire officers, ambulance, nurses, dentist, optician, Everton in the Community, Share Knowsley and Road Safety Officers to participate in our learning (internet safety)
- Studying other faiths and cultures, including visiting other places of worship
- Providing Career Professional Development for staff
- Instilling global values through: school council, prefects, buddies, eco monitors
- Providing opportunities for children to showcase their talents and compete (sports, singing, choir, music)
- Nurturing a welcoming ethos for all
- Taking part in local and national initiatives such as litter picks, Walking Streets
- Involving parents/carers in school through: courses, visits, assisting, celebrations, writing/maths workshops
- Collaborating actively with groups in our parish and locality (sacramental preparation, class masses, celebrations)
- Summer and Christmas Fairs, CAFOD events in school, Democracy through School Council, NSPCC assembly and workshops, First-Aid/First Aid presentations and workshops
- Regular religious celebrations in school: Pentecost,, Remembrance
Loving, Learning and Reaching Out to All - Living out our Mission Statement
