St John's Roman Catholic Primary School

At St. John’s, we strive to build self-confidence and seek excellence in fulfilling the educational, social and spiritual needs of our children. Our dedicated and committed team of clergy, staff and governors work together to make sure that the children in our care are a respected part of our Christian community, one where they feel valued and secure.

We pride ourselves on being a happy, caring and welcoming community, where we help every child reach their full potential and make the most of the gifts and talents given to them by God. We know how valuable each day at school is, so we want all of our students to be happy, safe and have access to an exciting, creative and broad curriculum that excites and challenges each child to do their best. Your child will be placed at the heart of everything we do.

We are the only primary school in Manchester to hold the 'Specialist Sports Status - Platinum Award' and we pride ourselves on the respect and resilience our children show when playing as part of one of our sporting teams. Our school grounds and sports hall mean that our children are very active and have lots of incredible opportunities. We have also developed strong multi-cultural links with our friends in Nigran, Spain through our annual Spanish exchange programme. We have a varied enrichment programme both at lunchtimes and in after school clubs. Children can take part in clubs ranging from art to debate, rugby to outdoor education, football to Irish band.

We are confident that the years spent by your child at St. John's will be happy and successful and we hope that when your children leave us to go on to secondary education, they will be equipped with the skills and knowledge that will enable them to meet any new challenges with confidence. But above all, we hope that their love of God, nurtured during their years with us, will sustain them throughout their lives. We aim to live out our mission statement every day by 'Growing and learning in the footsteps of Jesus.'

At St John's Catholic Primary School, Gospel values and our Catholic faith permeate school life and determine the way in which we behave towards each other, resulting in positive, caring relationships between staff, children and their families. We focus on each individual child acknowledging both rights and responsibilities.

The spiritual life of our school is rooted in the worship and witness of our community. Our purpose is to sustain and develop a sense of purpose in our children which means helping them to understand they are called to be the best person they can be.

We aim to provide full-time nursery places for children who are aged three from September 1st to August 31st of the previous academic year. Children cannot be admitted into our nursery until they are aged three. We aim to have all our children admitted to the nursery by the end of September.

Parents and Carers should contact the school office if they wish to place their child’s name on our nursery waiting list. Admission to the nursery is based on age. Putting your child’s name on the waiting list earlier does not mean they will get into the nursery earlier. Children’s names need to be on the nursery waiting list by the end of the Easter holidays, the term before they are due to start in the nursery. Parents and carers will be notified of a place before May half term holiday. Once accepted for our nursery a homeschool transition programme will be organised for your child. This is run by the nursery team.

Manchester local authority is responsible for admission of all reception places, including children who are already in our nursery. The local authority form must be completed by parents online by the nominated date in the year before your child is due to start reception. A late application could result in your child not getting a place at the school of their choice. Parents who have a nursery place at St John’s do not automatically get a place in reception at that school.

Contact should be made with the school office. Details will be taken and the parents/carers will be advised if there are any vacancies in that year group. If there are vacancies an appointment will be made for the parents/carers and child to come to visit our school. The office will advise the parents/carers of documentation that will be needed and admission forms will be completed.Children are then admitted to school by a mutually agreeable date. In cases where we do not have vacancies, we will refer the family to the local authority.

The Department of Education has recently reinforced the need “to create and enforce a clear and rigorous expectation on all schools to promote the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs.”The Government set out its definition of British values in the 2011 ‘Prevent Strategy’, and these values have been reiterated by the Prime Minister this year.