Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School

Our school is a big family with strong parish and community links. Care and excellent standards of teaching and learning are hallmark statements of our school.At Sacred Heart we aim to help children develop in their journey of faith in a positive learning environment and we place Jesus, His teachings and His values at the centre of what we do.We also believe that our school will make a valuable contribution to your child’s development. It is a secure and caring environment where children develop their many talents and we fully recognise the importance of educating the ‘whole’ child. Academic excellence for all children is one of our goals but we also seek to nurture those special gifts which makes each child unique.

Home, School and Parish links are also vital. We value the full contribution to school life that parents make and the support offered by our local parish. Together, we ensure that Sacred Heart remains a very special place.

E-Safety is an important part of keeping children safe at Sacred Heart. We have extensive security measures in place in school, which are monitored both internally and externally, to help safeguard pupils from potential dangers or unsuitable material. Any e-Safety incidents are recorded and managed in accordance with our e-safety policy. e-Safety is taught to all pupils explaining and demonstrating how to stay safe and behave appropriately online.We can only be successful in keeping children safe online if we work with parents to ensure the e-Safety message is consistent. It is important that parents speak to their children about how they can keep safe and behave appropriately online.

School Governors play an increasingly significant role in the running of schools. We feel it’s a huge privilege to serve the school, and play our part in ensuring the children at Sacred Heart Catholic Primary receive the education they deserve. School governing bodies are made up of volunteers who are responsible for working with the school to ensure that it delivers a good quality education. Individual governors bring a range of experience to the group, drawing on their own professional expertise and often their knowledge of the school as parents or as part of the local community.

Governors don’t get involved in the everyday operation of the school; that is in hands of Mrs. Bramhall and her Senior Leadership Team. Our role is mainly to help shape the strategic direction and priorities of the school, and help drive those priorities forward.

Much of the work is done in these committees, and each one will meet once or twice per term. In addition to these meetings, some of us also fulfil statutory roles which oversee different aspects of school life (e.g. Safeguarding, Health and Safety, and Special Educational Needs). The work of the Board of Governors helps ensure that staff can get on with doing what they do best – educating our pupils to a high standard but at the same time creating time, space and resources for your children to do the more fun things in life.

Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School is passionate about and committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. We expect all staff and visitors to share this commitment. We are fully committed to ensuring that consistent effective safeguarding procedures are in place to support families, children and staff at school.

Pupil premium funding was introduced in April 2011 to narrow the gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers. The government believes that Pupil Premium is the most effective way of ensuring that funding reached the pupils who need it most. The government has stated that it is for schools to decide how the Pupil Premium, allocated to schools per FSM pupil, is spent, since they are best placed to assess what additional provision should be made for the individual pupils within their responsibility. We are very proud of the excellent provision for our pupils at Sacred Heart and in particular for those in receipt of the pupil premium grant. All staff are dedicated to ensuring the gap in attainment and achievement closes between those pupils eligible for the pupil premium and all other pupils, and that the school continues to promote a fully inclusive ethos. Outcomes for our pupils remains a priority and work is targeted so that pupils reach their individual potential. Regular meetings are held with the senior leadership team to assess progress and monitor children's attainment.

At Sacred Heart we always strive to provide quality experiences of prayer and liturgy that support pupils’ spiritual development. These communal acts of prayer and the liturgical celebrations of the Church form part of everyday life in our school. Every child is given the opportunity to pray by giving praise and thanks to God using traditional prayers of the Catholic Church and many other sources of prayer that enable this to take place. We encourage the children to nurture a relationship with God through words, symbols, song, gestures and silence. Prayer is such an integral part of school life that it can never be confined to ‘timetabled’ slots but may take place in a variety of contexts other than those specifically structured.Central to our prayer life in Sacred Heart is the weekly Pupil Led Collective Worship. Children prepare reflective sessions themselves and share this with their peers.

The Eucharist is the very core, the very essence of our Catholic life and therefore is celebrated regularly as a whole school and with the extended community. Our school Masses take place on a Thursday morning, with children participating in a variety of ways: praying, reading and singing. The opportunity to celebrate Mass with our parishioners, in our church, helps to further the children’s understanding of the richness of the Eucharist.