St. Mary's Catholic Federation, Carshalton

St Mary’s Catholic Nursery and Infant School is a Voluntary Aided Catholic School for girls and boys . The school lies within the Archdiocese of Southwark and in the pastoral area of South West London.

Our aim is to develop the full potential of each child, spiritually, intellectually, morally, emotionally, physically and socially. We offer equality of opportunity to all children regardless of gender, disability, colour, ethnic or national origin. We celebrate the uniqueness of each child.

At St Mary’s Catholic Nursery & Infant School we share in the mission of the Catholic Church to proclaim the Gospel. We are a Christian community which welcomes and brings together priests, governors, parents, staff and pupils in developing a special relationship with God. The Gospel values of love, justice, tolerance, kindness, forgiveness and respect are reflected in our policies and practices.

Everyone who is involved with the school shares their gifts for the benefit of every child. We are committed to supporting the Catholic ethos of the school helping our children towards an understanding of the Catholic way of worship. Through offering children this experience of life in a community founded on Gospel values, we aim to prepare them for life as Christians in the wider world.

At St Mary’s we see protecting children from the risk of radicalisation as part of our school’s wider safeguarding duty whether these come from within their family or are the product of outside influences. We promote fundamental British Values and provide a safe space in which children and staff can understand the risks associated with terrorism; assisting their personal, social and emotional development and understanding of the world.

Within school, pupils are actively encouraged to make choices, knowing that they are in a safe and supportive environment. Pupils are encouraged to know, understand and exercise their rights and personal freedoms and are advised how to exercise these safely, for example through our E-Safety and PSHE lessons.

It is our vision at St Mary’s Catholic Nursery & Infant School to provide all children with the necessary skills and knowledge that will help them to progress towards Catholic Christian maturity

• We aim to encourage in our children an understanding of their own value and importance as individuals, to promote their spiritual growth and social development so that they can learn to give and share as well as to receive.
• We aim, through the use of "Here I Am" and other resources to provide each child with a framework for life based on the truth and wisdom of the Gospel.
• We aim to provide opportunities for celebration, prayer and reflection.

St Mary's Infants' School promotes high standards and achievement by working with children to ensure that they are able to

• Read fluently and accurately, with understanding and enjoyment.
• Develop a legible style of handwriting and satisfactory standards of spelling, syntax and punctuation.
• Communicate clearly and confidently in speech and writing in ways appropriate for various occasions and purposes.
• Listen attentively and with understanding.
• Learn how to acquire information from various sources, and to record information and findings in various ways.
• Apply computational skills including mental arithmetic which encourage rapid recall of mathematical information.
• Understand the applications of mathematical ideas in various situations in the home, classroom, school and local area.
• Observe living and inanimate things and to recognise characteristics such as pattern and order.
• Enjoy and delight in the wonders of Science.
• Develop children's skills of thinking and behaving scientifically.
• Be aware of the geographical, historical and social aspects of the local environment and the national heritage, and to be aware of other times and places.
• Develop an awareness and understanding of the natural and physical world and to encourage individual observation, expression and response within the child's experience.
• Acquire sufficient control of self and tools, equipment and instruments; to be able to use music, drama and other forms of arts and crafts as means of expression.
• Develop agility and physical co-ordination, competence in and through physical activity, and the ability to express feelings through movement.
• To develop children's ICT capability alongside the acquisition of their basic skills during their infant education.