St Malachy's Roman Catholic Primary School

We are committed to the teaching and practice of the Roman Catholic Faith and believe all children are special and unique and loved by God.Our school prides itself on being a wonderful place to learn and we have a very special partnership with our parents and our parish community.We strive for academic and personal success and aim for every child to leave us prepared for the challenges of life - taking with them many happy memories.

The Pupil Premium is additional funding given to schools to ensure that the most disadvantaged pupils recieve targeted support. The Head Teacher and school leaders decide how to use the pupil premium. They are held accountable for the decisions they make.

St.Malachy’s is a Roman Catholic Primary School provided by the Diocese of Salford and is maintained by Manchester Local Authority as a voluntary aided primary school.The school’s governing body is the admission authority and is responsible for taking decisions on applicants for admission. The Governing Body’s planned admission number is 30.All admissions for Reception to Year 6 are managed by the Governing Body. In-year admissions are those requests for a school place in any year group that are made outside the normal timescales, that is, after the beginning of the autumn term. If your child currently attends another school in the UK, you will need a transfer form to be signed by the Headteacher from your current school.

We believe the primary school should be a safe and wonderful place where children want to be: where learning happens both within and outside of the classroom. Children will be encouraged to enjoy life whilst at school and discover their fascinations.Whatever their background they will learn how to shape their own futures and develop their unique capacities and skills rooted in their own interests. They will learn the literacy and numeracy skills needed for life and necessary to progress in their education. They will be encouraged to be curious and use thinking skills to innovate, be creative and problem solve. They will develop their first understandings of employment and entrepreneurship.

A primary education should set up learners for life, with the knowledge and skills to be well rounded individuals, mentally and physically healthy, with an appreciation for and a generosity toward the people, the world and the universe around them.

St Malachy’s School acknowledges that Religious Education is a lifelong process and recognises that the primary years are significant in the lasting impression they make upon our children.Religious Education in school is concerned with helping children search for meaning, value and purpose in life. The child is not simply learning about religion, they are learning from it.To fulfill our aims we use the Come and See programme of Religious Education. In accordance with the guidelines from the Bishops' Conference the children at St Malachy’s receive 2.5 hours of Religious Education each week.

We regard children’s entitlement to spiritual, moral, social and cultural education as our primary objective at St Malachy’s. Our Catholic beliefs and values provide the context for all learning and school experiences. The ‘CARITAS in Action’ programme is utilized to deliver the social teaching of the Catholic Church. There are opportunities for the children plan and work collaboratively on fund-raising and charitable projects that directly benefit our parish and local community.

In addition to CARITAS In Action there are also planned opportunities for ‘Big Questions’ about the purpose and meaning of life. ‘Big Questions’ are asked and discussed during each ‘Topic’ themed unit of work from the ‘Inspire Curriculum’ which is used to teach core and foundation subjects in line with the requirements of the New Curriculum.

St Malachy’s School is committed to giving children the opportunity to learn in the outdoor environment. We believe that taking learning outside is good for promoting children’s self-esteem, wellbeing, behaviour, co-operative learning and problem solving.

St Malachy’s Pupil Chaplaincy team has 13 dedicated members and is led by Miss O’Brien. The children who have a vital role to play in enhancing the Religious Life of our school. The children in years 3 and 4 are given the opportunity to apply each year and are interviewed by Miss O’Brien and Sister Regina.

The job of Pupil Chaplain has a very high profile in school and some of the tasks these pupils carry out include welcoming new pupils and staff to our school, leading Masses and Liturgical events, co-planning, preparing and delivering collective worship in classes throughout the school, leading ‘Faith in Action’ workshops, fundraising initiatives and developing the Catholic ethos of the school. The Pupil Chaplains also give advice to children on the Sacramental programme and are excellent role-models to others especially in how to live out our Mission Statement.

The Chaplaincy Team meet every Wednesday to write, review and carry out the termly action plan. So far this year the team has increased donations to the Lalley centre by holding a class competition, advertised for new members of the team, raised the profile of Advent by holding an advent assembly and blessing the advent wreaths that are used in class. The team regularly plan and lead collective worship.

Our Pupil Chaplains are easily identified in school by their special Chaplain jumpers. They work hard to promote our Catholic faith in school but they are also a wonderful link between St Malachy’s and other schools in our cluster. The Pupil Chaplains do some excellent work by reaching out to other Chaplaincy Teams.We host an annual Chaplaincy workshop event during Lent which is attended by Chaplaincy teams from St Matthews High School, Our Lady’s High School, Mount Carmel, St. Edmunds, St. Margaret Mary, St John Boscoe, St. Dunstans and Christ the King.