Zion Class Careers Morning

The annual Careers morning was a great success, with an excellent turnout from a wide range of employers and professionals. Pupils had the opportunity to learn about many different career paths, including roles within the local council, nails and beauty, veterinary services, electrical work, floor fitting, the Coastguard, the Police, and Fleetwood Town. One of the highlights of the morning was the opportunity to sit in a police car and speak with officers about their work. We were also delighted to welcome back a former pupil, who shared their experiences of completing an apprenticeship with BAE Systems. The event provided pupils with valuable insight into the wide variety of opportunities available to them and helped inspire their future career aspirations.

2025.2026

                St Mary’s Catholic Primary School                 

Working Together for the Good of Each Other

Congratulations to all the children, staff, governors, and wider community of St. Mary’s Catholic Primary School on achieving the prestigious Lancashire Learning 4 Life Gold Award. This wonderful achievement reflects the school’s strong commitment to supporting our children’s personal development, well-being, and preparation for life beyond the classroom.

The Lancashire Learning for Life Award is a personal development quality mark for schools that recognises and celebrates how they prepare children for life in modern society beyond academic achievement. Developed by the Lancashire Professional Development Service, the award accredits schools that demonstrate a strong commitment to pupils’ personal growth, wellbeing, and citizenship.

St. Mary’s has achieved the gold standard in all of the six key themes:

• Living Safely
• Our Lives Beyond School
• An Equal and Diverse Society
• Our Wellbeing
• Our Relationships
• Being a Responsible Citizen

The accreditation enables schools to showcase their own unique and effective ways of supporting young people to thrive both in and beyond school life.

Recognition for this wonderful achievement has been received from Jen Macdonald (FCCT), PSHE Consultant, who said:

“As a school, you have created a space where children take a lead on making a difference to your school and your community, and their drive to succeed is clear.

It has been a pleasure to work with you over the past two years on the Learning 4 Life Award, and you are now our first school to officially achieve both the silver and gold mark across the whole county.

I will very much look forward to working with you to become one of our flagship schools that can support others. It always sticks with me that you talk about 'our little school with a big heart', and this is a perfect description! It encompasses all the amazing things that you do to promote the personal development and well-being of your children, and it should be widely celebrated. Your 'little school in Fleetwood, with a big heart' should be incredibly proud of this achievement, and I can reiterate- it is a very special place to be!”

This achievement is a proud reflection of the hard work, shared values, and strong sense of community that make St. Mary’s Catholic Primary School such a special place for children to learn and flourish.  Thank you to all the children, staff, governors, families, and wider community for your continued support.

Maggie Bottomley

Deputy headteacher, St. Mary’s Catholic Primary School

2024-2025

                                                   St Mary’s Catholic Primary School                                                 Working Together for the Good of Each Other

Secretly Famous

During the Spring II term, we participated in a unique peer-to-peer recognition scheme called Secretly Famous. Throughout Monday 10^th March and Monday 17^th March, the children were encouraged to look out for acts of kindness in each other and those around them. Their handwritten nomination was then posted in the striking post box which was opened at the end of the week to reveal who had been nominated. The nominations were then given the recognition they deserved during our weekly Awards Assembly on a Friday afternoon. All nominees were presented with The Charger; a powerful metaphor used to demonstrate the significance of every Secretly Famous nomination. Their photographs were then shared on a giant tablet-like display located in the Reception Area of the school for everyone to see. Once we have experienced Secretly Famous in school, the children and staff will select three nominees that they feel are most worthy to receive special recognition at an awards ceremony in June. Congratulations to some of our nominees.

Bodhran Class

Life Education visit

Thank you to Steven who visited St Mary’s and met all our wonderful classes. In Bodhran class we thought about how we can help stay healthy by eating a balanced diet. We learnt about what our bodies need and why. Jobe even had the chance to try on a special outfit when we learnt about some of our internal organs. We were all very excited to meet Harold the giraffe.🦒 

Coram Life Education in Saxophone Class

In our Coram Life Education session, we spoke about decisions.  The decisions we will make in the next ten years, the bad decisions we might be faced with, peer pressure, drugs, alcohol, bystanders and how to deal with all the changes we might face in the near future with our transition to high school.  A very well informed, productive session for all!  Well done Saxophone class!

World Mental Health Day in Saxophone Class

For 'World Mental Health Day' in Saxophone class, we have taken part in the following...mindful colouring, yoga, breathing exercises, relaxing in the reading den, reading a book and mindful doodling/brain building work.  We've even eaten sweets, been given new toothbrushes and toothpaste and we've finished the day off with a homework free night!

Accordian Class...

We have been talking about our favourite books

Working as a team in Saxophone Class

Blue Plaques in Fleetwood

Today, our new leadership team had the privilege of unveiling the newest plaque in Fleetwood at St Mary's Church.  They were amazing representatives of our school.  

PSHE 2023.24 

Briggs Class

PSHE CURRICULUM VISION:

In preparation for PSHE becoming statutory in September 2020 under the Children and Social Work Act 2017, including Relationships Education at key stages 1 and 2 and Health Education in Primary 

we began by reviewing our current PSHE curriculum.  We decided that a more structured comprehensive programme that integrated the statutory content and included a broader programme covering economic wellbeing, careers, and enterprise education, as well as education for personal safety, was required.

It was important for our children to have opportunities to reflect on their learning, especially when that learning relates directly to their individual identity – their personal qualities, attitudes, skills, attributes, achievements, and influences. We felt that it was important for teachers to feel confident that learning within this subject had taken place, to be able to demonstrate progress, and to identify future learning needs.

It was also essential that all those invested in our children could see the impact PSHE education would have on our children and for whole-school outcomes. In conjunction with our PSHE curriculum, we decided to remap our entire curriculum and place PSHE at the heart of our foundation.

Intent:

The purpose of our curriculum is to inspire all children to acquire knowledge and skills and to ignite a lifelong love of learning. We celebrate the cultural capital that our community brings to learning and build on this to broaden children’s understanding of the world. Our commitment to providing equality of opportunity ensures that rich experiences and enhancements are embedded throughout the curriculum.

Implementation       

EYFS - In the Foundation Stage, PSHE and citizenship is taught as an integral part of topic work and is embedded throughout the curriculum. The objectives taught are the Personal, Social, and Emotional Development statements from ‘Development Matters in the EYFS’ and the PSED Early Learning Goals.

Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 – 

At Key Stages 1 and 2, PSHE is personalised, planned, and illustrated through our PSHE/RSE Curriculum Maps. Lessons are supported using the PSHE & SCARF scheme of work in line with the National Curriculum.  Assessment outcomes and questionnaire findings have helped mold our curriculum priorities and focus on the needs of our children.

We ensure we cover the Health and Well-Being, Relationships, and Living in the Wider World Learning Opportunities set out in the PSHE Association’s Programme of Study, which also complements our RSE Dioceses scheme of work and covers the statutory Health Education and Relationships Education guidance. 

Children are taught PSHE supported with ‘Scarf and PSHE Association’ materials, along with a range of enrichment and enhancement opportunities planned throughout the year that provide a more practical and realistic setting to support children’s understanding.

Our aims are to prepare our children for life, helping them to know and value who they are and understand how they relate to other people in this ever-changing world. There is a strong emphasis on emotional Literacy, building resilience, and nurturing mental and physical health. It includes mindfulness (Healthy Heads) to allow children to advance their emotional awareness, concentration, and focus.

Impact on Children:

• Children apply knowledge and skills across all subjects
• They understand that the knowledge they learn and the skills they develop will help them in their future
• Children are able to approach a range of real-life situations and apply their skills and attributes to help navigate themselves through modern life
• They will be on their way to becoming healthy, open-minded, respectful, socially and morally responsible, and active members of society
• Children appreciate difference and diversity
• They recognise and apply the British Values of Democracy, Tolerance, Mutual respect, Rule of law, and Liberty
• They are able to look after their mental health and well-being
• They are able to develop a positive, healthy relationship with their peers both now and in the future
• They understand the physical aspects involved in RSE at an age-appropriate level
• The children have respect for themselves and others.
• The children have a positive self-esteem
• We encourage our children to develop their sense of self-worth by playing a positive role in contributing to school life and the wider community. We challenge all of our pupils to look for opportunities to show the school values of faith, hope, and love.                                                                                                                  

Impact on Attainment and Progress

• The curriculum demands the best possible outcomes in PSHE from every child
• From each individual child’s starting point, progress is evident

Evaluation and Impact on our Curriculum

• Subjects are taught discretely to ensure specific concepts are the focus. Links are made across curriculum subjects so that skills can be applied in different contexts where possible
• PSHE, including SMSC and BV, is an integral part of the whole school curriculum

Evaluation of Our Impact on Our World

• Our children are inspired to achieve their full potential; have their voices heard and effect change
• Assemblies are linked to PSHE, British Values and SMSC and are linked to our school Values

PSHE, BV and SMSC displays throughout school reinforce the PSHE curriculum

International Women’s Day 2024 

Today, the girls had the opportunity to take part in an International Women’s Day workshop at Fleetwood Town. The aim of the event was to empower and engage women in employment and talk about opportunities available in the town.  We spoke to: the police, a midwife, girls footballer/coach, hair and beauty specialist, the civil service, mental health worker, Victrex, Postcards Community Trust, a physiotherapist and then we did some little exercises. 

Thank you for Fleetwood Town for inviting us; we’ve had a lovely afternoon.

Crucial Crew 

Today, we had the opportunity to take part in a Crucial Crew workshop at YMCA Lofthouse building. It was ‘crucial’ to take part in this workshop to help support our transition to high school and the wider world.

We took part in CPR delivered by the ambulance service; we learnt all about carbon monoxide in the home (we even received our own detector to take home!). We also learnt about drugs, alcohol, and vaping, we spoke to Lancashire fire and rescue service about road safety including E-bikes and E-scooters.

We moved on to speaking to the police and our session was about anti-social behaviour. We even got the opportunity to try on some handcuffs, police hats and try out the baton! Finally, we listened carefully to a talk from the national coast watch before taking part in a boxing session with Sean! We’ve had a great day!

The children in Robinson Class have been looking at how online communication can be misinterpreted and accepting that responsible and respectful behaviour is necessary when interacting online as well as face-to-face. They have also demonstrated how to respond to a wide range of feelings in others. The children have given & shown some examples of some key qualities of friendship also reflecting on their own friendship qualities

Random act of Kindness

Thank you to Alex for his random act of kindness - at home, he has take it upon himself to give back to the community by making reindeer food and giving it away in return for food for the foodbank!  What a wonderful thing to do!  We are so proud of you Alex!

The Life Education Service:

The Life Education Service visited St. Mary’s during Mental Health Week. The Educator-led workshops have been developed to deliver key mental health and wellbeing learning. The workshops build on the foundations of the Life Education Service online SCARF

SCARF: Stands for Safety, Caring, Achievement, Resilience, and Friendship and promotes positive behaviour, mental health, well-being, resilience, and achievement. It covers all of the DfE’s new statutory requirements for Relationships, Sex Education, and Health Education.

Fleetwood Remembrance Sunday – 12^th November 2023

When you go home

Tell them of us and say

For your tomorrow

We gave our today

Anti-bullying week 13^th – 17^th November

Odd Socks Day is typically observed on the second Monday in November each year. In 2023, it falls on November 13th. It is a day when schools, workplaces, and individuals join together to show that it's okay to be different and to stand up against bullying and discrimination. At St. Mary’s we wore our odd socks at the end of the week to stand united during our whole school assembly.

Briggs Class...

During the Autumn II term, the Briggs class enjoyed Healthy Heads with coach Rob. - The children learnt about the importance of keeping a healthy body and mind.

Fleetwood POLICING team

Today, the Fleetwood Police visited our class to talk about antisocial behaviour.  Our session was very informative and taught us about what antisocial behaviour is, where we might see this and who it impacts.  Thank you to Fleetwood police for giving your time to support our young children with their learning. 

Antibullying Week 2023 - Sendak Class

To start off our Antibullying week, we watched a video of celebrities who were bullied when they were younger and where they are today.  We then linked our activity to our English reading book, Wonder.  We made fortune tellers and tested them out on each other.

Sendak Class - Coram Life Education Session

Today, we talked about different decisions and how these can affect our lives.  We spoke about legal and illegal drugs and looking after our mental health. 

Congratulations!

The votes have been counted and the results are in. This morning we announced our new Head Boy and Head Girl and their deputies. Well done to all the children who took part, you are all winners in our eyes. Warmest congratulations to:

Hristiana Atanasova - Head Girl

Sophia Hearn - Deputy Head Girl 

Alex Hardie - Head Boy

Eden Webster - Deputy Head Boy

Sendak Class being assertive

In our PSHE, we used role play to show assertive skills and peer pressure.  We then talked about how we could deal with these situations in real life. 

The Dogs Trust

St. Mary's had a very special visitor today. A representative from The Dogs Trust came into school and gave an assembly on the work of the trust and how the children should interact with dogs in a safe way. This was followed by a workshop during which we discussed the body language of dogs and how this helps us predict a dogs mood and behaviour.   

I have a dream...

This morning was extra special for Sendak class. The year six children gave their Head Boy and Head Girl speeches. They have worked tirelessly to write and perform their speeches in the hope of being awarded the prestigious role. Despite the inevitable nerves, the children spoke with confidence and it was a pleasure hearing the fruits of their hard work. Well done children, we are extremely proud of you. The results of the vote will be announced on Monday. 

Sendak Class - Team work makes the dream work 

Our PSHE focus this afternoon is team work and the various aspects of a successful team. The children were tasked with a fun activity for which they had to nominate a leader to lead them to success. 

Careers Event

Shelly Woods class hosted a careers event today. Lots of local professionals were invited to attend and talk to the children about their career and aspects such as: training, qualifications, inspiration etc. The children were also given the opportunity to ask questions and look at tools/equipment necessary for the various jobs. It was a fantastic morning, the visitors were fabulous and the children loved hearing from them. You never know - maybe we have planted some seeds for the future?