Our School

Our Headteacher, Mrs Simmons

On behalf of the staff and Governors I welcome you to St Francis Xavier Catholic Primary School.

We thank you for the confidence that you are placing in us and we will endeavour to maintain agreed links with you and look forward to a successful relationship during the coming years. We want to do the very best that we can for your child and ask you to support us in our work.

We hope that you find this web site useful and helpful in informing you about school aims and policies, etc.

We are a happy school with caring staff and good relationships. We believe strongly in a partnership between home and school and that together we can work successfully for the development of your child in all aspects of growth.

Our beliefs and curriculum are based on the Catholic Foundation and our Catholic spirituality provides the whole ethos of the school. We welcome children of other faiths and believe that we can learn a great deal from each other about justice, tolerance and respect. Working together we can attain the best for your child.

Mary Simmons, Headteacher

The Aims of our School - Our Catholic Foundation

At the heart of what we do is the belief that each one of us, adult and child, is made in God's image and likeness and is well loved by him. We believe also that each one of us is equal in God's sight. This is the core of Christ's message and it underlies all that we seek to do here in school.

We aim to develop a whole school community that is centred on God; where the Catholic faith, its Christian values, doctrines and attitudes to life will be fostered; where the religious and spiritual life of the child will be nurtured, and where the child will learn to play a part both in the parish and in the wider community of different races and faiths; where they will learn to respect all people.

The aims of the school can be summarised as follows:

• To provide a happy, stimulating and caring environment where each child will feel confident and secure and develop his/her potential to the full, according to age, ability and aptitude.
• To help children learn the importance of good manners, courtesy, tolerance, self-discipline and perseverance.
• To introduce children to the wider, fast-changing, multi-cultural society in which we live. In this regard we welcome the presence of families from other faiths and all our children are taught to respect the religious beliefs of others.
• To teach children the subjects of the National Curriculum while still attending to the development of the whole child, and to enable each child to develop a lively enquiring and discriminating mind.
• To teach a command of basic English and an ability to communicate well with others through the spoken and written word and to encourage an enjoyment of reading.
• To encourage a sound knowledge and understanding of basic mathematical concepts and operations and to develop an enquiring attitude to the world in which we live, and a deepening knowledge of science, geography and history.
• To develop the children's creative abilities in music and art, and to develop an enjoyment of physical activities together with a range of recreational games and skills.
• To develop an understanding and knowledge of the teaching of the Catholic Church and the way it seeks to serve society.
• To encourage a fruitful and mutually supportive relationship between home and school.

School Inspections

Ofsted Inspection - June 2007
Religious Education Inspection - June 2007

Both inspections of our school in June 2007 were highly successful and graded our school as outstanding. As required after both inspections, the Governors and staff drew up action plans for the key issues identified. Both action plans are in place and well underway.

We are delighted that Ofsted reported:

• The school is outstanding in its effectiveness. Every pupil is valued and encouraged to reach for their best.
• Expectations are high amongst all staff and the pupils. Work is extremely well matched to pupils' needs.
• Leadership and management are outstanding.
• Teaching and learning are outstanding.
• The personal development of the pupils is first rate. There is complete racial harmony in school and behaviour is superb.
• The school has an enviable tradition of outstanding achievement and well above average standards.
• The pupils recognise the high quality of teaching in the school. They are unanimous in their opinion that lessons are often inspirational in giving them opportunities to discover new things and learn a lot.

The full Inspection Report from June 2007 can be found on Ofsted's own web site.

Here are some comments from our Religious Education Report:

• The worship and prayer life of the school, nurturing the spiritual and moral development of the pupils, are exemplary.
• The provision for religious education is likewise outstanding because of the excellent quality of the teaching and learning.
• The quality of leadership and management at all levels is outstanding.
• The pupils recieve a very high quality of care and education.
• The spiritual and moral development of the pupils is a priority and the outcome is seen in the excellent behaviour of the pupils and their care for one another around school.
• The quality of the provision for prayer and collective worship is outstanding.
• It was a delight to hear the enthusiasm and joy in the pupils' singing.
• Every classroom and corridor is lifted by the colourful displays of the pupils' own work.
• Pupils make rapid progress from the moment they enter the school.
• Outstanding achievement is the consequence of outstanding teaching and learning.
• Pupils enjoy their lessons.

The full report may be read here.

What Our Children Think

And what do our pupils think of our school? Here, a few of them share their views with us:

I really like the lunchtimes activities and equipment. They make
lunchtimes fun and help to keep us healthy. - Shannon.

Our Green Team helps to keep the school clean and tidy. - Laura.

Our lessons are really interesting because we use lots of ICT, art and
drama in them. - Liam.

The teachers are really kind and caring. - Roshni.

The school council helps us to get the things that we want at school, like bamboo fencing around the playground. - Peter