St. Bernadette's Catholic Primary School & Nursery

Absence Form Every Day Counts At St. Bernadette's, we believe that every child deserves the opportunity to learn, thrive and succeed. Regular attendance at school is one of the most important factors in helping children achieve their full potential. Children who attend school regularly are more likely to: Make strong academic progress. Develop positive friendships and social skills. Feel connected to their school community. Build confidence, resilience and independence. Develop positive habits that support future success. Attendance is everyone's responsibility and we are committed to working in partnership with families to ensure every child attends school regularly and on time. Why Attendance Matters Even small amounts of absence can quickly add up and have a significant impact on learning. When attendance falls below 90% are classed as Persistently Absent by the Department for Education. Punctuality Matters Too Arriving late to school can have a significant impact on learning. Just 15 minutes late every day results in almost two weeks of learning lost over the course of a school year. Being on time helps children settle quickly, begin learning with their peers and develop positive habits for the future. Our Attendance Expectations We expect all pupils to attend school every day unless they are genuinely unwell or there are exceptional circumstances preventing attendance. We encourage families to aim for attendance of at least 96%. Where attendance begins to fall, we will work with families to identify any barriers and provide appropriate support. Reporting an Absence If your child is unable to attend school, please inform us as soon as possible on the first day of absence. Attendance Form If we do not receive a reason for absence, we will contact parents and carers to ensure children are safe and accounted for. Illness and Medical Appointments We understand that children will occasionally be unwell. Parents and carers are encouraged to use NHS guidance when deciding whether a child is too ill to attend school. Whenever possible, medical and dental appointments should be arranged outside school hours. Where this is not possible, children should attend school before and after appointments whenever appropriate. Holidays During Term Time The Department for Education does not allow schools to authorise holidays during term time except in exceptional circumstances. Parents and carers should submit a Leave of Absence Request Form before making any travel arrangements. Every day of learning matters. A two-week holiday during term time can result in more than 50 lessons being missed which cannot be replicated. Further information can be found in our Attendance Policy. Attendance Pollicy Absence Form How We Support Attendance We recognise that attendance difficulties can arise for many different reasons and that every family is unique. Research shows that the most effective approach to improving attendance is understanding individual barriers and providing tailored support. Our attendance team works closely with pupils and families to identify challenges and provide support where needed. Support We Can Offer Wellbeing and Emotional Support Morning wellbeing groups. Daily check-ins with trusted adults. Pastoral support. Referrals to Compass and other support services where appropriate. Family Support Attendance meetings with parents and carers. Early Help assessments. Multi-agency support. Signposting to external services. Practical Support Breakfast club places. Support with establishing morning routines. Advice and guidance for families experiencing difficulties. We encourage families to contact us early if they are experiencing any difficulties which may affect attendance. Celebrating Attendance At St. Bernadette's, we believe that recognising improvement is just as important as celebrating high attendance. Throughout the year we celebrate attendance through: Attendance certificates. Attendance prizes. Most Improved Attendance awards. Afternoon Tea celebrations for pupils showing significant improvement. Positive attendance messages sent home to families. Our aim is to create a positive culture where attendance is valued, recognised and celebrated. Attendance in Nursery and Reception Good attendance habits begin from the very start of a child's educational journey. Although Nursery children are not yet of statutory school age, regular attendance helps children: Establish positive routines. Build friendships. Develop confidence and independence. Access important early learning experiences. Research suggests that attendance habits developed in the early years often continue throughout a child's school career. For this reason, we encourage strong attendance from the moment children join our school community. Working Together The most successful attendance outcomes happen when schools and families work together. If you have concerns about your child's attendance, wellbeing or any circumstances affecting school attendance, please contact us as soon as possible. We are here to help. Together, we can ensure every child is in school, on time, every day and ready to learn. Absence Form Absence Form Name of Child* Class* Date of Absence* Reason for Absence* Parent \ Carer Name* Email Address* Contact Phone Number* Submit Pupil Absence Support & Well Being School Information Communication Attendance Admissions

Liturgy and Prayer at St Bernadette’s School “The first task in life is this: prayer. But not the prayer of words, like a parrot; but prayer of the heart; gazing on the Lord, hearing the Lord, asking the Lord.” Pope Francis. As a Catholic primary school, collective worship is a vitally important part of life at St Bernadette’s. In worship we acknowledge God’s presence in our lives and we respond to this through prayer. Growing Closer to God In its simplest form, prayer is defined as “talking to God.” It is a personal time of opening our hearts to our Heavenly Father and bringing everything in our hearts to Him. Prayer can be a powerful force for change in our lives, and the importance of doing it on a daily basis is instilled in our children. Communication is the foundation for success in any relationship. When we communicate openly and freely with each other, we learn to know each other as individuals. This principle also applies to our relationship with God. By talking to God, we can learn more about who He is and what plan He has for us. Prayer Has a Purpose It is important that our children and our staff understand that there is a purpose to prayer. Jesus frequently prayed during His life on Earth. He had a reason for doing so. Our prayers are something that God deeply desires. But our prayers are not for His benefit; as a perfect Divine Being, God is complete in His power and knowledge. Catholic Meditation Meditation is a valuable skill for children, helping them find stillness and peace in today’s busy world. Catholic meditation encourages children to pause, listen, and reflect, allowing them to grow closer to God. This practice is more than just calming the mind; it’s a way for children to focus their thoughts, feelings, and imagination to connect with God’s presence within them. At our school, children will have the opportunity to participate in Catholic meditation as part of their class prayer services. These sessions will help children become familiar with meditation, starting with a shared prayer: Dear Lord, Help us to meet you in the silence. Holy Spirit, teach us to be still and know that you are God. Jesus, may our meditations and reflections lead us closer to you. Amen After this prayer, we’ll play gentle music or a guided meditation video. During this time, children may be invited to draw or write their thoughts, connecting to the prayer service theme. At the end, they can share their reflections if they choose. We hope this experience will help our children find peace, deepen their faith and listen to God speaking within their hearts. Pupil Prayer Children will pray four times daily in school. They are expected to learn a variety of traditional prayers as they move through school, but they are also expected to write their own prayers and have an understanding that prayers fall into five main categories: praise, adoration, thanksgiving, intercession and prayers of petition. Children will have the opportunity to take the class prayer bag home each week, to encourage families to pray together. The expectations for each year band can be seen below. Year Band Prayers EYFS Prayers Y1 Prayers Y2 Prayers Y3 Prayers Y4 Prayers Y5 Prayers Y6 Prayers Liturgical Year The Liturgical Year, also known as the Church Year or Calendar. It consists of the cycle that determines when different Seasons of the Church, holy days, feast days, including celebration of Saints, are observed, and which portions of Scripture are to be read either in an annual cycle or in a cycle of several years at Mass for the Gospel and other readings. Aside from the readings, the Liturgical Calendar also determines the interior decoration of a Church, the Priest's vestment colours (distinct liturgical colours are used in connection with different Seasons), the timing of spiritual seasons and practices such as Lent, and much more. The Year is divided into seven main parts. The shortest but most holy being the Sacred Pascal Triduum. (The three days leading up to Easter.) The Churches year starts with Advent in November or December and ends the following November or December with the Feast of Christ the King. Stations of the Cross As a school community, our prayers and liturgy can have a different focus throughout the liturgical year. Catholic Life & Mission Our Parish Sacraments Saints Prayer & Liturgy Gospel Virtues Catholic Social Teaching

Latest News St Bernadette's Catholic Primary School Hob Moor Road B25 8QL 0121 783 7232 enquiry@stberns.bham.sch.uk School opening hours Monday to Thursday 8.30am -3.15pm Friday 8.30am- 2.00pm Total time 32.5 hours Pupil Absence Form Name of Child* Class* Date of Absence* Reason for Absence* Parent \ Carer Name* Email Address* Contact Phone Number* Submit Pupil Absence Change of Details Form Name of Child* Class* Parent / Carer Name* Relationship to Pupil* Email* Phone* Multi-line address Country/Region* Address* City* Zip / Postal code* Emergency Contact Name* Emergency Contact Number* Submit Support & Well Being School Information Communication Attendance Admissions

St. Bernadette’s has an active school council in which 2 elected members from Years 1-6 meet and discuss views and ideas in our school, community and world. The Election Process Years 1-4: Children had to express to their teachers why they wanted to be in School Council and what qualities they could bring. Teachers discussed all candidates and voted for their Year bands councillors. Years 5-6: Children had time to write a speech on why they wanted to be a representative for their peers. They explained changes they wanted to make and ideas they had to continue to make our school a positive and welcoming environment. They then had to present this speech in front of their Year bands and teachers. The children were then asked to vote for 2 chosen candidates from their year bands using a ballot process. Each of the children were given a voting slip which they had to exchange for a ballot paper. The children then had to go to the voting booth and select their candidate by placing an ‘X’ in the box. What is our Vision? To have a school which is dynamic, a school that not only listens, but acts upon the views of its pupils. To further promote and express the voice of the child, not just within our school but within the City of Birmingham and with schools around the World. We hope to extend and share our ideas through further communications with other schools across the globe. What is our Aim? To raise people’s awareness that children have valid ideas. To be a voice for the children in our school. To make our school an even more friendly and pleasant place in which to learn. To make suggestions as to how our school could be improved further. To further improve our school environment. To raise money for charities. June: Our sign for the Moonlight Room is up! May: We chose the golden choices for next half term! We asked our peers what things they would love forward to and work towards. We also considered rewards that had been voted for, but not won. We settled on disco, science afternoon, art afternoon and extra playtime. Let’s see who wins! April: We worked with Mrs Canning to survey pupil wellbeing across the school. We used a questionnaire and asked our peers to fill it in and give general feedback about what would make them happier in school. We have fed back to Mrs Canning and are hoping to see our views throughout the school. March: School Council and the Happiness Heroes have teamed up! We held an anti-bullying poster competition for the whole school. We had over 40 entries! We assessed the posters on which were most informative, eye-catching and creative and we eventually chose 3 winners. February This month, we are looking at how we can improve pupil wellbeing. We have been in talks with Mrs Worth, our school cook, to see how we can improve our school lunches. An addition of barbeque sauce has been made to our Friday’s which we are very excited about! We have also had to choose 4 new Golden Choices. We are so pleased that pyjama day won and can’t wait to celebrate with it at the end of Spring 1 term. Our new choices are Disco, Extra Playtime, Cinema Afternoon and Crazy Hair Day. Let’s see which one wins this time! January School Council were tasked with a job by Mrs Canning. We had to decide 4 options for our Golden Choices scheme. We chose 3 different options which the children would vote for with tokens, then whatever had the most, we would get at the end of a half term! We decided on a disco, art afternoon, games afternoon and a pyjama day! We’re looking forward to seeing what wins! November For the month of November, School Council were thinking about being thankful and how lucky we are to have the things we do. In order to help others, School Council decided to collect for the Trussell Trust food banks. The Trussell Trust provides food and toiletries to families when they need it most. Councillors spread the message throughout school and encouraged their peers to donate. They organised the food and prepared it ready to donate. We managed to collect a huge 34kg of food and toiletries! October School Council were asked by Mrs Canning to choose a name for our new space in school. This space will be used for pupils who need some time away from class, to continue to explore and learn. We would like the room to be a calm environment and the name to reflect that. After many discussions and a vote, we decided on The Moonlight Room. We can’t wait to see the sign up soon! September School Council have been set a task by Mr Carroll! We were asked to discuss ideas for new Track-it prizes for the school. We met last week and brainstormed ideas, deciding on what prizes could be used for less and more points. We thought about what we would find useful as a prize, as well as things we would just enjoy. School Council went back to their year groups and gathered ideas from their peers. On Tuesday, we met with Mr Carroll and pitched our ideas to him. He was impressed with how well thought out our ideas were and we hope to see a few of them soon.

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Our Patron Saint was born January 7, 1844 and baptized Marie Bernarde Soubirous. The oldest of six children, born to devout but poor parents, she was known by the pet name Bernadette. Bernadette was a sensitive, sickly child, plagued by chronic asthma. She was a notably good girl with a special devotion to the Blessed Virgin. On February 11, 1858, Bernadette, her sister and her sister’s friend went to gather wood on the bank of the Gave river in the French Pyrennes. To reach the gathering site, the three girls had to cross a small millstream. While the two younger girls went on ahead, Bernadette stopped to remove her shoes and stockings. Just then she heard a rustling sound which caused her to look up toward a small cave. There, in the opening of this little grotto, she saw “a girl in white, no taller than I, who greeted me with a light bow of the head.” The vision was very beautiful, clad in white with a blue girdle, whilst a long rosary hung over the arm. She seemed to invite the child to pray, and when Bernadette took her rosary from her pocket and began to say it, the vision also took her rosary into her hand and passed the beads through her fingers, although the lips did not move. When the five decades were finished, the vision smiled and disappeared. This was the first of 18 visions of the Blessed Virgin given to this humble peasant girl. The last one took place July 16th of the same year. The story of Lourdes is well known. Millions of people have visited this remote spot where Our Blessed Mother appeared to Bernadette almost one hundred and fifty years ago. Bernadette remained a shy, sensitive child of God, shunning the attention of the world that the apparitions afforded. She delivered the message of Our Blessed Mother only to the proper authorities of the Church and left the outcome to God. Finally, in 1866, at the age of 22, she filled one of her heart’s desires when she was accepted into the convent of the Sisters of Notre-Dame de Nevers. To play, press and hold the enter key. To stop, release the enter key. Her work at Lourdes was done. The shrine to the Mother of God that Mary had requested was being visited by ever increasing numbers. Mary’s message of prayer and penance had been delivered to the world. God had blessed the work with miracles. Gladly, Bernadette faded from the picture. She likened herself to Our Lady’s Broom: “Our Lady used me, they have put me back in my corner,” was her way of expressing it. But her work for souls was not done. Our Blessed Mother had asked for penance at Lourdes. While many were cured of their afflictions in the waters at Lourdes, the heavy cross of illness still lay on Bernadette’s shoulders and she suffered this penance throughout her life. On April 16th 1879, in her 36th year, she died peacefully in the arms of her sisters in religion at the convent of Nevers. Her life of suffering was over. In 1933, just 54 years after her death, Pope Pius XI added the name of this humble peasant girl to the canon of the Saints. For all time in the official records of the Church, she will be known as Saint Marie Bernarda, but in the hearts and on the lips of faithful she will always be St. Bernadette, little Bernard. May Bernadette, our glorious patroness, remember us, and with her prayers intercede for us at the throne of God, and may she direct toward us the mercy and kindness of the Immaculate Virgin Mary, the Mother of Jesus who, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen. Lady Lourdes_edited_edited Feast Day: 11th February The Patron Saint of Lourdes, Bodily Ills, Sick People, Asthmatics, and Protection from Diseases. St. Bernadette Feast Day: 16th April The Patron Saint of Illness, People Ridiculed for their Piety, Poverty, Shepherds, Shepherdesses, and Lourdes, France. St P_edited_edited Feast Day: 17th March The Patron Saint of Ireland and Nigeria. St. George Feast day: 23rd April The Patron Saint of England St. Joseph Feast Day: 19th March The Patron Saint of Fathers, the Catholic Church, Unborn Children, Happy Death, Carpenters, Pilgrims, and Immigrants (to name a few). St. Catherine of Siena Feast Day: 29th April The Patron Saint of Italy. St. Peter Feast day: 29th June The Patron Saint of Popes, Rome, and many cities that bear his name, such as St. Petersburg and Saint-Pierre. As a Former Fisherman, he is the Patron Saint of Netmakers, Shipbuilders, and Fishermen, and because he holds the “Keys of Heaven,” he is also the Patron Saint of Locksmiths. St. Francis of Assisi Feast Day: 4th October The Patron Saint of Animals, Merchants, and Ecology. St. Margaret Clitherow Feast Day: 26th March The Patron Saint of Businesswomen, Converts, Martyrs, Catholic Women's League, and Latin Mass Society. St. Nicholas Feast Day: 6th December The Patron Saint of Children, Coopers, Sailors, Fishermen, Merchants, Broadcasters, the Falsely Accused, Repentant Thieves and Brewers. St. Anthony of Padua Feast Day: 13th June The Patron Saint of Lost Things. St. John Paul II Feast Day: 22nd October The Patron Saint of World Youth Day. St. David Feast Day: 1st March The Patron Saint of Wales, Vegetarians and poets. St. Jude Feast Day: 28th October The Patron Saint of Lost Causes and Hopeless Situations. St. Valentine Feast Day: 14th February The Patron Saint of Marriage. St. Oscar Romero Feast day: 24th March The Patron Saint of Persecuted Christians. St. Thérèse of Lisieux Feast day: 1st October The Patron Saints of Missions and Florists. Carlo Acutos Feast Day: 12th October The Patron Saint of Youth Computer Programmers St. Paul Feast day: 29th June The Patron Saint of the Missionaries, Writers, Journalists, Authors, Public workers, Rope and Saddle Makers, and Tent Makers. St. John the Beloved Feast day: 27th December The Patron Saint of Authors, Booksellers, Burn Victims, Art Dealers, Editors, Friendships, Government Officials, Notaries, Printers, Scholars, Tanners, Theologians and more. Maximilian Kolbe Feast day: 14th August The Patron Saint of Amateur Radio Operators, Political Prisoners, Families, Journalists, and Prisoners. Catholic Life & Mission Our Parish Sacraments Saints Prayer & Liturgy Gospel Virtues Catholic Social Teaching Learn to love, love to learn

Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy 2025 (1) .pdf Download PDF • 493KB 2025 Behaviour Policy 2025 2026 .pdf Download PDF • 337KB 2025 Complaints Procedure 2025 2026 .pdf Download PDF • 344KB 2025 4. Charging and Remission 2025 2026 .pdf Download PDF • 100KB 2025 5. Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Objectives Policy 2025-26 .pdf Download PDF • 53KB 2025 Admissions Policy 26-27 .pdf Download PDF • 181KB 2026 Accessibility Plan 2025 2026 .pdf Download PDF • 48KB 2025 Parent Code Of Coduct 2025 2026 .pdf Download PDF • 78KB 2025 Computing Policy 2025 - 2026 .pdf Download PDF • 122KB 2025 Online Safety Policy 2025 - 2026 .pdf Download PDF • 126KB 2025 PE policy 2025-2026 .pdf Download PDF • 495KB 2025 Mathematics Policy 2025 2026 .pdf Download PDF • 103KB 2025 1. EYFS Calculation Policy .pdf Download PDF • 1.45MB 2025 2. Year 1 Calculation Policy .pdf Download PDF • 1.20MB 2025 3. Year 2 Calculation Policy .pdf Download PDF • 1.60MB 2025 4. Year 3 Calculation Policy .pdf Download PDF • 1.63MB 2025 5. Year 4 Calculation Policy .pdf Download PDF • 6.25MB 2025 6. Year 5 Calculation Policy .pdf Download PDF • 6.51MB 2025 7. Year 6 Calculation Policy .pdf Download PDF • 7.31MB 2025 Geography policy 2025-2026 .pdf Download PDF • 186KB 2025 History policy 2025-26 .pdf Download PDF • 195KB 2025 Design Technology policy 2025-26 .pdf Download PDF • 199KB 2025 English Policy 2025-26 with HWr Progression .pdf Download PDF • 563KB 2025 Art policy 2025-2026 .pdf Download PDF • 195KB 2025 Science Policy 2025-2026 .pdf Download PDF • 209KB 2025 MFL Policy 2025- 2026 .pdf Download PDF • 174KB 2025 Religious Education Policy 2025-2026 .pdf Download PDF • 89KB 2025

Mental Health and Wellbeing at St.Bernadette’s Catholic Primary School At St. Bernadette’s Catholic Primary School, we aim to promote positive mental health and wellbeing for our whole school community and recognise how important mental health and emotional wellbeing are to our lives. Our role is to ensure that everyone is able to manage times of change and stress, and that all members of our community are supported to reach their potential or access help when they need it. We also have a responsibility to ensure that our children, staff, and wider community learn how to maintain positive mental health, understand what affects their mental health, help reduce the stigma surrounding mental health issues, and know where to go for support. Therefore, we have developed a curriculum to help children become more resilient and aware of their own mental health and wellbeing. For children, mental health encompasses their emotional, social, and cognitive wellbeing. It involves how they feel, think, and act, and is crucial for their overall development. Mental health affects daily life, relationships, and learning. In childhood, good mental health includes reaching developmental and emotional milestones, learning healthy social skills, and developing strategies to cope with challenges. We encourage the following abilities through our delivery: Resilience This is the ability to bounce back from challenges and adapt to changes, which is important for long-term well-being. Children develop the ability to manage stress, learn from mistakes, and build confidence. When children build resilience they form stronger relationships, have better problem-solving skills and manage their emotions better. Healthy relationships Healthy relationships with peers and adults can foster a sense of belonging and support. Children have healthy relationships when their communication is based on respect, trust, honesty and open communication. Healthy relationships offer support and encouragement, helping children to grow and develop their confidence. Children who learn to build and maintain relationships develop empathy and can communicate effectively. Self-regulation These are abilities that help children manage their emotions, behaviours, thoughts and choices of actions especially in the face of challenging situations. It is a crucial skill as it impacts learning, social interactions and overall well-being. Children learn how to manage and regulate strong emotions like anger, frustration and sadness. It is important for children to know how to control their impulses, by resisting the urge to act on immediate desires and rather make more thoughtful decisions. Children are encouraged to maintain attention on tasks and resist distractions. What we provide your child. We have several programmes and methods we use to encourage this. These programmes are described below. Compass This company are a NHS endorsed group who offer support to your child’s mental health through Low Intensity Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (LI-CBT). This service is offered at no cost to yourselves and we have many children who have really benefitted from their time spent in sessions. They can offer one to one sessions with a child or sometimes where more appropriate they offer parent and child meetings to help you develop together. These can take place in person at school, in a community place or online. Intro to MHST Pupil Voice: A Year 4 pupil said,”I learnt ways to calm down. I use these a lot. I use Happy Breathing.” A Year 4 pupil said, “They were awesome. They taught me to take a deep breath. I could talk about what happened and my feelings.” Throughout the year we will organise one-off workshops for parents as advertised in the newsletter. Their parent worker has a lot of experience in sharing ideas and knowledge that we could use as parents when our children are experiencing difficulties. You can self-refer to Compass or ask Miss Corkery, Mrs Taylor or Miss Finn and they can talk you through the process to receive your consent for a referral. Throughout the year we will organise one-off workshops for parents as advertised in the newsletter. Their parent worker has a lot of experience in sharing ideas and knowledge that we could use as parents when our children are experiencing difficulties. You can self-refer to Compass or ask Miss Corkery, Mrs Taylor or Miss Finn and they can talk you through the process to receive your consent for a referral My Happy Minds Children are led through a weekly informative programme where they are shown how parts of our brain drive how we feel. They watch short videos, play games, hear short stories for each section. My Happy Mind Happiness Heroes This is a group of KS2 children who meet regularly to share how to help their year band sort out little issues in the playground or the classroom. They will start the important role of Playground Ambassadors and will be trained in how to watch out for children that are sad or lonely on the playground. They will be trained in how to start a conversation to help others explain what they are feeling and what to do to help.

Catholic Social Teaching (CST) underpins the work of the school and the principles are interwoven within our curriculum and wider school life. As members of the Catholic Church, we are called upon to preserve the dignity of all human beings, to care for creation and to reach our sisters and brothers in need. These principles form part of Catholic Social Teaching, a body of work developed by Church leaders over the centuries. Pope Francis emphasizes that it is our duty to work together to bring about a more just and peaceful world: to put love into action. At St. Bernadette’s we place great emphasis on the importance that our children can articulate the connection between Jesus’ teaching and doing good deeds. We teach our children about the importance of putting the needs of others before ourselves, respecting the dignity of all people and how we are stewards of God’s beautiful creation with a duty to do all we can to preserve it for future generations. We use the CAFOD CST characters with our children to help them recognise CST within lessons. CST in the Science Curriculum Overview of CST in the Science curriculum All of God’s creation is sacred and reflects something of who God is. Caring for this earth is part of what it is to be a Christian. The Catholic Church has a long tradition of teaching about the God-centeredness of the earth, which clearly focuses on the responsibility all people have for caring for creation. The golden thread of ‘Care of God’s Creation’ runs through each science unit which links to the CST principles of: The Common Good Stewardship This ensures children develop their environmental awareness and understanding of their role in protecting our God given planet. What does Scripture say? ‘Humans are commanded to care for God’s creation.’ Genesis 2:15 ‘Creation proclaims the glory of God.’ Daniel 3:56-82 ‘God loves and cares for all creation.’ Matthew 6:25-34 ‘Creation and all created things are good because they are created by God.’ 1 Corinthians 10:26 What does the Church say? Charity in Truth: Caritas in Veritate – ‘The environment is God’s gift to everyone, and in our use of it we have a responsibility towards the poor, towards future generations and towards humanity as a whole…Our duties towards the environment are linked to our duties towards the human person, considered in himself and in relation to others.’ What does Pope Francis say? “Creation is not a property, which we can rule over at will; or, even less, is the property of only a few: Creation is a gift, it is a wonderful gift that God has given us, so that we care for it and we use it for the benefit of all, always with great respect and gratitude.” Laudato Si (24th May 2015) – ‘A scientific consensus says climate change is real and caused at least in part by human activity. A very solid scientific consensus indicates that we are presently witnessing a disturbing warming of the climatic system. In recent decades, this warming has been accompanied by a constant rise in the sea level and, it would appear, by an increase of extreme weather events, even if a scientifically determinable cause cannot be assigned to each particular phenomenon.’ Loving God, We believe that the world is for everyone. We thank you for the gift of Creation. Help us to take care of the planet and all people who live on it. Lord in your mercy Hear our prayer Catholic Social Teaching (CST) is at the heart of our learning at St Bernadette’s, especially in Topic. Topic allows us to develop our historical skills, pursue geographical enquiry, express our creativity, and build valuable projects based on a purpose. However, CST allows us to approach these lessons from a wider viewpoint. We use the CAFOD CST characters with our children to help them recognise CST within lessons. Here are a few examples of where CST has been linked to our Topic lessons. A lesson focusing on how men and women were split in Athenian and Spartan society. Is it right for women to be told what they must do based on their gender? A lesson focusing on the invasion of Greece by Alexander the Great. How would God react to slavery? A lesson focusing on the Viking raids in Lindisfarne. Why is it wrong to harm our fellow man? A lesson focusing on WW2 evacuation and the Blitz. A lesson focusing on the birth of democracy in Greece. Is it right for only rich men to vote? A lesson looking at the impact of Gandhi on British rule. Why did he protest for people who were the most in need? A lesson focusing on the differences between rich and poor Tudors. What can we learn from these indifferences? A lesson focusing on rationing. Why was it important for all members of society to receive the same amount of food? A lesson focusing on natural disasters and how we can help those that have been left in disasters. How can we help those in need? In Year 2, the children learn about important people that have helped other. Including Florence Nightingale, Edith Cavell, and Mary Seacole. Why do you think these people gave up their lives to care for others? During Black History Month, we learn about inspirational black people. Why is it important we celebrate these achievements? A lesson focusing on climate and biomes. How has our impact changed God’s creation? A lesson focusing on the structure of rivers, mountains, and earthquakes. How can we better understand God’s creation? A lesson focusing on glaciers. What can the rising sea levels mean for God’s creations? A lesson focusing on sustainability; reduce, re-use, recycle. Why should we make small changes? Catholic Life & Mission Our Parish Sacraments Saints Prayer & Liturgy Gospel Virtues Catholic Social Teaching

School Day School opening hours Monday to Thursday 8.30am -3.15pm Friday 8.30am- 2.00pm Total time 32.5 hours School Uniform School Uniform Online Shop Support & Well Being School Information Communication Attendance Admissions

Welcome I warmly welcome you to St Bernadette’s Catholic Primary School. Choosing the right school for your child is one of the most important decisions you will make. At St Bernadette’s, we provide a safe, secure and happy environment where every child is supported and challenged to achieve their full potential. Our school motto, ‘Learn to Love, Love to Learn’, is at the heart of all we do. Our curriculum places Jesus at its centre and reflects Gospel values, nurturing a sense of purpose and faith in our children. We are delighted to share that our recent Catholic Schools Inspection report praised the exemplary behaviour of our children, recognising their deep understanding of Christian values. The report also highlighted that our staff are outstanding role models, creating a loving and nurturing environment where children are happy, confident and proud to be part of the St Bernadette’s family. We celebrate the uniqueness of each child, recognising every individual as created in the image and likeness of God. Alongside academic achievement, we offer a wealth of enrichment opportunities, encourage pupil leadership, and support the spiritual and social development of our children. Our talented and dedicated staff work closely with families, our parish and the local community. We believe that education is a true partnership and greatly value your involvement and support in your child's educational journey. We look forward to welcoming you and your child to St Bernadette’s. Miss E. Finnegan Our School Follow us on Instagram @stbernsprimary Load more