School Information

Headteacher's Welcome

It is my great privilege to welcome you. Sacred Heart is a joyful, inclusive and faith-filled community where we want every child to know that they are known, loved and valued. At the heart of our school is our mission:

“Together we live and learn; we play and pray.”

These words are much more than our school mission. They express who we are and how we seek to live together each day. Inspired by the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, we strive to create a community in which children experience love, compassion and belonging; where they are challenged to achieve their very best; and where they learn that the gifts and talents they have been given should be used in the service of others.

We have high aspirations for every child. We want our pupils to be curious and enthusiastic learners who develop strong foundations for their future education, but our ambition for them reaches beyond academic success. We want children to leave Sacred Heart as confident, compassionate and courageous young people: able to make good choices, stand up for what is right, care for our common home and recognise the dignity of every person.

Our Catholic faith is woven through the life of our school. Children encounter Christ through prayer, Scripture, Religious Education, the Sacraments and the way in which we treat one another. Through Catholic Social Teaching, they learn that faith calls us to action: to notice the needs of others, seek justice, serve our communities and recognise our responsibility for the world God has entrusted to us. Prayer does not simply begin and end our school day; it helps to form the people we are becoming.

Sacred Heart is also wonderfully diverse. Our children and families bring different languages, cultures, experiences and traditions to our community, and we see this diversity as one of our great strengths. As a Catholic school, we are unapologetically rooted in our faith while ensuring that every child and family is welcomed with dignity, kindness and respect.

We are fortunate to have a dedicated team of staff who know our children well and work hard to ensure that they feel safe, happy and able to flourish. We aim to provide a rich and engaging curriculum which develops knowledge, inspires curiosity and gives children experiences they will remember long after they have left us. We believe that no door should be closed to our children and that education should help them recognise the possibilities that lie ahead.

Our partnership with families is central to this work. Parents and carers know their children best, and we value the trust they place in us. We also enjoy a close relationship with the Parish of the Sacred Heart and St Oswald and our Parish Priest, Fr Seelan. School, family and parish work together to nurture our children's faith, learning and wellbeing. Our relationship with the parish is particularly precious because Sacred Heart is not simply a parish school: each Sunday, our school opens its doors to become a place of worship for the wider parish community as we gather for Mass.

Most importantly, Sacred Heart is a school in which children matter. We want them to experience childhood with joy: to learn and discover, to play and laugh, to pray and reflect, to make mistakes and learn from them, to develop friendships, to find their voice and gradually to understand the difference they can make in the world.

I hope that as you explore our website, you gain a sense of the warmth, faith and ambition that characterise our school. A website can only tell part of our story, however, and I am always delighted to welcome families and visitors to Sacred Heart to experience our community for themselves.

Many thanks,

Maureen Collier

Headteacher

Together we live and learn; we play and pray