St Matthew’s RC HIGH SCHOOL
WE PRAY WE CARE WE ACHIEVE
“PRAYER IS AT THE HEART OF THIS SCHOOL COMMUNITY.” SALFORD DIOCESE
HEADTEACHER’S MESSAGE I am driven by a desire to create a vibrant learning culture. I am a caring person and have a high regard for the well-being of all individuals whilst being uncompromising in expecting the highest standards of myself and others. These are challenging and exciting times for St Matthew’s and I intend using all my experience, skills and contacts to ensure that our children are taught by the very best teachers and have access to the most up-to-date resources. I am a parent and therefore know how precious every child is. I am committed to working in partnership with parents and know that by working together we will ensure that every child enjoys school, is happy and has the opportunity to thrive and achieve their best. I will be keeping the messages to children simple, respect your learning and the learning of others. Most importantly all pupils will be told by me that I expect them to respond appropriately to any reasonable request from an adult in school. I look forward to meeting you all and being of service to our school community, as we embark on a period of great and exciting change. MRS H MURDEN
WE PRAY “STRONG AND VISIONARY LEADERSHIP AT ALL LEVELS ENSURES THE SCHOOL’S MISSION AS A CATHOLIC SCHOOL IS MADE KNOWN TO ALL.” SALFORD DIOCESE
“STUDENTS’ SPIRITUAL, MORAL, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT IS A STRONG FEATURE OF THE SCHOOL’S WORK.” OFSTED
We pray as a community with Christ and with the teachings of the Gospel at our centre, shown in the things we do and in the ways we worship together. Christ is at the centre of all we do at St Matthew’s. We are dedicated in our mission to provide opportunities for all students to develop their social, moral, spiritual, cultural and faith understanding. As a staff, we promote our Gospel values, acting as role models for all our young people, guiding them to live as God intended. Our faith underpins all that we do, in our lessons, activities, pastoral care and in the way we worship together. We encourage all our staff and pupils to be ambassadors of Christ. At St Matthew’s we celebrate how each one of us is unique as created by God. We embrace our differences and work together to build a learning community where everyone is valued for who they are and is supported to bring to life what they can become. We work to develop the whole being of each and every one of our pupils as individuals created by God. We recognise and celebrate their talents and successes, creating opportunities for children in our local community to become the best that they can be.
Pupils time at St Matthew’s is first and foremost a faith journey, a time to pray, study and reflect. As a school community, we take part in daily collective worship, in assemblies and in lessons. We actively participate in celebrating events in our liturgical calendar, allowing all pupils to practice their faith. Year 7 pupils joining St Matthew’s and their parents celebrate Mass together on their first day, marking their joining our school community and praying for them on their year journey ahead. Year 11 pupils celebrate Mass to mark the end of their time at school, praying together with staff, peers and their parents, for guidance and strength in their future. We believe that we are partners with families in each child’s journey of faith and foster this by creating a unique spiritual development programme to nurture their spirituality. We are proud to be a Catholic school, and greatly value the fruitful partnerships with our primary schools, sixth form colleges and parishes.
WE CARE We care for everyone in our school community, respecting them as individuals created by God and recognising and celebrating talents and successes. We see caring for others in the world outside of our school as part of our Christian responsibility. At St Matthew’s, we are steadfast in our mission to keep all of our pupils safe and happy, every day they come to our school. We take our safeguarding responsibilities very seriously, and work together with families and other professionals to ensure that all pupils feel safe and protected. We support pupils academically and pastorally, enabling pupils to take all opportunities available to them to achieve positive outcomes at the end of their time with us. We develop pupils social, moral and cultural skills, supporting their successes during their time in our school community and in the years beyond. Our effective pastoral systems provide relentless care and support for all pupils throughout their five years at St Matthew’s, guiding them to become ambitious, resilient, mature and respectful young people. We equip our pupils with all the skills needed to make a positive contribution to British society, valuing democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and having mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs.
Our staff work with all pupils encouraging them to show initiative, develop their self-esteem and self-confidence, and to understand how they can contribute positively to the lives of others in our school, their local community and in wider society. St Matthew’s has a strong and longstanding reputation for supporting others in our local community and beyond. Each year, the pupils of St Matthew’s support various charities by organising and taking part in a variety of events, contributing significant financial donations. They also support those in need in our local community creating and delivering care packages to families and individuals in need at Christmas. Pupils show compassion and empathy for others less fortunate than themselves, and have a strong moral purpose in asking staff to support them in improving the lives of others. We build on the work started by families and our partner primary schools to ensure that our students are consistently pushed to achieve the very highest standards, both academically and as caring members of our community.
“PASTORAL CARE IS OUTSTANDING, A STRENGTH, AND THE SCHOOL’S MISSION STATEMENT IDENTIFIES “CARE” AS ONE OF THE CORE VALUES.” SALFORD DIOCESE
“STUDENTS FEEL SAFE IN AND AROUND SCHOOL. THEY LEARN HOW TO RECOGNISE THE RISKS OF LIFE IN MODERN BRITAIN AND HOW TO KEEP THEMSELVES SAFE.” OFSTED
“PUPILS SPOKE OF THE CARE AND SUPPORT SHOWN BY ADULTS AND OTHER PUPILS AT THE SCHOOL THAT ARE CLEARLY BASED ON GOSPEL VALUES.” SALFORD DIOCESE
WE ACHIEVE We achieve the best we can in all aspects of school life by learning in lessons, succeeding in examinations and committing to extra-curricular activities. Pupils at St Matthew’s benefit from a broad and balanced curriculum, inclusive of all learners and individual needs, that provides a wide range of experiences and opportunities for pupils to make sustained progress throughout their five years here. Pupils study our core curriculum, alongside practical and creative subjects. Exposure to all of these subjects at KS3 ensures that pupils take pathways at KS4 that are appropriate to their ability, interest and plans of future study or employment. Pupils are relentlessly challenged to achieve the best that they can. Our subject specialist teaching staff provide engaging and informative lessons, that build on pupils’ knowledge and skills, ensuring any gaps are addressed, so that pupils understanding has firm foundations. This approach allows for sustainable progress towards individual academic targets, and is a consistent feature across all subject areas. Working in partnership with parents, our staff regularly communicate subject expectations, pupils’ progress and targets for improvement. This follows up on the work carried out in curriculum time with pupils, setting and assessing appropriately challenging work and setting out and reviewing pupils’ next steps to build continuously on their progress. Where needed, pupils at every stage of their education at St Matthew’s receive additional support and guidance. At St Matthew’s we ensure an inclusive approach to all teaching and learning, differentiating our approaches to ensure
all pupils can access the curriculum. As a staff we review individual subject performance for each pupil, and also through Form Tutors, Progress Leaders and senior staff, review the progress of each pupil across all subjects. Where needed, our staff provide targeted intervention sessions to ensure each and every child, regardless of culture, race, religion, disability or special need, achieves their full academic potential. In the lead up to exams, both in Year 11 and throughout Years 7-10, we provide support and guidance on study skills, effective revision and exam technique. Alongside subject specific support, this ensures pupils are able to truly showcase their abilities in assessments, and ultimately in formal examinations. Our modern school buildings and facilities work well to provide an inspiring and purposeful teaching and learning environment, supporting our pupil’s development during the school day and beyond. We are proud of the diversity of extra-curricular activities that we offer to enhance the development of well-rounded young people. We have a big uptake of extra-curricular activities, and have many pupils who are keen to represent our school in a number of ways, including sports teams, concerts and musical performances, chaplaincy, school journalism and STEM projects.
“THE CURRICULUM IS A STRENGTH; IT INCLUDES A BROAD RANGE OF ACADEMIC AND VOCATIONAL COURSES TO WHICH ALL STUDENTS HAVE ACCESS.” OFSTED
“THE SCHOOL PROVIDES A SAFE AND HARMONIOUS ENVIRONMENT FOR LEARNING AND PROMOTES STUDENTS’ SPIRITUAL, MORAL, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT WELL.” OFSTED
“STUDENTS ENJOY RESPONDING TO QUESTIONS FROM TEACHERS THAT CHALLENGE THEM TO THINK DEEPLY ABOUT IMPORTANT IDEAS IN A SUBJECT. THIS ENTHUSIASM FOR LEARNING IS EVIDENT IN THE WRITTEN WORK OF THESE STUDENTS AND THEIR GOOD PROGRESS.” OFSTED
St Matthew’s RC High School WE PRAY WE CARE WE ACHIEVE
WE PRAY WE CARE WE ACHIEVE
St Matthew’s RC High School Nuthurst Road, Moston, Manchester, M40 0EW T 0161 681 6178 E contact@smrchs.com www.smrchs.com
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