The Parliamentary Review – Corpus Christi Catholic Primary School
Corpus Christi Catholic Primary School is an average-sized, inner-urban school, with the community among the one percent most deprived nationally and Pupil Premium eligibility is almost three times the national average. Attainment on entry to school is very low both in communication, language and literacy and in personal, social and emotional development.
In November 2015, the school became part of St Hilda’s, a multi-academy trust of 11 schools, before merging with a larger multi-academy trust of 26 schools, Nicholas Postgate Catholic Academy Trust, in September 2018. Headteacher Carolyn Baker explains more.
The phrase “It takes a village to raise a child” is very important to us, especially as we operate in an area of very high social and economic deprivation. A strong social commitment is evident within the culture of our school, and we have a vision and belief that we can make a difference. This requires our school to be at the heart of the community and to focus on nurturing and caring for our children and their families. We recognise parents as first educators of their children, and their partnership is actively sought. We work with parents and whole families on innovative programmes to improve lives, opportunities and prospects. Our range of educational, vocational and supportive projects have a long-term impact and reflect the hearts and minds of our very dedicated and supportive staff.
Working together, staff, governors, parents and community members collaborate for mutual support and enriched opportunities
CORPUS CHRISTI CATHOLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL
»Headteacher:Carolyn Baker
»Founded in 1954
»Location: Middlesborough
»Type of school: Catholic primary voluntary academy
»No. of pupils: 267
Parental Engagement
All staff support the work of our pastoral team, including a parental engagement coordinator and a child and family welfare lead. There are many opportunities for parents to come into school.
We used the Families and Schools Together project for three consecutive years. During the project, families were invited to the school once a week. It required whole staff involvement and we learnt a lot from the experience. The apparent loneliness of some parents was addressed, as they were able to form friendships and networks of support. Data from the project also highlighted significant improvements in pupil self-esteem and behaviour. Parent and child relationships were developed, and families became more involved in school life generally.
We have regular stay-and-play sessions for the early years and Key Stage 1, which involve almost all parents coming into school and engaging in a range of creative activities with their children. For nursery and pre- nursery pupils, we have courses such as Early Words Together, where parents engage in storytelling, nursery rhymes and games to enhance language acquisition.
Gaining confidence, empowering relationships and developing children’s maths skills at Corpus Christi Family Academy
We also have workshops throughout school, in all key stages, so that parents can come and learn how to help their children with maths, reading and phonics. This happens every Wednesday morning in the early years and Key Stage 1.
“A strong social commitment is evident within the culture of our school, and we have a vision and belief that we can make a difference”
We assist parents with CV writing, job opportunity searches and interview preparation. As a result, parents have increased their self-efficacy, and many have transitioned to further education and employment. A school-run credit union helps parents to save up for birthdays and Christmas and prevents them needing to go to providers of high-interest loans.
One of our many educational opportunities for parents
Research Projects
We carried out a research project in the summer of 2018 to strengthen number sense in nursery and reception. This has continued, with parents engaging in workshops and, through helping their children at home, embedding the foundations for early maths. Pupils enter year one feeling more confident and are less likely to fall behind.
We also took inspiration from our collaboration with the University of Chicago Parent Academy, which we accessed through an Education Endowment Foundation bid with some other Middlesbrough schools. As a result, we launched our own Corpus Christi Family Academy in the summer of 2019. Children present a maths lesson to their parents to launch the event, and then parents attend a six- week course alongside their children and take homework away to complete. We have targeted a different year group each term. The project has had a positive impact on pupils’ confidence and has secured their knowledge in the maths topic studied.
Parents feel happy to come into school, and this has improved the sustainability of our suite of NVQ courses and activities. Collaborating with a local college, Prior Pursglove, and other agencies, some of the courses we provide include: Functional Skills Maths; Functional Skills English; Skills for Life Maths; Skills for Life English; Health and Social Care Levels 1, 2 and 3; Child Development Levels 1 and 2; Award in Counselling Levels 1 and 2; Award in Mental Health Awareness Levels 1 and 2; Autism Awareness; Dementia Awareness; Joinery Level 1 and 2; British Sign Language; Food Hygiene; Supporting Teaching and Learning in School; Slow Cooking; Grow it, Cook it, Share it; Music for Parents and Toddlers; Arts and Crafts; and Family Links Parenting Support.
We manage to sustain this work through the hard work and tenacity of
our school personnel, the goodwill of our local partners, a supportive multi-academy trust and the attainment of bids and funding at different times from organisations such as the Child Poverty Unit, Save the Children and the Middlesbrough Achievement Partnership. There will be an ongoing challenge to secure funding in order to continue and to build on
our achievements.
“We encourage our young people to grow into conscientious, active members of the local and global community”
Removing Barriers to Learning
All members of staff are responsible for the physical and emotional well-being of our children and are well supported in this role by our strong pastoral team. We provide counselling as well as play therapy, drama therapy, music therapy and occupational therapy. This has a significant impact on the children’s resilience, independence and capacity to achieve. Behaviour in school is excellent.
We encourage our young people to grow into conscientious, active members of the local and global community, who value and understand their location and the impact they can have on the environment. We help them to develop language and expressive skills, and we broaden their horizons through access to educational visits and through an exciting range of learning enrichment opportunities and enterprise and extracurricular activities.
We want our children to understand self-worth and tolerance through their experience of belonging to a caring, nurturing and inspiring community.
See the article here https://www.theparliamentaryreview.co.uk/organisations/corpus-christi-catholic-primary-school
