It is with great delight and pride that Holy Family Catholic Primary and Nursery School in Swindon are able to announce that, after years of hard work by both their staff and children, they are now the proud recipients of the Live Simply Award!
The Eco team, supported by Mrs Hurley, and the Chaplaincy team, supported by Mrs Hatherall, have led the whole school in various projects and activities over the last few years. Examples range from planting trees and litter-picking in the community around the school, the way the school supports the local community through Harvest food collection and Santa for a Senior, to building faith and peace, pledging to make the world a better place through their actions this Jubilee year.
Last term, children from the Eco team and members of staff, met with an assessor from CAFOD to talk about the important work carried out by them and the whole school. The assessor, Peter Haddon, commented, ‘The children were seen to be highly articulate about their faith and also their depth of understanding of Christian Social Teaching. It has been a pleasure to hear about your faith inspired actions, demonstrating how you have been living simply, sustainably, and in solidarity with communities around the world living in poverty. This is a fantastic achievement, and we warmly congratulate you, your pupils, and your staff team.’
The award, championed by the international aid charity CAFOD, is only presented to Catholic schools after they successfully plan and implement faith inspired actions that highlight the importance of caring for people and the planet. Everyone’s actions have had a positive impact throughout the school, the local community, and globally too, as they reach out to really make a difference.
Co Head Teachers, Karen Bathe and Nadia Mossop said: “We are incredibly proud of our school community for achieving the Live Simply Award. This recognition reflects the dedication, creativity, and compassion shown by our pupils and staff in living out the values of simplicity, sustainability, and solidarity. Through practical actions such as charity work, pupil led prayer and caring for our environment , we have demonstrated that small changes can make a big difference to our world.”
Well done to everyone involved. There are currently only six other schools in Clifton Diocese with this award and Holy Family is the first school in Swindon to achieve this!
