Mission, Values and Ethos	Chaplaincy
Catholic Social Teaching	Liturgy and Prayer
Celebrations	Our Parish

Our Mission
Learn, Grow, Love, Live
At Holy Cross Catholic Primary School
we learn about ourselves and about the world,
We grow in faith,
we act with kindness, generosity and love
to ourselves and others.
We live life to the full and have a future full of hope .

Values
Pupils at Holy Cross are growing to be:
Loving and Patient
Imaginative, Persevering and Resilient
Honest and Compassionate
Hopeful and Faith-filled
Eloquent and Truthful
Grateful and Generous

These are the values and virtues we help our pupils grow.

Vision

1. To be established as an excellent Swindon Primary School where our core values drive great teaching and learning. Pupils’ experience of school is settled, happy and successful and they leave here well prepared for the next step in their life and education.
   
   
2. To be connected and integrated, in tangible and positive ways, to our local communities – the town of Swindon, other Swindon schools, the Samuel Partnership of Swindon and Malmesbury Catholic Schools, and our local Catholic parishes.
   
   
3. For strong governance, where senior leaders and governors look ahead and lead with clear vision and sound strategy. Pupils, staff and parents are valued stakeholders. There is clear and realistic succession planning and recruitment to both senior leadership and the governing body.
   
   
4. Our school mission and values, the Catholic ethos of the school, shines through the words and actions of staff, pupils and governors.
   
   
5. Pupils at Holy Cross experience a rich and broad educational curriculum which includes a range of opportunities to enhance learning and live life to the full - including exposure to music, the countryside, art, sports, charitable works and fundraising for others.

Mission Statement:

This year’s school Chaplaincy Team is made up of enthusiastic and dedicated Year 5 children who are committed to making a meaningful impact within their school and wider community. Their mission is to spread the Word of God through prayer, reflection, and example, helping to nurture a spirit of faith and kindness among their peers. The team plays an active role in organizing and leading charity events, aiming to support those in need and strengthen ties with the local community. Whether it’s collecting donations, raising awareness, or offering a helping hand, their efforts reflect a deep sense of compassion and responsibility. Additionally, the Chaplaincy Team is proud to support the school’s journey toward achieving the CAFOD Live Simply Award, promoting sustainability, solidarity, and simplicity in everyday actions. Through their faith-driven leadership, these young pupils are inspiring others to live with purpose, care for creation, and serve with love.

What is Catholic Social Teaching?
Our faith calls us to love God and to love our neighbours in every situation, especially our sisters and brothers living in poverty. Following in the footsteps of Christ, we hope to make present in our unjust and broken world, the justice, love, and peace of God.

What are the Principles of Catholic Social Teaching?

Dignity of the Human Person:
We believe every human person is made in the image and likeness of God. This is a gift that we all share as fellow human beings; we are all infinitely loved by our Creator.
God is present in every human person, regardless of religion, culture, nationality, orientation, or economic standing. Each one of us is unique and beautiful. We are called to treat every person and every creature with loving respect.

Family and Community:
The human person is not only sacred, but social. How society is organised be it socially, economically, legally, or politically has a direct impact on the dignity and growth of every human person and community. Marriage and family should be supported and strengthened. Every person has the right to work to support themselves and their families as well as the building up of the common good of all.

Solidarity and the Common Good:
Solidarity arises when we remember that we belong to each other. 
The common good means that the fruits of the earth belong to everyone. No one should be excluded from the gifts of creation. At the heart of solidarity is the pursuit of justice and peace. Our love for all calls us to work for a peaceful and just society where everyone has a fair share of the goods needed for a sustainable life, and opportunities for growth and development are offered equally. The dignity of every person is respected.

Option for the Poor and Vulnerable:
The option for the poor reminds us of God's preferential love for the poorest and most vulnerable people. God's love is universal; he does not side with oppressors but loves the humble. This preferential option for the poor and vulnerable must be seen in action in our daily lives and government policies.

Stewardship of God's Creation:
In the first pages of the Bible, we read how God created the sun and the stars, the water and earth, and every creature. We believe Christ is the redeemer of all creation.
In 2015, Pope Francis brought together decades of Church teaching in the encyclical, Laudato Si'. In this deeply influential letter, Pope Francis invites everyone on the planet to consider how our actions are affecting the earth and the poorest people. Everything is interconnected, and all of creation praises God. It is our Christian vocation to care for creation.

The Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers:
Church teaching has upheld the dignity of work and participation. The human person should always come before the pursuit of profit. Workers have the right to join trade unions, to a just wage, to spend time with their families, and to rest. Work is an essential part of our human dignity and everyone has the right to participate.

Rights and Responsibilities:
Every person has the fundamental right to life. It is this right that makes all other rights possible. Everyone has the right to food, health care, housing, education, and employment. We all need to strive to secure and respect these rights for others both locally and globally.



At Holy Cross Catholic Primary School, the children are taught traditional Catholic prayers in certain year groups. These prayers can be used at home to support parents in developing their children's knowledge of prayer and to continue to develop their children's understanding of what the words mean to us as Christians today.

Children are introduced to a variety of different ways of praying:

• quiet reflection / meditation
• praying together
• writing own prayers
• prayers through music
• learning traditional Christian / Catholic prayers

The children are also encouraged to lead their own liturgy and prayer sessions as they progress up the school.
Here is a selection of our prayers.
Take time to talk about the prayers and share them as often as you can.

Collective Worship in our school is an integral part of our ethos, aims and relationships and is a way of deepening our relationship with God together and individually. 

At Holy Cross Catholic Primary School we have a variety of Collective Worship:

• Mass,
• whole school Gospel assembly,
• class liturgy and
• daily traditional prayers.

All of our opportunities for Collective Worship ensure that children have time to think about their life and the world around them, to pray and to share their feelings and emotions Canon John Cunningham visits us regularly to say Mass and we also visit Mass weekly at Holy Rood Church.

2025 - 2026
Feast of Holy Cross	Harvest	Exaltation of the Cross
2024 - 2025
Pentecost Mass	Easter Window Displays	Christmas Nativity Service 2024-25
Key Stage 2 Mass of Description	Our Prayer Room	Harvest Collection	Exaltation of the Cross
Collective Worship	Easter Egg Hunt	Easter in a Box	Easter Gardens
Donations	Palm Sunday	After School Clubs - Easter	Poppy Appeal
Harvest Collection	Our Prayer Room	Christmas Carol Service and Nativity Scene	Clifton Diocese Mass
Easter Reflection	RE Creation - Visit to Richard Jefferies Museum	Creation topic Year 1	Year 1 Prayer Topic
Clifton Diocese Schools Water Pump Project	Harvest Mass	Year 4 Creation	Feast Of The Holy Cross
House Points	Reflection Areas	Harvest	Pentecost Mass
Catholic Social Teaching	Easter Displays	Sponsored Walk	The Lenten Tree

The Parish of Holy Rood is a friendly and harmonious Catholic community with multicultural and socially mixed congregation, situated in the centre of Swindon.

Our local Parish Priest is Canon John Cunningham, who the school has very close links with.

This Christian community of worship, prayer and service supports each other and engage with other Christians and members of other faiths.

The school is involved in many activities within the parish served.  The children thoroughly enjoy attending different masses or services within their local church.  Our Harvest Mass in particular, is a very special occasion when the children gather together to celebrate and lead the church community. 

Parish website
Diocesan website

Parish email:
swindon.holyrood@cliftondiocese.com

Parish Newsletters:
Holy Rood
Holy Family
St Peter's