At St Mary’s, we are proud to introduce our Pupil Leadership Teams, which empower our children to take on active roles in our school community and beyond.

Our teams encourage children to work together, embodying the values of our school and making a positive impact both locally and globally. Inspired by Romans 12:10, “Be devoted to one another in love. Honour one another above yourselves,” our Pupil Leadership Teams promote unity and service, living out the principles of Catholic Social Teaching in all they do.

Pupil Leadership Groups

The GIFT Team is commissioned by Bishop John.  They are committed to leading and supporting collective worship and raising awareness of issues within our community. They take the lead in organising prayer services, encouraging moments of spiritual reflection, and promote social justice initiatives. The GIFT Team helps our school support those in need worldwide.

Welcoming children to our school family is very important, particularly for children who are new to the community, area and often, the UK.  The Saldete or Welcome Group is a group of children who speak different languages who want to support new pupils who may not speak English, may be international new arrivals or asylum seekers.

The group extend a welcome of friendship and belonging and do this by meeting new children and parents when they come to St Mary’s.  The Saldete group will check in with new pupils, show them around school and help them to settle to our community.

The Laudato Si Ambassadors focus on environmental stewardship and caring for our common home, inspired by Pope Francis’ encyclical, “Laudato Si’.” Our students lead initiatives to promote sustainability, reduce waste, and educate their peers and our wider community about the importance of looking after God’s creation. They are passionate advocates for the environment, reminding us all of our responsibility to protect and cherish the world around us.

Some of the activities the Laudato Si Ambassadors have led include:

Litter picking

Planting

Christmas jumper swap

Clearing areas for planting

‘Cut your Carbon- November’ which includes sharing ideas such as taking shorter showers to save energy

Our Caritas Ambassadors concentrate on supporting the vulnerable within the Salford Diocese, and in particular in our local community. Their work embodies the spirit of Mother Teresa’s words: “Not all of us can do great things, but we can do small things with great love.”

Caritas Ambassadors have led on the initiatives below:

Selecting and organising charity fundraising events for the school community

Planning visits to residential homes and taking part in arts & crafts and Christmas tree decorating events with residents

Making posters for charity events

Collecting money and organising raffles at school and parish events

Selling poppies in support of Royal British Legion

Organising foodbank collections

The school council is led by Mrs Brown. Each September, children write a letter of application in which they consider the contribution they can make to the school community. The children then write a speech which they deliver to their class followed by a secret ballot.  The School Council work hard to uphold Gospel Values of justice, humility and service.

This year, the councillors have visited the Town Hall, introduced some additional lunchtime groups and welcomed the Mayor to our school.

Playground leaders play an important role in helping our school to be a place of peace, reconciliation and community.  Our leaders apply for their role, are interviewed and then undertake training. They support lunchtime staff by setting up and leading sports activities at lunchtime on both playgrounds.

Our Prayer Group supports the work of the GIFT Chaplains and Caritas Ambassadors by taking the prayer life of the school into the wider community.  The Prayer Group consider the vulnerable and sometimes forgotten in our communities and wider society.  They reach out to them, reminding them that we all belong to the family of God.  Through their small acts of prayer, kindness and thoughtfulness, they share God’s love through writing prayers, making bookmarks and sending cards to celebrate Easter and Christmas to the housebound, homeless, imprisoned and lonely.

At St Mary’s we follow the myHappymind programme. Happiness Heroes are our school’s myHappymind Ambassadors. Their role is to lead the way in helping their fellow pupils look after their mental health and fly the flag for myHappymind in school. They lead assemblies at the beginning of new topics and support pupils on the playground, reminding us all to show compassion, love and understanding.

In honour of St Mary and in living out our school’s mission of love and service, our church cleaning group love to help keep our adjoining church clean. We go into church fortnightly to clean different areas such as children’s chapel, benches, windows and atrium. Father Brady is always happy to see us.

At St Mary’s, the role of a Reading Ambassador is to engage, encourage and support the creation of a positive reading ethos across the whole school.  They raise the profile of reading through supporting children by listening to and encouraging them in their own reading.  They make reading recommendations and look after reading areas, making sure that reading is celebrated and cherished across our school.

Together, these groups embody our commitment to follow Mary’s example of service and inspire their peers to live out our Catholic values in meaningful ways. The Pupil Leadership Teams at St Mary’s not only enhances our school community but also extends our reach, showing that even small actions, when done with great love, can make a significant difference.