Welcome to Our Lady & St Joseph Catholic Primary School

Our Lady & St Joseph Catholic Primary School,

83a Ramley Road,

Pennington,

Lymington,

Hampshire

SO41 8GY

Tel - 01590 672711

adminoffice@olsjschool.com

Executive Headteacher - Gerida Montague

Head of School - 

Admin Assistant - Hazel Reilly

Inclusion Leader (SEND) - Kate Knott

Head of Strategy & Operations  - Joanna McNicholas

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Our Lady & St Joseph Catholic Primary School: A school 'amongst the top 5% of primary schools in the country'

Our Lady and St Joseph shortlisted for “Modeshift STARS” Regional Award! October 2023

The scheme encourages schools across the country to join in a major effort to increase levels of sustainable and active travel in order to improve the health and well-being of children and young people.

Our Lady and St Joseph in penning ton Lymington has been shortlisted for The “Modeshift STARS” Regional Award. The small New Forest School has been recognised as one of the top levels of Modeshift STARS.  The school hopes to be awarded “Regional winner status” and be put forward to take part in the Modeshift STARS National School Travel Awards Celebration Event which will take place in London

Our Lady and St Joseph has a deep commitment to all sustainability and Eco issues and has transformed learning and the school environment in order to achieve Outstanding status in learning for all children.

Local School Receives RHS Highest Award Level

As part of their ongoing commitment to an Outstanding curriculum and holistic school experience, pupils and staff recently received the very excellent news that they had achieved level 5, the highest RHS School Gardens Award. Our Lady and St joseph Primary School in Pennington, Lymington are now an official RHS Five Star Gardening School.  

The RHS Campaign for School Gardening inspires and supports schools to provide children with gardening opportunities to enhance their skills and boost their development. RHS Level 5 is about gardening through the year, gardening with members of the local community and keeping gardening at the heart of our school.

Our Lady and St Joseph stated they are proud to work with the RHS in order to enrich their school further. Gardening and outdoor learning has shown direct benefits for children to be wide ranging. As well as improving physical and mental well-being, it builds life skills such as confidence, teamwork and communication. It enriches the entire curriculum from science, maths and geography, to art, design and languages whilst helping young people engage with their surroundings better and develop a sense of responsibility.

At OLSJ, all children have at least one 'Outdoor and Woodland' learning session per week, working on the school environment and gardening. Our curriculum extolls a “hands-on” approach to learning, encouraging every child to participate in all outdoor activities including gardening, forest school and the natural world. We are incredibly lucky to have Mrs Rothwell as our outdoor gardening and Forest Schools Specialist.  Mrs Montague, Executive Headteacher commented that all staff and pupils were incredibly proud of their achievement and the whole school community is very motivated to work on the grounds and gardens this year.

CONGRATULATIONS!

Amazing news!

Our catholic school: Our Lady & St Joseph: has been judged by Ofsted to be ‘Outstanding’ under an incredibly rigorous Ofsted Framework,

where only ‘The Exceptional’, top 5% of all schools nationally are granted this level of recognition.

Well done to all the staff, children and governors at the school.

Fr David & parishioners of Our Lady of Mercy

& St Joseph Parish

Our Lady & St Joseph Catholic Primary School, Lymington,

ranked in the top 5% of all schools Nationally - Creating "Architects of a Better World"

Nestled in the heart of the New Forest, in Lymington, Our Lady & St Joseph Catholic Primary is a small school with a very big heart.

2022 was an exceptional year for the school - with OFSTED recognising the establishment as "Outstanding" in all areas, stating that "pupils receive an excellent academic and character education."

In particular, OFSTED praised leaders' "clear and uncompromising vision to empower pupils to become ‘architects of a better world'." Pupils' personal and holistic development is a key strength of the school, who are regularly involved in supporting their local community.

Last year, pupils took part in a range of initiatives to support others in the local area. As a “Queen’s Green Canopy School” and “Eco Green Flag Award” winner, students put their ‘green fingers’ to good use, and donated produce that they had grown on site to local foodbanks, for those in need.

The school choir also toured in the local area to spread their community spirit, singing at Waitrose and in care homes. Pupils sent personalised Christmas cards to residents at their local assisted living facility and created bright and vibrant artwork for the walls to “bring the outside in” for those unable to go out and about.

Pupils are very active in using their voice locally – this year, Junior Road Safety Officers successfully campaigned to slow the speed limit outside the school, after writing to Hampshire County Councillors and presenting their case to them in person.

Our Lady & St Joseph is officially recognised as a “School of Sanctuary,” for the school’s work in ensuring that they are welcoming, safe and inclusive environment and for their ongoing support of refugees and displaced people. This year, pupils filled shoeboxes full of Easter gifts for Ukrainian children seeking refuge in Poland, as well as at Christmas time for displaced children in Moldova, Romania and Montenegro.

Academic rigour is also a strength of the school. 100% of pupils met the Expected Standard in their Key Stage 2 SATS tests in 2022, with more than half of pupils achieving ‘Greater Depth’, considerably well above the National Average. OFSTED additionally praised the school’s ambitious curriculum, stating that “the curriculum is exceptionally well designed,” and that “Leaders and teachers have high expectations for all pupils.”

With just 100 pupils on roll and class sizes of fifteen, all children are extremely well supported to achieve their best, both academically and pastorally, to ensure that they can truly become “architects of a better world.”

If you are interested in a place at Our Lady & St Joseph, the school would love to hear from you. Personal tours are available both during and after the school day, and can be booked via adminoffice@olsjschool.com or on 01590 672711.

Welcome All.

I am the proud Executive Headteacher of Our Lady and St Joseph and I would like to warmly welcome you to explore all that we have to offer here at Our Lady and St Joseph. Ours is a small, nurturing Catholic School in the heart of The New Forest. Our Lady and St Joseph Catholic Primary School aspires to provide a rich learning experience where children are encouraged to become successful learners, confident individuals and responsible citizens.

We value each child’s contribution to our community and look to develop the whole child. Our core purpose is to provide a deep learning experience for our children throughout their primary lives, so that they are resilient, happy, well-mannered and secure. We are a happy, exciting and successful learning community with Jesus at the centre.

We are proud that our Gospel values engender a happy, inclusive, family atmosphere. We are the only Catholic school in the New Forest and take children from Lymington, Brockenhurst, Lyndhurst, New Milton, Milford on Sea and Waterside parishes, as well as non-Catholic children from the surrounding area. We hope to shine a light of goodness into our community and live our lives by the principals of Truth, Honesty, Peace and Justice for all.

Our aim is to provide your children with the skills to reach their full potential.  We do this through our exciting, high-quality curriculum, which enables children to develop a ‘thirst’ for learning and to be challenged appropriately throughout their life at our school.

We believe that children who are happy and safe achieve well. We strive for high standards and expect excellent academic progress and excellent behaviour. We want all our children to thrive, aspire and achieve their personal best. From sailing, sports and socialising; through to achieving academic potential and taking their place as an active citizen in our world.

Research tells us that high quality teaching and learning has a high impact on our children’s happiness and academic outcomes. All our classes are taught with a 15 children to 1 adult ratio. These small classes enable teachers to get to know each child as an individual and target both their academic and personal development. Children play and learn in harmony with each other. There is respect and rigour; exploration and investigation. We care for each child’s individual needs, building their confidence and encouraging them to be creative and independent to prepare them for their life beyond primary school.

Selecting the right school for your child is one of the most important decisions you will have to make. Please take the time to look through our website, which will give you the opportunity to appreciate our special and distinctive character and ethos; as well as observe the high quality nurture and learning that Our Lady and St Joseph Catholic Primary School provides.  We have fantastic ICT provision, a library bus, great play spaces and beautiful growing gardens and grounds.

If there is anything further you need or any information you require please contact us directly. If you would like to apply for a place then please contact the school and we will either advise whether year group spaces are available, or for Year R entrance explain the admission procedure. Alternatively, the admission arrangements can be found under the ‘Download and Links Section’ under ‘About Us’.

Kind Regards

Gerida Montague

Executive Headteacher