Our Lady of Good Aid Cathedral Primary School

Cathedral’s Investigation & Innovation Hub family learning sessions continued on Tuesday 7th October. Each session began with a presentation from Mr Young on how activities within the hub fit naturally into Cathedral’s overall Active8 approach. Mr Young went on to explain the importance of Cathedral Primary helping learners develop skills for life and work in the 21st Century, including creativity, collaboration, adaptability and persistence/grit.

Following the presentation, parents and carers worked alongside their child to get a feel for the types of exciting, open-ended projects which take place in the hub.

You can read more about Cathedral’s Investigation & Innovation Hub my clicking on the link below:

https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/nl/olga/investigation-innovation-hub/

HM Inspectors from Education Scotland visited Cathedral Primary School in May 2025 and the inspection report was finally published on Tuesday 7th October. It is rare for a school to receive even one ‘excellent’ grade, but Cathedral achieved an outstanding three ‘excellents’ and one ‘very good’, placing it amongst Scotland’s very top schools. You can read the full Summarised Inspection Findings for Cathedral Primary School via the link below:

https://education.gov.scot/media/0w5n1fyr/our-lady-of-good-aid-cathedral-ps-sif-071025.pdf

A video celebrating Cathedral Primary School’s outstanding inspection can be viewed by clicking on the link below:

https://www.canva.com/design/DAGwbuAxWrA/PpyaqO751Z0-OPwDIvof0A/watch

During their five days in Cathedral Primary School, the inspection team found the following strengths:

• The headteacher’s outstanding leadership of the school. He has a very strong, clear vision for the work of the school which is shared fully by all staff and children. Supported very ably by senior leaders, he has supported and challenged all staff in the primary school to develop a relentless focus on achieving the best outcomes for all children. Senior leaders lead all staff very successfully to develop an outstanding culture of leadership by all. The whole school community are proud to be fully involved in leading high-quality school change and improvement.
• Children in the school are highly articulate and extremely enthusiastic learners. They behave exceptionally well and are very proud to be part of the school community. They are empowered to lead their own learning as they enthusiastically explore and extend areas of their learning each day. Children have a very strong understanding of their own wellbeing and how to support the wellbeing of others.
• There is consistently high-quality learning, teaching and assessment across the school. All teachers have embedded highly effective, bespoke approaches to learning and teaching across the primary school. They provide a broad, balanced curriculum which meets the needs of all children very well. All children are highly motivated and engage very effectively in a wide range of well-planned, inspiring rich learning experiences and activities. All children engage fully in a bespoke, progressive achievement framework which supports them to develop skills for life, learning and work very well as they progress through the school. This is leading to positive outcomes for all children.
• In the primary school, all staff have a relentless focus on closing gaps in children’s learning, raising attainment and achieving the best possible outcomes for all children. Teachers and support staff provide high-quality targeted support for children who require additional help or challenge with their learning. All children experience learning which meets their needs and challenges them to extend their knowledge. This leads to all children being fully engaged and motivated in their learning.

In the nursery, inspectors found practitioners who share kind, encouraging interactions with children. Practitioners use a range of questions to help children develop their understanding of what they are learning. As a result, almost all children engage well in learning as they play indoors and outside. Our nursery video can be viewed via the link below:

https://www.canva.com/design/DAGw3xfP2fY/w700OUc8iBpv_57a8gE5wg/watch

With the arrival of the colder weather and darker nights, Cathedral’s Play Zone has has been filled with lots of engaging activities and resources linked to autumn and the farm. Mr Young came across these two Primary 2 learners enjoying some autumn-themed finger painting on Monday 6th October before he took a wander to see what the rest of Primary 2a were up to. Activities included creating autumn farm landscapes in the loose parts area, cooking a hearty stew with harvest vegetables, a fun farm animal puppet show and some independent writing with the help of a farm word-bank. One pair of learners were even carefully selecting autumnal coloured bricks to create a Lego fallen leaves collage. How creative!

I am developing a sense of size and amount of by observing, exploring, using and communicating with others about things in the world around me. MNU 0-01a

I am able to show awareness of the tasks required to look after a baby. HWB 0-51a

This week, our young learners have been comparing the size of objects in different ways using the vocabulary small, medium and large. They have continued to identify numbers around them and some learners have been able to match numbers to the corresponding quantities.

Our young learners have been finding out about different ways to keep themselves healthy and have had fun being active with ‘Jumpstart Johnny’. The children have began to observe and describe the changes that happen to their bodies when they are active such as their hearts beating faster and then slowing down when they rest.

As a few of our learners have recently welcomed new babies into their family and this had led to discussions about how we care for them. In our tuff tray, we created a bubble bath experience and some of our learners took the time to carefully dry and dress their baby doll.

Our current Cathedral Pupil Parliament theme is Our health & wellbeing, with a specific focus on refurbishing the space used by our school counsellor. At their recent Class Council meetings, pupils across the school were asked: ‘What changes could we make to the Visiting Services room to make it a more homely space for counselling and quiet meetings?’. Given that our school counsellor is originally from Denmark, the children were asked to consider what might give the room ‘hygge’.

Our Pupil Parliament action board, which helps Cathedral continually drive forward change and improvement, has now been updated and our two Cabinet Secretaries for Health will lead and oversee the current priority over the coming weeks. They have already agreed on the colour of the walls, contacted the painter and ordered furniture and lighting from Ikea. Watch this space to see the transformation!

You can find out more about Cathedral Pupil Parliament by clicking on the link below:

https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/nl/olga/smart-school-council/

October’s wellbeing indicator is HEALTHY. Please use the prompts below to talk to your child about this indicator. This will help them complete their wellbeing wheel in school.

Nursery and Primary 1

• I can eat in the dinner hall (or ‘Cathedral Café’ in the nursery) with others.
• I can talk about foods that are healthy. 
• I can talk about foods that are unhealthy. 
• I can make and eat foods that are new to me. 
• I can make food from simple recipes. 
• I know how to be hygienic around food. 
• I drink water to keep me healthy. 
• I can look after my teeth. 
• I know when I need to wash my hands. 

Primary 2 – 4

• I can show good table manners.
• I can choose, make and eat a range of foods that are new to me. 
• I can follow a recipe to make healthy food for different events. 
• I know that my dietary needs change as I get older. 
• I know how to be hygienic around food. 
• I can sort foods into the main food groups. 
• I can explain my food likes and dislikes. 
• I know why water keeps me healthy. 
• I can look after my own personal hygiene. 
• I know how much sleep I need to stay healthy. 

Primary 5 – 7

• I have strategies to help manage and control my emotions.
• I take care of my own personal hygiene. 
• I can prepare and select a variety of foods for a range of situations. 
• I can describe and prepare a healthy eating plan. 
• I am aware of current healthy eating advice. 
• I can list the 5 nutrient groups. 

North Lanarkshire Council have now finalised term and holiday dates for the 2026/27 academic year. These are detailed below:

August 2026

• Monday 10th August 2026 (Return date for teachers & In-Service Day)
• Tuesday 11th August 2026 (In-Service Day)
• Wednesday 12th August 2026 (Return date for pupils)

September 2026

• Friday 25th September and Monday 28th September 2026 (September weekend)

October 2026

• Monday 12th to Friday 16th October 2026 (October Week)

November 2026

• Monday 16th November 2026 (In-Service Day)

December 2026 – January 2027

• Schools close at 2.30pm on Friday 18th December 2026
• Monday 21st December 2026 – Monday 4th January 2027 (inclusive) (Christmas holidays)

Schools return on Tuesday 5th January 2027

February 2027

• Monday 15th February and Tuesday 16th February 2027 (Mid-term break)
• Wednesday 17th February 2027 (In-service day)

March 2027

• Friday 26th March (Good Friday)
• Monday 29th March (Easter Monday)

April 2027

• Friday 2nd April (Schools close at 2.30pm)
• Monday 5th April – Friday 16th April 2027 (Spring break)

Schools return on Monday 19th April 2027

May 2027

• Monday 3rd May 2027 (May Public Holiday)
• Thursday 6th May 2027 (In-service day – Scottish Government Elections)
• Friday 28th May 2027 and Monday 31st May 2027 (May Weekend)

June 2027

• Schools close at 1pm on Friday 25th June 2027

Primary 2 learners and parents enjoyed a family learning workshop in Cathedral school library on Wednesday 1st October. While teachers read a story to their class and spoke about the rules of the library, Mrs McCoy provided parents and carers with some practical ideas to help them support their child’s reading at home. Parents then had the opportunity to chose and read a book with their child.

Our next family learning event, for Primary 6 pupils and parents, takes place on Tuesday 7th October. The individual class workshops will give parents and carers the opportunity to learn about how we are supporting Cathedral learners to develop creativity skills and then work alongside their child in our new Investigation & Innovation Hub.

Please click on the link below to access our August – December family learning programme:

Aug – Dec 2025 Family Learning programme

Mrs McMichael and Mrs Murphy from Cathedral’s Attainment Team hosted a targeted family learning workshop on Wednesday 1st October at which parents and carers had the opportunity to learn alongside their child using the Read Write Inc. Fresh Start programme. The Attainment Team also provided parents and carers with learning packs to further support their child’s learning at home. There was a great buzz around the room and parent/carer feedback on the sessions was exceptionally positive. One parent said:

“Axel sees the Attainment Team as a very positive experience. He loves and thrives with the additional attention and focus.”

These P4/5 learners were very proud to share a maths ‘Milestone Moment’ with Mrs Duffy on Tuesday 30th September. Their maths group have been using different methods to develop their understanding of place value and they demonstrated their recent learning by using Numicon to represent larger numbers. Impressive!

If you’re wondering who the rather grown up looking Primary 4/5 is, he’s actually one of our S6 Our Lady’s High School helpers who visit Cathedral each week to work alongside our learners!