Our Lady’s celebrate a week of caring

Our Lady of Walsingham Catholic Primary School, Liverpool, celebrated a week of caring and sharing with the opening of its new library and Alice Nuture Hub.

After years of sourcing funds the school were able to open the doors of its new library to coincide with World Mental Health Day.

Headteacher Mrs McKinnon, said: “It was with immense pride that we opened our brand new library, which is based on a woodland theme, it is a lovely space that has been carefully created.

“We have been fortunate to be supported by many along the way – the Archdiocese, our pupils and parents (through a sponsored read in we held in September 2020) and several authors and illustrators – including Cathy Cassidy, Dan Freedman, Laurence Anholt and Bernard Ashley.

“Reading is a huge priority in our school – it opens the doors to so much of our lives and provides escapism and fires up our imagination. The area is a celebration of calmness and will always be open for pupils in our school.

“Thanks must also go to Mr Lindsay our assistant headteacher, in particular, who has worked tirelessly to create a wonderful, calm area where all are able to access books. We have a non-fiction as well as fiction area, audio books area, shared reading staging space.

“Our outdoor reading cushions have been sponsored by the family of Mrs Ann McDade. The cushions are for taking outside and sitting under the trees or on the grass to enjoy a book or a story.

“Ann used to enjoy ‘losing herself in a good book’ and would love to know that she had contributed to our pupils being able to do the same in our beautiful grounds.

“Thanks must also go to our governors and friends, as well as our school councillors who opened the library.”

The school also celebrated the opening of its Alice Nuture Hub, which is named after Alice Morgan whose family all attended Our Lady’s and who so generously supported the hub. 

The hub includes a coffee shed which the school hope will become an area of calmness for pupils, parents, staff and anyone in its school community to access where they can gather for coffee and tea and a chat. The school hopes the hub will provide a focal point for engagement with parents.

Mrs McKinnon said: “ Our school prides itself on the support for mental and physical wellbeing that we provide. We know that our new extension incorporating the library, nurture hub and coffee shed will continue to support all of our school community.