CATHOLIC LIFE OF THE SCHOOL
In June 2025, St. John Vianney was inspected by the Catholic Schools Inspectorate, and was judged Outstanding in all 3 areas: Catholic Life and Mission, Religious Education and Collective Worship. This is an extract from the Chief Inspector of Schools, along with the full report:
"I would like to offer my congratulations to everyone at St John Vianney Catholic Primary School on your recent Catholic School Inspection.
The report clearly recognises the strength of your shared commitment to living out the school’s mission, ‘Everything we can be with Christ in our hearts’. It was wonderful to read about how the children are confident, compassionate and deeply aware of their call to serve others—qualities rooted in a strong sense of Catholic identity.
It is clear that leadership across the school is focused and intentional, ensuring that Gospel values shape the life of the community. The care shown to pupils, families and staff, and the respectful relationships seen at all levels, reflect a school that places Christ at its centre.
Your work with the parish, the inclusive approach to all families, and the importance placed on pupil voice and service, are all commended. It is encouraging to see such strong pastoral care and a clear commitment to the wider mission of the Church.
Thank you for the work you do in supporting pupils’ formation and for the example you provide of a Catholic school community living its mission with integrity and purpose. I hope the outcomes of this report are a source of affirmation and celebration for the whole community at the end, of yet another, busy and demanding academic year."
Our Mission
Read on to find out more about our Mission, and follow the links below to find out about all aspects of the Catholic Life of St. John Vianney Primary!
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Mission
Mission
Our mission encapsulates all that we wish for our children:
“In our school children, staff, parents and carers, governors and parish will work together to create a caring, learning environment with Our Lord as the focal point in which each child is valued as an individual, nurtured and encouraged to fulfil his/her potential.”
Our Motto
Our children’s take on our mission is equally succinct:
“Everything we can be, with Christ in our hearts”.
Beautifully put, I’m sure you will agree.
We strive to live out these principles each day, and take great pride and satisfaction in doing so.
Our school is a bustling and vibrant environment for our children, parents and staff, and we are always working to strengthen our partnership and unity. Our sense of community is incredibly strong, and that is a both a blessing and a sturdy foundation for our endeavours.
Mission week
In Mission Week, we reflect on how successfully our Mission is seen in every day life at the school. We looked closely at the different stakeholders that the mission asks to come together to help fulfil the potential of our children: Parents, Staff, Parish and Governors. All play a vital part in creating this special environment and the fulfilled potential is seen every year in the behaviour, the attitude
Staff
Staff at St. John Vianney are dedicated to creating the environment that fully gives ouir children the opportunities they need to succeed and to reach their potential. The relationship that children and staff enjoy at St. John Vianney is positive, comfortable and is built on the values we teach and model day in, day out.
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Governors
They provide support and challenge to the school; its leaders, teachers, parents and children. They are frequent visitors to the school and are familiar to the children. Whether it be leading an assembly or visiting with a curriculum focus, their input is a vital part of the school's success.
Parents
The parent community at St. John Vianney is incredibly strong! With the thriving 'Friends of SJV' at the helm, they attend celebration assemblies, liturgies and fundraising events.
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Children ...
Our children turn up each day with their uniqueness and willingness to get as much out of their time at SJV as possible and, inreturn, they are the deserving beneficiaries of our mission - happy, confident and high-achieving children head off to to secondary school each year!
Catholic life at st. john vianney - a gallery
PLANTING TO MAKE OUR COMMUNITY BRIGHTER!
OCTOBER - THE MONTH OF THE ROSARY
YEAR 2 OBSERVE STATIONS OF THE CROSS
SPIRITUALITY DAY - REFLECTIONS ON PEACE
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GOODBYE!
WHOLE SCHOOL MASS RETURNS!
Fr Joe led a lovely mass for ALL our children today, then showed our Reception Class around the Church's Easter Garden
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MAY, THE MONTH OF OUR LADY
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A MASS TO CELEBRATE THE START OF A NEW TERM
PAPAL BLESSING
YEAR 6 LEAVERS SERVICE
SPIRITUALITY WEEK AT SJV
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SOLIDARITY - “THE HUMBLEST AMONG YOU, CAN OFFER THE WORLD A VALUABLE LESSON IN SOLIDARITY." (POPE FRANCIS)
Today we celebrated our Liturgy for Solidarity - the theme of the half term for Summer 2. We aim to take Pope Francis' words and use them to 'change our mind-sets' and make our societies a better place by: sharing, supporting, helping, respecting and valuing each other.
CATHOLIC SOCIAL TEACHING THEME - SOLIDARITY
OTHER FAITHS - SIKHISM
GURDWARA VISIT
MAY - THE MONTH OF MARY
THE CEREMONY OF THE MIRACULOUS MEDAL
The SJV community today joined Class 4 and Reception our annual 'welcoming' ceremony. Having been extended the hand of friendship by their Class 4 buddies back in Autumn, Reception Class were confirmed as valued members of our school community as they were awarded the Miraculous Medal, in this very special month dedicated to Mary, mother of Christ.
We are so very proud of our Reception class; they have settled into our school so well, and it feels like they've been here forever!
THE SOLEMNITY OF THE ASCENSION OF OUR LORD...
Click on the images to view the slideshow from our Liturgy.
LOVE ONE ANOTHER AS I HAVE LOVED YOU...
A cross-school team celebrate this week's Gospel in style - Jesus' most direct teaching: "Love on another as I have loved you..."
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MAY IS THE MONTH OF MARY
Our Chaplaincy Team help parents, staff and of course the children mark the month of May, Mary's special time.
I AM THE VINE...
STATIONS OF THE CROSS
EASTER LITURGY
A wonderful final preparation for Easter, the children of SJV this week presented their Easter Liturgy - "Good News!" A perfect opportunity for the children to reflect on the story of the Passion of Christ, the performances were all excellent. Special mention to David for a brilliant solo, and to the actors that took part in the state-of-the-art 'green screen' segments - fantastic. Well done and huge thanks to our resident director/producer, Ms. Griffin.
ASH WEDNESDAY LITURGY
BISHOP JOHN SHERRINGTON CELEBRATES 'COMMUNITY' AT SJV
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FOLLOWING JESUS THE TEACHER
FOCUS ON COMMUNITY
This half term, we are focusing on the Catholic Social Teaching theme of 'Community' - we are here to serve others. Matthew's gospel account of how Jesus started the first Christian Community was the perfect place to start.
HELPING THE HOMELESS
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SPIRITUALITY IN ART
We asked the children to reflect on God's love - where can they see evidence, in their every day lives, of the wonders of His creation? Beautiful.
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ADVENT
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SCHOOL CHOIR STARS IN SECONDARY SCHOOL PRODUCTION
CHRISTMAS DISPLAYS ARE UP!
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YEAR 4 SING AT CATHEDRAL HOUSE
OTHER FAITHS - JUDAISM
OCTOBER - THE MONTH OF THE ROSARY
PROMOTING WORLD PEACE
MALAWI RED NOSE DAY!The children of SJV burst into colour this Friday as they marked Comic Relief 2017 with a splash of vibrant red! They looked fantastic in assembly, all gathered together like a beautiful poppy field! As well as having fun and looking cool, we also raised money to support our twin school in Chinziri, Malawi. It is lovely for the children to actually see where their money is going to and we look forward to presenting Fr. Henry with the fruits of our efforts in the Autumn. A big ‘well done’ to our Year 5 Poets, Christian, Alana, Stephanie, Ola, Cristiano and Kyro for some outstanding Red Nose poetry! |
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HELPING HAND FOR CANCER CHARITY
RAISING AWARENESS FOR HOMELESSNESS
We were pleased to welcome Lorraine from the charity ‘The Passage’, which is dedicated to helping those that are homeless. She spoke to the whole school about how fortunate we are to enjoy the comfort of home, food and safety, and asked that we consider those that don’t have these essentials in their lives.
We have been discussing our Catholic Social Values recently, and two came to mind as we listened:
• The Dignity of the Human Person (which Pope Francis explores below) and
• Helping the Poor and Vulnerable, which is central to Jesus’ message in the gospel of Matthew
It was good to hear how Lorraine and her colleagues are living these values in their work, and we plan to support them as best we can.
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MIRACULOUS BUDDIES!The SJV community today joined Class 4 and Reception in one of the most heart-warming ceremonies in the school calendar. Having been welcomed by their Class 4 buddies back in Autumn, Reception Class were reaffirmed as valued members of our school community as they were awarded the Miraculous Medal, in this very special month dedicated to Mary, mother of Christ. From the beautiful singing of ‘Let It Be’ to Angelina’s barely-contained excitement in receiving her medal (we look forward to her Oscar acceptance speech in the future), it was clear that this meant so much to all concerned. We are so very proud of our Reception class; they have settled into our school so well and have added their own special piece to the SJV jigsaw. And, as for class 4….well, who could wish for better Buddies? Kind hearted, helpful and protective, they enjoy and revel in the responsibility given to them, and it’s a lovely thing to see. A special mention to Lucas: his Buddy’s mother informed me that he has taken his promise SO seriously, that he takes the time, daily, to say hello, give advice and to just be a great friend to his Reception buddy. Well done Lucas – you encapsulate the spirit of this beautiful occasion. |
ALL EQUAL IN GOD'S EYES - ANTI BULLYING 2017
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YEAR 4 AT WESTMINSTERNow a fixture for our Year 4 classes, the Westminster Choir outreach programme has sprung into life again. Our boys and girls took the now-familiar trip to the Cathedral and enjoyed a practice day. They sang beautifully I’m told, and they even had time for a trip to the park AND Buckingham Palace too! A great day out. |
HARVEST COLLECTION AND LITURGY
OTHER FAITHS - ISLAM
Class 4 Focus on Islam
Our Religious Education curriculum’s encourages us to look around our community and to consider, reflect upon and understand other cultures and religions. In that spirit, Class 4 visited Wightman Road Mosque this week to consider the similarities and differences between the way in which Muslims follow their faith and the way in which we follow ours. The children really enjoyed the trip and were full of information, facts and ideas upon their return, and we’d like to thank the Imam for making us welcome and sharing his place of worship with us.
LEST WE FORGET...
BE SPIRITED - THE SJV SPIRITUALITY WEEK
The pupils of SJV recently spent time reflecting on their own individual spirituality, thinking about their relationship with their faith, the world around them and the things that they beleive.
Our Year 6s led the week brilliantly, patiently helping the younger children to find the space and time to pray, ask questions and to explore their feelings.
"DO FOR OTHERS WHAT YOU WANT THEM TO DO FOR YOU..."
The Gospel of Luke was the driver for our work on Anti-Bullying this week. The theme was 'Power For Good', and we encouraged the children to think with empathy about the victims of bullying. We asked them used that empathy to be a Power for Good in our school, to make sure that this gospel value is lived to the full.
The results were amazingly moving. Let's stamp out bullying together.
ST GEORGE'S DAY
The whole school was awash with red and white in April as the pupils and staff celebrated St. George's Day.
MALAWI SISTER SCHOOL APPEAL
Fr. Henry pays a visit to discuss the latest works from our friends in Malawi.
EASTER LITURGY AND PERFORMANCE: RESURRECTION ROCK!
On Wednesday this week, the cast and crew of Resurrection Rock, SJV’s Easter Liturgy this year, wowed the audience with an uplifting and moving performance. All present were treated to some outstanding performances – brilliant acting, narration and singing from the choir and the ‘angry crowd’ (the audience). Well done to all for preparing us so well for the great feast of Easter. Special mention to Ms. Griffin for single-handedly pulling the whole production together!
Have a look at the 'highlights' film and the picture gallery below.
NATIVITY TRIUMPH!This year’s Nativity performance was held recently to two packed full houses. The children have been busy rehearsing over the last few weeks, and slowly something special began to emerge. Brilliant acting, dancing and singing combined to make a moving, fun and festive celebration. I am sure that you are as proud of your children as I am! The performance this year was very special and it was fantastic to see so many parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters and friends over the two performances, supporting our talented children! A special 'thank you' to Ms. Griffin - we are fortunate to have a member of staff so talented, patient and generous with her time to guide the children in reaching their considerable best. Thanks, also to Mr. Mr. Rutkiewicz, who kindly gave permission to use some of his fantastic photos of the occasion. |
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CHRISTMAS COMMUNITY CHEER
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WESTMINSTER LENT CONCERNTClass 4 Westminster Cathedral Choir Concert |
YEAR 6 VOLUNTARY AIDED SCHOOLS LEAVERS' SERVICE
On Thursday this week, our Year 6 Class began their series of ‘goodbyes’ to St. John Vianney and Primary Education! We gathered together at St. Paul’s in Wood Green, along with other local Catholic and Church of England schools, to celebrate the passing of another fantastic group of Year 6s from this school (this is my first: are they ALWAYS this good? This sensible? This polite? This hard working? I hope so…).
The ‘Peacefully Forward’ service was a beautiful way of giving thanks for our time together and to look forward to the future—they are ready for it, I can assure you.
But…we didn’t just turn up and to make up numbers! Our boys and girls took centre stage and kicked the service off with in rousing style with their superlative rendition of ‘Our Time’ (my favourite ‘show tune’ - yes I have a favourite show tune!). Mrs. Griffin’s arrangement, enthusiasm and good old fashioned talent, coupled with our children’s angelic voices, made for a rousing and emotional moment— “It’s Our Time, breathe it in, worlds to change and worlds to win, our turn coming through, you and me, yes, me and you.”
