You will need to bring a school bag (big enough to hold an A4 document) and stationery including pens, pencils, ruler, eraser, sharpener and colouring pencils. You will also need a reusable water bottle. We have several water filling stations around school and encourage all students to top up their water at the beginning/end of the day and during break and lunchtime.

You will also be required to wear your full school uniform (see our uniform guidance here). On PE days, you will attend school in full PE Kit so you will not need to bring anything extra in with you on these days, other than your usual bag/equipment/water bottle.

If you elect to do any afterschool activity (such as Football) you may be required to bring in items such as your PE Kit separately, however, if that is the case, you will be informed by the member of staff organising.

You will be placed into your Form group on arrival. When you are in your Form groups, you will receive your timetable listing the times and locations of each subject and who your teacher will be. You will also receive your very own student journal. This will contain lots of useful information for you and provides space for you to make a note of your timetable and your Form group so you can keep them with you at all times.

There will also be lots of friendly faces out and about in the corridors to help you find where you need to be.

You will be able to access the Upper/Lower Canteen and the outside space during break and lunch. Here you can purchase a variety or items or bring your own packed lunch. Our lunch menus work on a 3 week rotation and are available to view on our website, here. Students have access to a wide variety of healthy hot dinners, freshly made sandwiches and baguettes, Jacket Potatoes with a variety of fillings, fruit and homemade desserts.

Notre Dame Catholic College operates a cashless system. This means your Parent/Carer will need to add money to your ParentPay account and school meals are then paid through the use of our fingerprint scanners at the till. Details of ParentPay were sent home to Parents on your first day. 

Please note, Food is not permitted in the classrooms or during lesson time. Chewing gum / Energy drinks are not permitted in school. We also offer a free Breakfast Club for all students in our lower canteen from 8am. This includes free bagels and a selection of cereal for all students. Additional items are available to purchase if you wish to.

We operate a cashless payment system for school meals, so you do not need to bring money in to school. Parents will be given a letter on your first day inviting them to create a PARENT PAY account. This will allow your parents/guardian to upload money towards your school dinners, school trips or school events (such as Prom in Year 11/Sixth Form) to your personal online account.

During your induction at school, we will take an image of your fingerprint. This image is then converted into a series of unique numbers using a mathematical algorithim and the actual image is then discarded. The code created is then linked to your parent pay account to allow you to use your fingerprint to pay for food and drink items in the school. We must receive your Parent/Guardian’s consent prior to taking this image. This can be done via the online Parent Information and Consent Form we requested in June 2023. When you leave the college, all data will be deleted.

When you are all set up and your Parent/Guardian has uploaded funds into your account, you simply select the food items you wish to purchase in the school canteen and pay by using your fingerprint at one of our special scanners at the till.

If you are in receipt of Free School Meals, your Free School Meal allocation will automatically be added to your PARENT PAY account after break time each day. Therefore, you will use this allowance to purchase your items in the exact same way as every other student and simply select your items and purchase them from the canteen via the fingerprint scanners at the till.

The current FSM allowance amount is £2.40* per day which is the equivalent to our meal deal price. Please note: This amount will not be carried over and must be used for the day intended. (*Price correct at time of publishing but may be subject to change).

Note for Parents: If you think your child is entitled to Free School Meals, please ensure you complete your application through your local council. If your child is eligible, the council will inform the school and they will automatically be added to our list and receive the allowance.

You can find out more and apply via the Government website here. 

If you have a query or information to share regarding your child’s personal, physical or emotional wellbeing, this would be a Pastoral Query. Therefore, the first person to contact would be their Form Teacher, Head of Year or Assistant Head of Year. 

If you have a query/information to share regarding your child’s subjects / learning, then please contact their class teacher or Head of Subject in the first instance.

The best way to contact school is to call us on 0151 330 5122 or email us at [email protected], indicating who you’d like to speak to. An appointment can then be made for you to speak to/meet with the staff member you need. You can also contact staff members directly through our behaviour and learning app, Class Charts. This is monitored on a weekly basis, during working school hours so if your query is urgent, we recommend calling/emailing.

We would like to take this opportunity to remind Parents and Guardians that we understand the importance of swift communication, however, please be mindful when contacting us in the first instance that our staff are often teaching during school hours and may not be able to answer your call/visit/message right away. We therefore stress the importance of appointments being made via the school office and appreciate your patience and courtesy when arranging these.

If you have a question or a concern during your first few weeks, there are lots of people you can turn to for support. You can speak with your Form Teacher, Miss Wishart (Head of Year) or Mrs Garvey (Assistant Head of Year). You can also speak to our school Chaplain, Miss Wall or any of your subject teachers.

We also have a Safeguearding Team who can support you if you have any serious concerns or worries. You can speak to a member of our Safeguarding Team and, you can also share information anonymously if you wish through our Whisper service. Find out more about our Safeguarding Team and who can help here.