English Martyrs' Live Simply Award Journey

Our Achievement

We are delighted to share that English Martyrs Catholic Primary School has been working towards the CAFOD Live Simply Award for a number of years, first receiving our CAFOD Laudato Si award in 2021. We are delighted to share that in March 2026, we were able to achieve this prestigious award and want to celebrate the incredible journey our school community has taken together.

Our action plan, ideas, and projects have evolved, but our enthusiasm and our strive to live simply is very much alive and thriving within our school, parish and wider community. The Live Simply Award encourages Catholic communities to live simply, sustainably, and in solidarity with people in poverty, inspired by faith and Laudato Si'.

Our Three Main Focus Areas

We revisited our Laudato Si pledges to reinvigorate our commitment and educate children about the different elements of Catholic Social Teaching as age appropriate.

What we've done:

  • Each child made a Laudato Si pledge near the start of our journey, displayed in a central area of our school
  • As part of the Jubilee Year of Hope, each class made a Jubilee Pledge which were collated into a whole school pledge, committing to actions like reducing waste, praying for our global neighbours, and living out our mission through kindness
  • CAFOD volunteers delivered Catholic Social Teaching workshops to all classes from Reception to Year 6
  • Created Jubilee prayer boxes and jars of hope in every classroom

We collaborated with parishioners, governors and the school community to create a prayer-eco garden.

What we've done:

  • Bishop Tom Neylon celebrated mass at English Martyrs Church on Sunday 10th March with our school choir, marking progress on the Prayer Garden Project
  • Used a local carpenter to create the cross, benches and planters. Our gardening club planted bulbs and fruit trees
  • Engaged children through Faiths4Change workshops with our eco-councillors, collective worship ambassadors and school councillors
  • Participated in active travel initiatives including WOW (walk to school challenge), Cycle to School Week, and Sustrans Big Walk and Wheel
  • Made changes to our local community including improvements to the local underpass, which was cleaned and freshly painted following our councillors' manifesto
  • Year 3 annual educational visits to Veolia Gillmoss Recycling Centre
  • Installed book swap boxes and clothing recycling points
  • Regular eco-tips shared through newsletters on topics like water conservation and reducing plastic waste

We support CAFOD World Gifts annually, set up a CAFOD club in school made up of children from different year groups, and engage with CAFOD's latest campaign.

What we've done:

  • Representatives from each class spoke to Peter Dowd MP about the 'Send My Friend to School, Education in Emergencies campaign', asking the government to Prepare, Protect, Invest and Act 
  • Raised a total of £713.50 for CAFOD World Gifts to support their Water World project, providing families with clean, safe water 
  • Supported Sefton Community Pantry with food supplies during our Harvest Festival
  • Participated in Fairtrade Fortnight, learning about fair trade and spotting Fairtrade products
  • Built intergenerational connections through choir visits to Maple Court and Orchard Care Home
  • Launched 'English Martyrs Eco Warriors' - monthly community litter picks on the first Saturday of each month

Looking Ahead

We will continue to develop our school prayer garden and forest school area, continue to arrange CAFOD visits, support CAFOD's latest campaigns and World Gifts each year, engage with Fairtrade Fortnight, and formulate our school climate action plan.

We never feel finished, which in itself is the point! Living simply in faith, action and solidarity is a lifelong commitment.