We are very proud of our children, parents and staff who continue to campaign and fight for equality and equal opportunity for all. St Mary’s continue to work closely with Citizens UK to ensure that our voice is heard and that we achieve real change. We have joined a new campaign, building on our previous success in enabling thousands of NRPF families to access Free School Meals:
Nobody should be left behind – not now, not ever! Time to end NRPF for good.
Covid-19 has shone a brighter light on the injustices that many migrants face. Many of our neighbours are unable to access government help because of where they were born, and the immigration papers they have.
This is because of a government policy called No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) that denies people living and working in the UK crucial forms of support from the government. Without assistance like Universal Credit and housing benefit, many people – including 100,000 children – are feeling stranded and left without a safety net.
Please follow this link to find out more about the campaign.
https://www.citizensuk.org/endnrpf​
As you will see, St Mary’s children are featured prominently; they are ‘agents of change’ and they know that their voices will be heard and they can make a difference!

Thanks to generous donations from parents and from the Lewisham Citizens UK Emergency Fund we have been able to create playpacks and food bags for some families at St. Mary’s which have been delivered at a social distance to people’s homes. We have delivered over 30 playpacks designed to keep little ones busy and it is great to see parents and children as we have missed all our families at St. Mary’s.​
Lockdown is particularly hard on many families and of course if you are struggling with food or any other issues we would urge you to get in touch with the school so that we can support you.
In conjunction with Helping Lewisham Hospital, who are based at The Point, we have been receiving weekly deliveries of Smoothies for the children.
We also received some cooked meals from The Point and we were able to offer these meals to families who came to collect. Around 50 portions were distributed and we hope to do something similar in the coming weeks, so watch out for further texts!