THEY certainly know how to get the day off to a perfect start.

Walking into St Denis’ Primary after the sound of the first bell, pupils are greeted with the sounds of classical music.

Lights are dimmed and lavender scents classrooms.

Should any of the pupils be having a particularly bad morning they are given a wellbeing bear to cuddle, putting them back on an even keel.

“It’s setting an atmosphere,” says headteacher Louise Mackie, who is marking five years at St Denis’.

“If there’s nice classical music and a calm atmosphere then you’re not coming in with a loud voice.

“We had a challenging year last year with children who were traumatised and upset so we knew we had to do something.

“Lots went into the environment when our building was renovated two years ago and it looked good but we also looked at the wellbeing of pupils and staff to see what we could do there.”

Plenty, was the answer. For a school with a relatively small roll – around 225 children – it punches well above its weight in terms of activities on offer.

Several of these are thanks to teaching staff who go above and beyond to offer pupils chances they would not receive elsewhere, such as break-time piano lessons or art classes at lunchtime.

There are Italian lessons, cello classes, guitar sessions, twinning with schools overseas, STEM sessions, environment clubs and St Denis’ is the only non-private school to take part in the Trades House of Glasgow poetry event thanks to a retired teacher who comes in to teach youngsters Scots language poems.

This is made all the more impressive given the diversity of the school where more than 20 languages are spoken, from Mandarin and Polish to Arabic and Hindu.

Depute head teacher Matthew Traynor believes the multi-culturalism of St Denis’ is one of its main strengths.

“Pupils have first-hand experience of other cultures,” he said. “Not everybody believes in the same God or celebrates the same customs so during RE lessons the teacher will instinctively look to, say, the Chinese pupils in the class to give them the stage to talk about their culture.”

To ensure parents who do not have English as a first language are properly involved, Mrs Mackie says she will have an interpreter spend the day at her school for open days to make them feel “welcome and valued”.

The school’s English as an Additional Language (EAL) teacher holds sessions for parents while the school’s app is translated into various languages.

“We make the most of our EAL families. We had our Chinese families in for Chinese New Year and we’ve had dragons at assembly.

“We spend a significant amount of time recognising our own Scottish culture as well,” Mrs Mackie added.

“Our children feel part of our community regardless of their faith, religion, colour, creed, and I would be damned if you asked any one of them and they said anything different.”

The school, on Roslea Drive in Dennistoun, also has a varied catchment area which means teaching staff have to balance varied needs.

Mrs Mackie added: “I have parents who are teachers, headteachers, doctors, and then I have parents who are living with severe poverty, domestic abuse, trauma.”

A whole school approach is taken to make sure no child goes without.

The highly active Parent Council helps provide school uniforms for pupils who might not have the correct clothing.

St Denis’ green and brown uniform can make it more expensive for youngsters to be properly kitted out.

“Uniform is extremely important,” the headteacher said, “Because it raises the standards in terms of learning and expectations and behaviour.

“One of our parents handed in two bags of lovely uniform and clothes and said ‘Can you find a home for this?’ Absolutely.

“There’s no taboo.

“One of my office ladies supplies every day a packed lunch to one of my children who just will not eat in the dinner hall and her parents can’t provide her with a packed lunch. Another provided a swim suit and towel to a wee one she noticed didn’t have anything for swimming.

“We are mindful of our children who are living in severe poverty and very mindful everyone is treated with dignity and respect.”

Support also comes from the local community and from organisations such as the Celtic FC Foundation.

It’s a family affair for Mrs Mackie whose mum re-upholstered every chair in the building during its 2017 refurbishment and who knitted dozens of the cuddle bears for children.

The school is also the first to develop a care-experienced children’s policy.

And, creatively, when the school janitor retired and was not replaced, senior staff used Pupil Equity Funding (PEF) to turn his house, in the grounds, into a very special nurture space for pupils.

Mr Traynor said: “Under the previous head it was a great school but the staff team is particularly skilled at the moment, we have exceptional practitioners.

“The ethos was previously good but under Mrs Mackie it is aspirational in all senses of the word.”

“It is a team,” Mrs Mackie said, “and we use that phrase a lot.

“I’m a mum, so how would I want my children to be treated when I’m not there? With kindness and respect, so that’s what we do.”