St Peter's is a happy, welcoming school, with catholic values at the core of what we do. Visitors often comment on the warm welcome they receive. Parents, children, governors and visitors are made to feel a sense of belonging in our school and as a result of this our community links continue to grow.
We welcome all people into our community, they know that they are entering a friendly happy place where children follow the ways of Jesus by loving, valuing and respecting each other. We are committed to learning and achieving our best in all we do. Older children help and support younger children and take responsibility for various aspects of school life.
Children and parents new to reception are invited to a ‘Welcome’ meeting in the summer term. This helps to familiarise new families with St. Peter’s. It encourages parents to work in partnership with school and the parish. Parents gain a great insight into our Catholic school community.
Before children start school , they attend a play session where they have the opportunity to meet other children in their class. Parents find these sessions helpful as they can meet other parents who are also new to the school.
Our transition procedures from class to class are carried out with the wellbeing of each individual child being a priority. Transition to High School is successful because we plan, prepare and communicate sensitively and thoroughly with all individuals involved. As a result of this, we have developed strong working links with local high schools.
Children who join our school in other year groups are invited to visit our school during a typical school day, meeting our staff and children. This enables good relationships to be formed straight away with both the child and parents. Once the child arrives, he/she is buddied up with a friend. A happy vibe can be felt throughout our school.
Parents and Governors are regularly invited into school throughout the year to participate in celebration assemblies, collective worship and celebration days. Throughout Advent and Lent, we have additional special celebrations, where we invite parents and the wider community to join us on our faith journey. Children on their Sacramental Programme welcome us all to grow with them, support them and celebrate with them at the end of their journey.
Wellbeing and progress is strengthened through parent meetings for our children twice a year. Additionally, we have procedures in place for parents to come in and discuss their child’s progress or any worries and concerns that they may have.
We as a Catholic community value the teaching of our Lord and remain faithful to his Word. The Word of God is placed at the centre of all that we do.
Our Mission Statement was composed by our School Community. It is linked to our Behaviour Policy, and is consistently referred to by all staff and children. It underpins the Catholic ethos of our whole school, and permeates through all of our lessons, assemblies, and break times. It is evident in our actions toward one another around the school building.
Our whole staff share their commitment to and enthusiasm for Religious Education with the school community. Every child’s attainment and progress in RE is a major focus for the Senior Leadership team and teachers. Mrs Clinch, our Head Teacher, Mrs Millward-Moreton, our Deputy Head and Miss McKeogh, our Assistant Head have all completed the Catholic Leadership Programme. The majority of our teachers have or are working towards completing their CCRS within the next two years.
We are proud that our children have a rich understanding of Scripture, and a deep love and respect for the Good News of Jesus Christ. Children are able to articulate the impact of their beliefs and values on their lives and learning. Our children are religiously literate, and have a good understanding of the Gospel Values. They learn to know and love Jesus; they are inspired to live out His legacy in their own lives and to continue His work.
Our inspiration from God's word guides us to improve our relationship with others and behave in the right way, in the way we live and the way we treat each other.
Children are reminded of their responsibilities to each other and the need to make St Peter's a happy place built on respect for the individual. Our children are given opportunities to do this through leadership roles and responsibility initiatives such as the School Chaplains, Mini-Vinnies, the School Council, Eco-Council, Reading Buddies, Science ambassadors, Digital leaders and play leaders. Every child at St Peter's is placed in one of four houses. These are named after the four Gospel writers.
Children live by our core values, which are witnessed by staff and children throughout the school day. Our faith and our understanding of the core values impacts on how we treat one another. We often ask the question “Are you being a refection of Jesus?” as it is important that everyone bears witness to the Gospel Values, and how they live them out in their daily lives. We are a Christ-centred school where Jesus is at the heart of all we do. In our daily life at school we ensure that the children meet God every day.
When we witness the Gospel Values being lived out, we give praise and children are rewarded for being good role models for others. We encourage our children to witness the Gospel Values themselves, and give their own praise to their peers. Praise is also given through House Points and certificates.
The Governors actively seek to recruit staff who are confident in their faith, and who engage in faith activities. Our children see Jesus in the hearts of their teachers. The staff have a loving manner and we all work to ensure our children feel loved and secure at St Peter's. We actively promote the British values of Individual Liberty, Democracy, The Rule of Law, Mutual Respect and Tolerance of those of Different Faiths and Beliefs.
As a school, we help our children to understand the need for helping each other, and people in the wider community through our charity work. We raise money for a variety of charities. However, we are also keen to ensure that our children understand that we can support other people’s emotional and spiritual needs by giving something of ourselves, and being living witnesses to Jesus through our school core values. We seek to do this through our half-termly Caritas in Action award.
We care for all and promote mutual respect in our school community. We support everyone to be happy in their lives by teaching them about love, forgiveness and kindness. The welfare of pupils and adults is paramount. We show this in the way we treat one another fairly and equally and the way we respect each other. In our school we want everyone
The St Peter's school community is built on trusting relationships between all children, parents, staff and governors which are rooted in our core values. It is because of these strong relationships that staff have good individual knowledge of all the children in our school. Our children grow into creative, compassionate and responsible young adults, as a result of the spiritual experience they receive in our school.
Children at St Peter's are happy and experience success. We are able to identify each child’s needs and celebrate every child’s unique gifts from God. We closely monitor the academic progress of all children, so that any barriers to their learning can be identified early and overcome where possible. Children with Special Educational Needs are identified early and our staff work closely with the child, their family and outside agencies, where appropriate, to address individual needs and support the whole child. We ensure that appropriate interventions are implemented effectively for children with learning and social difficulties.
Our children are always encouraged to do their best and to use the skills and talents given to them by God. We are committed to valuing and developing each child fully. Children regularly take part in assemblies and use their talents in concerts, performances and sporting festivals. This ensures children feel proud of their efforts and that achievements are celebrated. As a staff, we provide a breakfast club and after school clubs across the year to cater for all interests including academic subjects, sports, drama, music and art. The emotional welfare and self-esteem of our children is a priority of the school. Achievements outside of school (e.g. participation in sports and hobbies) are celebrated in our celebration assemblies each week. We are proud of the children’s success in and out of school.
St Peter's is a safe place to be. Our school procedures and routines are paramount in ensuring that every child feels safe and secure in their environment. The school ensures that the building and fencing is securely locked. All safeguarding procedures are rigorous. Rigorous risk assessments are carried out to ensure all pupils, staff and visitors are safe.
Staff are proactive when dealing with any concerns and respond appropriately whether it be discussions with parents or in more extreme circumstances working with external agencies such as CAMHS, social services, educational psychology, family support and the school nurse.
Safeguarding and health and safety issues are discussed at our weekly staff meetings, where the dignity of a child is always maintained. All staff act with confidence and discretion when dealing with issues regarding our children. We foster a high level of understanding, empathy, forgiveness and respect for diversity.
We support, guide and care for our families and children in good times and bad. When children and families face problems, the school’s support systems strive to ensure that stability is restored as quickly as possible. If needed a range of support professionals can be called upon by the school to support these families.
Pupil voice is an essential part of our school decision-making. All our children and staff are empowered to express their opinions, and know they will be heard. Children and staff feel respected and listened to and know that they can speak to a teacher or colleague or member of the SLT at any time.
We have an active and enthusiastic school council, which gives our children a forum to speak and to ensure their voice is heard. The council is a democratically elected group of children who represent their peers and enable them to become partners in their own education, making a positive contribution to the school environment and ethos. We also have a reading buddy system, where children from KS2 support our younger children who are not making expected progress with their independent reading.
Year 6 children have the opportunity to attend an annual residential trip to PGL.. This helps our children to develop stronger relationships with each other and better social skills as they prepare for the transition to high school and the challenges they will face. During this time, children are encouraged to form social bonds with peers outside of their immediate friendship groups. Following this a full transition programme takes place with our feeder high schools. This involves children attending a full transition day at their future schools and teachers from those schools being invited into St Peter's to deliver transition lessons in different subjects. Additional transition time with the high school is given to less confident children and those with SEND.
The welfare of our children extends beyond their primary school years. We always attend the year 7 High School Mass and welcome former pupils back as visitors to our school.
