"Loved by Jesus, we love, we learn, we live and grow together for Him"

Our Mission statement underpins every aspect of day-to-day life in our school community. We aim to be a living, loving and faithful community which is in inspired by the life of Christ and the teachings of the Church, rooted in Gospel values. To help achieve these aims our school offers a happy, safe and welcoming atmosphere where every child is loved, valued and encouraged on their journey through life.

At St. Peter’s, staff and governors ensure that children grow into faithful and loving individuals. Our school is a place where Catholic attitudes are both taught and lived in a way that encourages a strong community spirit both within school and beyond.

Religious Education
As a voluntary aided Catholic School, the Catholic religious ethos is interweaved across the whole curriculum and not just within the Religious Education programme. We offer our children an exciting and faith-filled RE curriculum that is central to every aspect of school life. All members of staff are dedicated to nurturing and developing the children’s faith through prayer life, RE lessons, Sacramental preparation, charitable outreach and vocational awareness. Children are helped to understand their world and their lives in the light of their faith by always placing Christ at the centre. 

Collective Worship

At St. Peter’s, we strive to provide quality experiences of prayer and liturgy that support children’s spiritual and personal development. These communal acts of prayer and the liturgical celebrations of the Church form an integral part of everyday life in our school. They are essential to our wonderful school ethos and way of life and is a way of deepening our relationship with God. Acts of worship may take place at any time during the day. It may take the form of a single act of worship within our school community or separate acts of worship in class groups. Our daily acts of collective worship encourage staff and children to pray with thoughtfulness and respect through a variety of prayer experiences such as whole-school masses, assemblies and prayer services together with formal classroom and individual reflective prayer. Children are involved as much as possible in leading and contributing to school worship.

From Reception to Year 6, our children have the opportunity to plan and lead their own prayer and liturgy services. We believe that the spiritual environment can greatly impact the overall experience, so we provide different options for where the services can take place. These options include classrooms, the school hall, Mary's grotto or our new school chapel. Children decide where they would like to lead their prayer and liturgy service. By empowering our students to lead their own prayer and liturgy services, we aim to foster a sense of ownership and connection to their spiritual journey. This approach encourages them to develop leadership skills, express their faith in a meaningful way, and contribute to the spiritual growth of their peers and the school community as a whole.

In addition to children leading their own prayer and liturgy services, we also have a special tradition where each class invites parents to participate in these meaningful gatherings. We believe that involving parents in the spiritual development of their children strengthens the bond between home and school, fostering a sense of unity and shared values within our community.

Throughout the school year, each class organises prayer and liturgy services specifically designed for parents to attend. These services provide an opportunity for parents to witness and engage in the spiritual growth and expression of their children. It allows them to experience firsthand the prayers, reflections, and rituals that their children have been preparing and leading.

Parent Prayer Sessions
 

At St. Peter's, we understand the significance of fostering a strong spiritual connection not only with our children but also with their families. As part of our commitment to nurturing a supportive and inclusive community, we provide parents with the opportunity to participate in dedicated parent prayer sessions.

Led by our Foundation Governor, these parent prayer sessions offer a sacred space for parents to engage in their own personal and reflective prayer. The sessions take place in our school chapel, which serves as a tranquil and prayerful environment conducive to silent contemplation. By offering parent prayer sessions, we aim to support parents in their own spiritual journey and provide a space for them to seek solace, guidance, and renewal.

St. Peter's Prayer Padlet

We had lots of positive feedback about our new prayer bags from parents and children but many expressed that they would like to bring the prayer bag home more frequently. As a result, we have made a Padlet with lots of prayer and liturgy resources for families to use at home. This way, children and parents have access to resources for worship all year around! Scan the QR code below to access the Padlet. Alternatively, it can be found here: https://padlet.com/lmcdonagh8/st-peter-s-home-prayer-padlet-lg749b0fvhpgpen5 
 

Bible Buddies

Each week, two different classes buddy up to share in faith by reading from the Bible together. Each week there is a different theme for the children to focus on. It's a wonderful opportunity for older children and younger children to work together and discuss lessons we can learn from the Bible.

"A" from Year 6 said: "I love meeting with my buddy. I especially like reading to them and answering their questions."

"N" from Year 2 said: "Bible Buddies is fun because we get to work with older children to talk about God."

Our parish priest, Father Gary, helps the children to appreciate and participate in the liturgy of the Church.  During the school term, the children take part in the celebration of the Mass either in church or school.  The major Catholic festivals are celebrated with special services in which pupils participate.  Parents are very welcome to join us on these occasions.

Sacraments

The sacraments of Reconciliation and First Holy Communion are received by baptised Catholic children at the end of Year 3. All children in Year 3 are included in the celebration of the sacrament and our inclusive ethos ensures that those children who are not baptised Catholics are enabled to participate as fully as possible in supporting their classmates during the programme. We welcome the support of parents at this very important time.

In Year 6, the children prepare for the Sacrament of Confirmation. As in Year 3, all children are included in the preparation and celebration of the sacrament. The children learn to grow in faith whilst considering the role of the Disciple. The Bishop confirms the children, during a moving service. Again, we welcome the support of parents during this important stage in the children’s lives.

Parents have a statutory right to withdraw their children from Religious Education and worship.  It is not expected that parents seeking a place in a Catholic School would wish to exercise this option.  In many instances, it would be very difficult to identify a specifically “religious” element in a topic or theme as Catholic philosophy underpins so much of our everyday work.  Any parents considering withdrawing their children from this area of the curriculum should put their request in writing to the Head Teacher.  They are strongly urged to discuss the matter with the Head Teacher in advance of any such decision.