The St Peter’s Way

St Peter’s School Vision

The goal of everyone at Saint Peter’s Church of England Primary School is to provide our children with a wide and fully rounded education, which enables them to develop not only academically, but also socially, emotionally, morally and spiritually.

We do not focus on SATs success. Education should encompass far more than simply preparing children for a test. Of course it is imperative that our children receive a robust academic education, which will allow them to succeed in their chosen fields. We work extremely hard to ensure that our children achieve the utmost academically. We want them to leave us having made the most progress possible in the core subjects of English and mathematics. However, progress in English and mathematics is different to cramming for a test.

In addition, children will not be excited, enthusiastic learners, if they are subjected to a narrow curriculum. We want to see our children running into school enthusiastically every morning - which they do. We place greater store than many schools in delivering high quality PE, music, art and language lessons. The child with real ability in art or music will feel far more confident in themselves from having their ability celebrated and, as a result, will achieve more in subjects such as English and mathematics.

Developing confidence in children is key. Many children struggle to achieve their full potential because they are afraid of failing. At St Peter's, we try to generate an atmosphere where children feel comfortable to take risks, whether that is in trying new things or, for those who lack confidence, to simply put their hands up and answer questions. 

We want our children to leave us as happy, confident people, well prepared for their future life. The education we provide to our children, is one which will allow them to become the adults we aspire for them to be.

Jesus said; “I have come that they may have life and have it to the full” John 10:10.  We want to educate our children that they may enjoy life in all its fullness.

The St Peter’s Way

The St Peter’s Way is an approach which is carried over into every interaction between every member of our school community – staff, children, parents and governors. It embodies the values and attitudes which we see as being fundamental to the spiritual development of our children. These will be modelled by all members of our community, and when they are not, this will be addressed. We wish our school to be a micro society, where tolerance, respect and love are demonstrated by all. This school is a family and as such, all of us will adhere to the values we share and all will learn from the values modelled by those around us.

Rather than promoting the Christian identity of the school in a ‘distinct’ manner, almost separate from other areas of school life, developing a Christian approach to life is a thread which is woven throughout our community. Promoting our children’s spirituality and their awareness of the teachings of Christ are interwoven through the approach we espouse in the St Peter’s way.

The St Peter’s Child

Our children are at St Peter’s for seven years. We have identified the characteristics we wish to develop in our children by the time they leave our school. These are presented in the following statements:

• They must have a love of life, of people and of learning.
• They should be inquisitive and excited by the world around them, and have both the skills and the drive to learn independently, in every area, in every way.
• They should have a continued desire to learn, to improve and succeed, and have the resourcefulness to apply themselves to doing so.
• They must be brave; open to new experiences and challenges, and have a desire to learn and extend themselves.
• They must be diligent and determined to achieve their best in every area, but value effort and progress above attainment.
• They must be resilient and see failure as a step towards success.
• They must feel pride in their behaviour, their character and their achievements, without being boastful or selfish.
• They must be confident in their own feelings of self-worth and not be reliant on external judgements of success.
• They must be mindful of how to live life to the utmost, to maintain their mental health and physical well-being, to live in a way which makes them happy and fulfilled.
• They will also realise that their happiness is dependent on the happiness of those around them. They will be mindful of the needs of others and be selfless in how they will react to those who require kindness and support.
• They must realise that whilst it is important that they are independent and confident, it is of fundamental importance that they recognise the value of others and be able to work collaboratively, strengthening a team by their inclusion.