Every child of God matters.

All in their unique difference are able to flourish.

1 John 4:16 God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.

Burnley St Peter’s C of E Primary School is a happy and caring place to learn. The school’s values of love, respect, forgiveness, trust and service underpin how pupils behave towards each other and to staff. Staff forge strong relationships with pupils and know their families well. Pupils and staff have a strong sense of belonging here. Ofsted May 2023

St Peter’s C of E Primary School

Whole School Vision

Our school pursues a deeply Christian and inclusive vision and mission. We believe that at St Peter’s CE Primary School 'Every child of God Matters. All in their unique difference are able to flourish. This is captured by our motto (Every Child of God Matters) and is taught through our school values. Children at St Peter's understand that God is Love and whoever lives in love, lives in God and God in them - serving others through good deeds and transforming society with love. We want children who leave St Peter's to be passionate about serving God and transforming communities through acts of love.

We strive for an inclusive and enriching curriculum, which meets the needs of all individual children within our school family. Our curriculum ensures learning is effective, engaging, exciting and above all, relevant to the needs of our children.

All pupils will secure firm foundations in English and Mathematics and this underpins a growing excellence in other subjects. We believe in bringing learning to life and we place great value on developing the ‘whole child’ and provide an engaging programme of study in all curriculum areas.

Our St Peter's promise ensures the children are taught to be kind and caring and do their best. We want our children to wear their Courage Achievement and Pride, (CAP) with dignity and know that with God, nothing is impossible. 

To fulfil this ambition, we rely on our culture of togetherness. As a team and school family, we actively seek to serve one another. We learn together through a broad, challenging curriculum. We grow together in faith, wisdom and character. We struggle and face challenge together. We celebrate and succeed together. All this, we do joyfully. 

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A message from our Chair of Governors:

Welcome to our amazing school!

Our school lives out a profoundly Christian and inclusive vision. We genuinely believe that every child of God matters. We believe that our vision should transform our community. The relationship between school and church is something we value, and we hope you will, too.

I enjoy being part of worship both in school and in church. Our children contribute enormously. I am always touched as they pray for each other, their teachers, family, and the world. Our worship focuses on children being able to ask questions and explore their own faith. Our all-age worship is inclusive, focusing on well-being and enhancing school and family values.

Children take part in our school workshops held in church. It is a joy to watch and encourages us all.

We want children to grow and reach their full potential. We want to support them as they grow in confidence, explore faith, and explore their gifts. We want them to enjoy coming and being part of our church family.

We strongly believe In an inclusive Church where ALL are invited, and ALL are welcome, where children and families feel safe, loved, and cared for.

Fr Andrew Holmes

Rector – Burnley St Peter & St Stephen

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In our school, together we will do our best to:

Be Healthy........Look after our body and spirit that God made

1. Create opportunities in the school day for prayer, worship, reflection, and stillness
2. Provide opportunities to develop in the Christian faith, and to respect those of a different faith or no faith position
3. Look at relationships and health in the light of moral, cultural and faith values
4. Stay safe..........Trust in God
5. Ensure that pupils are able to practice their faith without fear of prejudice or bullying
6. Promote, within the  Christian ethos, self-worth, self-respect and trust
7. Foster an atmosphere of respect and listening where concerns can be voiced and questions raised, and then appropriate actions taken

Enjoy and achieve...........Use our Talents

1. Praise and celebrate achievements in all fields
2. Provide  opportunities for pupils to express their learning in a variety of ways
3. Emphasise that humans do fail at times and that we can learn from our failures too
4. Make a positive contribution.......Be generous
5. Demonstrate ways of living based on Christian values
6. Show what it means to love one’s neighbour
7. Extend opportunities for pupils to contribute to the worship life of the school
8. Encourage prayer for others
9. Encourage initiatives which promote social cohesion and caring for the environment
10. Develop links with religious communities outside the school
11. Develop links with schools serving different communities either at home or abroad

Achieve economic wellbeing......Serve God and others

1. Promote an understanding of Christian stewardship and a responsibility to look after the planet’s resources
2. Contribute towards the church’s work in helping people locally and in other parts of the world
3. Explore the lifestyles of those who have chosen to follow the teaching of Jesus about trusting God
4. Encourage the sharing of resources with others and collaboration
5. Participate in a range of charitable activities

Today, our Worship Leaders went to Whalley Abbey to meet with Worship Leaders from other local Primary Schools. They took part in lots of different activities including dancing, music, arts and crafts. They also joined together in a worship. They had a fantastic time and represented St Peter’s School so well!

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Spirituality

Developing spirituality in children is a core part of what we do at St Peter's.  We define spirituality as being something that we cannot see or easily measure but as a connection with the wider world and a sense of something greater.  We recognise spirituality as an innate sense of wonder and a feeling that we are all connected to each other, our world as a whole and God.

This language of spirituality begins from a Christian understanding that 'everyone is a valued creation, individually and uniquely made by God, like pots made by a potter' (Isaiah 64:8).

We believe in developing spirituality in our staff and children.  We do this using the child-friendly terminology of 'wows', 'ows' and 'nows'.

'Wows' are moments that make us react with awe and wonder.  The gasp out loud or pinch yourself moments that remind us what a terrifically special place our world is.

'Ows' are the moments that make us sad.  Seeing examples of cruelty, mourning losses or learning about the damage we do to our world makes us sad but it also builds our connection to each other and to our wider world.

'Nows' are opportunities for us to just 'be in the moment'.  By taking the time to reflect on what we have and to be present in the moment, we can celebrate the wonders of our world.

 

We recognise that spirituality can be demonstrated in different ways.  We therefore support the use of 'spiritual capacities' as shared by Blackburn Diocese.  These include the idea that children demonstrating strengths in spirituality will:

• be guided by their beliefs and values and be willing to explain why they are important to them
• be self-aware and empathise with the experience of others in the school and wider community
• love themselves, care for themselves, believe in their potential to achieve, and find inner strength and resilience when facing challenges
• exercise imagination and creativity, appreciate the beauty of the world and be alive to experiences of awe and wonder.
• be intrigued by mystery.
• be comfortable with stillness and silence and open to engage in reflection/meditation/prayer.
• be ready to say sorry when mistakes are made, to forgive themselves and others.
• be willing to take risks and to reflect, learn and grow following experiences of failure as well as success.
• demonstrate curiosity and open mindedness when exploring life’s big questions.
• appreciate and be thankful for what is good in life and show generosity towards others.

 

Whether they are 'wows', 'ows' or 'nows', at St Peter's, we recognise that Jesus is at the heart of everything we do and we make the connection between spiritual moments and our mission statement 'Every Child of God Matters'. We make these links daily as part of our collective worship but also within our day-to-day learning.  

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Courageous Advocacy

‘I came to give life, Life in its fullness.’ John 10.10

‘Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire’. Catherine of Siena

 

The distinct aims and Christian virtues of St Peter's underpin every aspect of school life.

We embrace the Church of England’s vision for education, one that is, ‘deeply Christian, serving the common good’, encompassing the whole of humanity and its context, advocating for the widening of horizons and the promotion of human wellbeing for all.

‘We are only persons with each other: our humanity is “co-humanity”, inextricably involved with others, utterly relational, both in our humanity and our shared life on a finite planet. If those others are of ultimate worth, then we are each called to responsibility towards them and to contribute responsibly to our communities.’ Church of England Vision for Education, 2016

St Peter's is dedicated to fostering a love of learning and an enthusiasm for joining in with all aspects of school and community life. We are committed to giving all pupils equal opportunities and discrimination is not tolerated. Our aims, virtues, vision and curriculum encourage greater involvement in environmental issues and an understanding of complex interdependencies in the global community.

In the past, we have supported a range of charities: local, national and international as a whole school. This is linked to our school vision, understanding that all people should feel accepted, loved, valued, respected and secure. As our children develop their understanding of Christianity, they realise that to be a Christian is to care for others and to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves.