St Peter Chanel Catholic Primary School

As a Catholic School we believe we are all children of God and together we create a loving Christian community underpinned by common Gospel values.

We are fortunate to belong to a thriving one-form entry school with an on-site Pre-School. Our extensive grounds enable us to enjoy a stimulating curriculum with many opportunities for outdoor learning.

Our aim is to:

• Educate all children so they reach their full potential through a memorable and exciting curriculum that challenges and inspires them.
• Have high expectations for learning and attitudes so that all our community strive for excellence in everything they do.
• Nurture spiritual and moral development so that we all act out the Christ in ourselves and see the Christ in others and develop a deep and confident relationship with God.
• Empower children so they become independent learners and thinkers so that they will make a difference.

We do this as one family valuing the vital contribution of the school, home and parish, in ensuring that our children receive the high standard of education they deserve.

We work closely with our parish, St Lawrence’s, Sidcup and boast strong links that provide rich opportunities for both the school and church, and this contributes to a strong sense of community. We are members of the Corpus Christi Partnership, a dedicated collaboration of Catholic schools, who together look to strengthen teaching and learning across all schools in line with our faith values and further enhance the educational experiences of our children.

At St. Peter Chanel we listen to children and value the freedoms and responsibilities that a Democracy brings. We have a democratically elected Pupil Parliament and ensure that pupils have opportunities to take on responsibilities for the education, health, environmental and transport matters. Parents and pupils are consulted regularly and there are opportunities for parents and pupils to share their views. This is done through anonymous questionnaires, parent’s forum meetings and through pupil voice monitoring exercises. We promote fairness by ensuring that all pupils are enabled to share their viewpoints without fear and see evidence that children are able to express their views in assemblies and a range of student body meetings.

We teach children the importance of The Rule of Law. Children create ‘Golden Rules’ for their class at the beginning of each year. They understand that rules are there to protect everyone, to keep people safe and enable to them to learn. Recently we have re-written our school rules together and all adults ensure they refer to the rules when they are reminding children of expectations. We have also done a lot of work on developing a fair behaviour ladder so children understand the consequences involved in breaking our school ‘laws’.

Pupils are encouraged to make choices within a safe and supportive environment. They are taught how to minimise risk, particularly when using the internet. Assemblies and PSHE lessons are used to promote Individual Liberty. Children learn how to make the right choices in different situations. They understand that the choices they make have an impact on others; their liberty must not be at the expense of someone else’s well-being.

Through the curriculum, our assemblies and our own faith, we teach the children Tolerance of those of Different Faiths and Beliefs. We invite other faith leaders and young members of other faiths to come into school and talk to our pupils about their faith experience and encourage visits to other places of worship. At St. Peter Chanel we actively challenge pupils or adults who express opinions that are contrary to our ethos and the ‘British values’