Headteacher’s Welcome

Welcome to our website – whether you are a parent, pupil or visitor, we hope that it gives you a flavour of how we celebrate our wonderful school community. We are blessed by amazing pupils, parents, governors and staff who work together to ensure life in all its fullness for the children entrusted to our care, in a happy, safe and optimistic environment. All our policies and practice reflect the distinctive nature of our Catholic school and are inspired by our Mission Statement, ‘Growing Together in Faith, Love and Learning’.

We are proud to provide excellence in education, instilling a love of learning and a passion for life in our children. In a rapidly changing world, we promote learning behaviours and critical skills which will enable our pupils to thrive and flourish.

We encourage children to embrace the challenges of the 21st Century. We trust that this means that pupils leave, at the end of Year Six, having grown in the knowledge and love of God, themselves and the world in which we live, as well rounded, happy, confident individuals, who are fully equipped with the experiences, understanding and skills they need to embrace the opportunities ahead.

Our website is intended to be used by both children and their parents as an introduction and insight into the hopes and aspirations of our school community. We are constantly updating the website with school information, important dates, newsletters and news but if you feel there is anything you would like to see that we haven’t included, then please do let us know. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us here at the school and we will do our very best to answer them for you.

In this area, we are blessed with a wealth of strong schools, including other Catholic schools, so why should you pick St Bernadette’s for your child?

Every school is different. This website should give you a feel for what makes St Bernadette’s special, but some key things to note are:

• There is a true family feel.  As a one-form entry school, we get to know each and every pupil as an individual. Every child is known by name and greeted as such by every member of staff. Many of our staff went to the school or their children attended the school and we have families who have sent multiple generations through the St Bernadette’s doors. 

• Our pastoral care and safeguarding are second to none. Every morning, the leadership team greet the children at the gate and welcome them into school. Mental health and well-being are paramount and overseen by our Pastoral Lead, Mrs Lisa Speakman. Academic achievement is important, but the single most important thing is that your child is happy and safe at school. 

• We believe in promoting the development of the whole person. We want our children to be who God created them to be. That means discovering their own unique skills and talents and flourishing holistically – socially and emotionally as well as academically. 

• Our staff our truly exceptional. In St Bernadette’s, we have the perfect mix of youth, experience, energy, enthusiasm and wisdom. We are also lucky to have specialist teachers in Music and PE – so the children learn from the best! 

• Our school is surrounded by a vast area of land, which we utilise to support the learning of our children. We have access to large fields, Multi Use Games Area, woodland, play equipment and a separate EYFS outdoor area. 

• The standards of behaviour in our school are exceptional. Every visitor to St Bernadette’s comments on how polite and well-mannered our pupils are. We believe in restorative justice and support our children to learn from mistakes and make better choices in the future. 

• We are a truly inclusive school. We have an extremely good reputation for our support of pupils with SEND, continually receiving praise from external agencies and parents. We strive to enable every child to succeed and thrive. 

• Our children are given huge amounts of responsibility, autonomy and independence and live up to it. There are countless examples of positions of responsibility at St Bernadette’s – Year 6 Buddies, Playground Leaders, Head Boy and Girl, GIFT Team, Pupil Council…the list goes on!