Dear Parents, Carers, Families and Friends,

I am delighted as Head Teacher of Saint Bernard’s Primary School to welcome you all to our school community.  This handbook will help you understand more about our school and provide essential information which I hope you will find interesting and helpful. The staff of St. Bernard’s share with you a common goal in that we want your child to be happy at school and to enjoy being a valued member of the school community. We place special emphasis on partnerships between school, home, church, and the community. We are delighted to work in partnership with you and we actively encourage cooperation and dialogue to enable us to continually provide an excellent educational service.

Our vision is based on enabling children to “Be all we can be”

We aspire to provide excellence for all through the school curriculum, as well as achieving equity through a range of high quality experiences  and opportunities that ensure success for everyone  both in school and later on in  life.

As a Catholic school, our vision is also based firmly on the values and teachings of the Catholic Church, through the development of the knowledge and understanding of Catholic faith, relationships, equality and inclusion.

We strive to give every child the opportunity to reach his or her potential and we have set ourselves the following aims to help us achieve this:

• We aim to create a welcoming, stimulating, supportive and safe environment in which everyone is happy to learn, play and make memories.
• To deepen the children’s belief in and knowledge of the Catholic faith, through prayer, scripture, traditions, and the teachings of the Catholic Church.
• Through co-operation with others and a wide, balanced, and interesting curriculum empower all children, staff, and families to be aware of their potential and have appropriate goals.
• To foster a positive attitude to learning through a wide range of teaching approaches and learning experiences which lead to an appreciation of the value of education.
• To build each person’s confidence, independence and self-esteem through helpful advice and regular opportunities for success.
• We also aim to promote positive behaviour and a healthy attitude to school life. We achieve this by showing respect for our pupils and their needs and treating them with fairness, kindness consistency and understanding.

Yours sincerely

Mrs K.A. Dunn

Head Teacher