"IN VIEW"

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the Villages of:-
Easter Compton, Pilning
& Severn Beach

St Peters School

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“St Peter’s is a dynamic place where children are nurtured, valued and challenged to reach their full potential in a caring, stimulating environment, in which Christian values underpin all our expectations.”

From the Chair - B G Keast

This will be my last letter “From the Chair” with the Temporary Governing Body stepping aside and the new Governing Body taking up their appointment from January 1^st. 2008. The composition will remain the same with new Parent, Foundation and Community Governors being elected or appointed as appropriate. The current structure and numbers on the Governing Body has worked well and thus has been maintained. At the time of writing the election for Parent Governors has been held, Foundation Governors and Teacher Governors are in the process of being appointed, and Community Governors will be elected at the first meeting of the governors in January.

I have headed this letter with the Mission Statement of St Peter’s which encapsulates what we, the Governors and Staff, have seen as our role and which has underpinned all that we have done. It is difficult to put it all into one short statement and the Vision below, which springs from it, puts some flesh on the bones:

St Peters is a place:

Where everyone is encouraged to develop their full academic, social, emotional, physical and creative potential

Which is a central part of the community where Christian values are embraced

Where everyone is respected, supported, valued and the environment treasured

Where everyone feels happy safe and secure

That is a harmonious and stimulating and learning is fun

The ten months in the life of the Temporary Governing Body has been eventful, sometimes frustrating but always exciting and rewarding. We have a new school with a new name, new uniform and with a new Head working with the Staff as one, but at the moment on two sites. When we were appointed we had high expectations that by now the site for the new school would have been selected, purchased and that work would have started. The fact, that even now and despite our best efforts to expedite matters, the choice of site has yet to be announced is one of our major disappointments. We believe an announcement to be very close and expect an announcement early in the New Year.

The Temporary Governing Body has not wasted this enforced delay. The Head and Staff are taking steps to harmonise the working on the two sites, moving towards how the school with look in the new buildings’ so that the transfer can be seamless with minimal disruption to your children’s education. Plans have been studied and visits arranged to recent new schools so that the new Governing Body will be a position to work with and advise the Local Authority of how best the buildings and facilities can provide us with what we need and the children deserve.

I am confident the new Governing Body will build on all this work and ensure all is done to see that the children’s education is not adversely affected by the protracted delay in providing a new school building. This must include continuous reviews of their policies to minimise any adverse effects.

Much has happened in the past fourteen months and I have many memories, but one stands out, that was the first time the pupils and staff had joined together, the children all in their new uniforms, for a wonderful and imaginative celebration service in St Peter’s Church. There was a real buzz, a sense of excitement and togetherness and a feeling of hope for the future. It was a great start and which, together with the balloon launch, will long be remembered. I only wish that all the parents and those that have been involved in launching St Peter’s could also have been there. I felt then that all that can be done, must be done, to ensure that the new buildings somehow make it possible to have children and parents together for these major events.

May I conclude by thanking you, the parents and carers for your support and encouragement in the past and wish you and your families A Very Happy Christmas and a Fulfilling New Year.

On behalf of all the staff and children at St Peter’s Primary School we would like to wish everyone a happy New Year.

We had a fantastic end to 2007 with both sites coming together to perform a lovely Nativity performance and a beautifully sung carol service. Everyone attending enjoyed themselves and the children made the parents and staff very proud. A collection was made at the end for charity and we appreciated your generosity. £295.92 was raised and this is being equally split between ‘Love Russia’ – Pilning site and a Sri Lankan school – Northwick site. The year was finished with a Christmas party and disco.

Thank you to all those people who supported our bazaar, in excess of £1000.00 profit was made on the evening!

Key stage two held a fantastic tea dance for grandparents and the older members of our community. They shared wartime stories with us and the afternoon was finished with the children dancing. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon and we all learnt a lot about our wartime heroes.

The children from both sites have been working together whenever possible and the children have enjoyed the time spent in each others company. The new uniform looks very smart with everybody making an effort to wear it with pride. We are hoping to have news soon of where our new site will be so we can fully unite.

Once again happy New Year and we look forward to your continued support in 2008.

An announcement on behalf of Governors’.

We are pleased to announce that on Monday 7^th January the South Gloucestershire Council Cabinet under the chairmanship of John Calway unanimously agreed to give the go ahead to the estimated £5.1 million for St. Peter’s (Anglican/Methodist) School in Pilning. This was witnessed by many of our governors. The preferred site will be near Sage Cottage which has already had Environmental Flood Plain checks. The land will be subject to the normal Planning procedure (including Green Belt) and may require Compulsory Purchase of the land. The completion date has therefore been put back to September 2010. The relevant council department is now working to complete by this date with Governors encouraging them to meet an earlier target. This estimate is for the building only and does not include the essential infrastructure of upgrading roads, cycleways and foot paths.

Subsequent to that meeting the Governors discussed the future with the implication of running on two sites for two to three years. The Full Governing Body which had recently been elected for the next four years decided unanimously that in the best interest of the children, the staff and the old buildings that the school should consolidate on one site in September. This course is not without problems but the children will be educated in seven, year classes ready for the switchover to the new building. Also there will be no differences between activities, facilities & resources on different sites. The development of our own St. Peter’s ethos and identity can then take place. The centralising of staff and maintenance of only one building will help us to make modest improvements in the Pilning building for the benefit of all pupils. Traffic in Bank Road is a major concern without an easy short term solution except I understand our friendly PSO Kirsty will be ensuring the parents park as safely as possibly.

Ed.