Welcome to St Bernard’s R.C. Primary School
Welcome to our school and ‘yes’ we do try to be a unique family in faith, love and learning. The partnership between home, school and parish is vital in living that mission and following in Christ’s footsteps together.
St. Bernard’s is a growing Catholic primary school that belongs to Christ the Redeemer parish, our parish church is St. Ethelbert’s, Deane and we are part of the Salford Diocese. We are partnered with St Ethelbert’s and St William of York Catholic primary schools that all belong to the Christ the Redeemer parish. We currently have 205 pupils on roll and 7 single year group classes from Reception to Year 6. Our school capacity is 210 pupils (30 in each class).
We are a very friendly and helpful staff that are always willing to help and support each child and their family. Our pupils are friendly, polite and caring who work hard, make progress and enjoy their learning.
Our last RE Inspection by Salford Diocese in May 2024 identified a key strength as:
A strong culture of compassion and dignity exists, created by the passionate head
teacher and supported by a cohesive team. Joyful relationships are visible at all levels, built upon the foundation of nurture, mutual respect and underpinned by love.
Please follow the link to read the whole report CSi Inspection May 2024
Our Governing Body is very supportive and pro-active, we have a full membership and Governors who regularly visit school to carry out Learning Walks and observations. They also support all events throughout the year and attend committee meetings and full governors meetings each term. The Governors Monitoring Group meet with the Head monthly to ensure the strategic development of the school.
We have a school Pupil Chaplaincy/GIFT (Growing Together in Faith) Team who support the Catholic life of the school and enhance the spiritual life of our school family. We have an active School Council with representatives from Year 1-Year 6 who meet regularly and make exciting decisions about our school such as planning new playground equipment and running fund raising events such as our famous Easter Bonnet competition!
We run a variety of after-school activities that change throughout the year, from cross country to Jujitsu. We also have Bolton Music Service coming into our school each week delivering music tuition for strings, brass, guitar, keyboard and drumming.
We have a range of ‘Enrichment Days’ throughout the year focused on different subjects such as our ‘Geography Day’ when we all had passports and learnt about different continents. Our ‘Science Day’ when we watched and created experiments to deepen our scientific skills and knowledge.
We work in close partnership with St. Ethelbert’s RC Primary School as both schools belong to the parish. The Sacramental Programme for Y3 children is a joint programme in partnership with our parish, Catechists and parish priest. We have school and key stage Masses throughout the year.
Our Y6 pupils move on to St. Joseph’s RC High School, Horwich with whom we have a close and effective partnership. There is a transition programme in place each year for Y6 pupils to ensure that they move smoothly on to the next stage in their learning journey.
Our new Reception pupils have a transition programme in the summer term when they visit for two afternoons. Prior to this we have a meeting for parents and ‘Open evening and session’ for prospective parents to visit.
I hope this has given you a brief insight to our school but of course it is only a snapshot, visitors are always welcome!
Please contact our main school office on: 01204 652147 to arrange a visit.
Warmest regards,
Mrs K Taylor
Headteacher