Headteacher's Welcome

Welcome to St Francis Church of England Primary School

Dear Parent / Carer,

We hope you will enjoy looking through our school's website and that it gives you a flavour of school life at St Francis, however, the only way to get the full picture is to come and visit us.  We would love to show you round our school and answer any questions that you may have.  Please telephone to make an appointment.

St Francis Church of England Primary School is a popular voluntary aided school where we all work by our vision:

‘As a church school, we aspire to live life in all its fullness; Loving Faith. Loving People. Loving Learning. – following the footsteps of Jesus.’

Our Christian vision is rooted in the following bible verse:

‘I have come to give you life in all its fullness.’ John 10:10

Our Christian vision leads all of our work at school. We welcome all children and families.

I have worked at St. Francis since September 2016 and from January 2020, I was honoured to become the Headteacher of St. Francis.

St. Francis is a one-form entry school and we like to think of ourselves as a family where we all work together to ensure our children attain great standards in their academic studies and become the best versions of themselves.

Academic year 2022/23 was the year of inspections. We had our SIAMS inspection in December 2022 and our Ofsted inspection in July 2023.

I am incredibly proud of #TeamStFrancis and all of its achievements. I am proud to say that our school community is thriving!

What SIAMS (Dec 2022 / Click here for the full report) said about us...

• This is a warm and welcoming school with a big heart.
• The importance of catering for the whole child and their wellbeing is at the forefront.
• Leaders do not rest on their laurels and keep up-to-date with the latest evidence-based research.
• Behaviour is good. Pupils feel safe at school and are not aware of any bullying and parents and carers agree.

What Ofsted (July 2023 / Click here for the full report) said about us…

• Pupils engage well in lessons and care for one another.
• Pupils are happy at this school.
• Pupils develop a keen sense of the values of law, respect and democracy.
• Leaders are ambitious for all pupils.
• Pupils achieve well and build secure knowledge over time.
• Pupils love their playtimes.
• Leaders’ approach to pupil’s wider personal development is first class.
• Pupils learn a great deal about diversity.
• Pupils are fully prepared to make a positive contribution to their community and the wider world.

The staff team at St. Francis are highly skilled and we continue to develop. This is not because of external reports or agencies but because we are constantly striving for the very best for our children. We use research to inform the way in which we teach and this means our children learn effectively. This has led to great outcomes at the end of KS2.

Please take time to view the website to understand our curriculum. All that we do links to our vision. Children’s learning is broken down into precise learning steps and learning is organised in a way to maximise retention and good understanding. Staff are skilled in the way they support, guide and scaffold our children through the challenges of learning. Learning is not easy but our staff ensure children feel safe and know it is OK to make mistakes. We pride ourselves on our loving and nurturing interactions within our school community. We really do believe happy children make great learners!

If you have not done so already, please make sure you look through our school’s Facebook page to gain an extra feel of what the children get up to whilst at St. Francis.

If you have any questions about St. Francis, please do not hesitate to make contact. We would love to answer your questions and to get to know you.

We are looking forward to welcoming you and your family to #TeamStFrancis!

Yours faithfully,

Mr James Kewley (Headteacher)