Diocese Of Ely
Petersfield School, as its full name suggests, is 'aided' by the Diocese of
Ely. The term 'Voluntary Aided' dates back to the 1944 Education Act and
relates to the Church being responsible for maintaining the fabric of the
buildings. The relationship between the school and the Diocese is however
much more than just about buildings. As a Church school, an emphasis on
Christian Values is at the centre of the school's ethos and highlighted in
all Church schools' Mission Statements:
'Recognising its historic foundations, the school will preserve and develop its
religious character in accordance with the principles of the Church of England
and in partnership with the Church at parish and diocesan level.'
On the Governing Body of a Voluntary Aided school, are a group of governors called the Foundation Governors and they form an overall majority. Foundation Governors help to develop the school's Christian character and to uphold the Anglican ethos.
For the pupils and staff at Petersfield, this Christian character forms an intrinsic part of daily school life. Every school day includes a short act of Collective Worship. This is carefully planned in themes by term and can take place in assembly time or in class. The Reverend Felicity Couch, our parish priest, visits us each week to lead an act of worship. The Methodist minister also leads Collective Worship. Visitors from other faiths are of course also welcome. We promote Christian faith as a guiding principle for life, whilst also recognising that mankind is made up of many different races and creeds, all of whom are equal in the sight of God.
The pupils enjoy celebrating the major Christian festivals throughout the year, often in imaginative and creative ways, such as making prayer-wish decorations for the St Andrew's Christmas tree or designing a quilt square for the Diocese's "Church Schools' Quilt".
Some facts about the Ely Diocese that may interest you:
- The Diocese of Ely covers an area of 1,507 square miles
- The area incorporates Cambridgeshire, part of West Norfolk and some parishes in South Peterborough
- In the Diocese of Ely, there are 334 church buildings providing places of worship for their local communities
- Ely Cathedral dates back to Saxon Times with the life of its founder St Etheldreda
- Work on the present cathedral began in the 11th century
- 250,000 visitors come to Ely Cathedral every year
- There are over 80 Church Schools in the Ely Diocese
For more information you can visit the Ely Diocese website.
Latest News
22nd Jan - It is ironic that after our meetings yesterday to review our phone contract and the due replacement, our phone line crackled then stopped working today. Apologies. Please email the office or class teachers if you need us pending BT fixing this fault again. Sorry for the inconvenience!
22nd Jan - Governors met virtually today to review our current position. They joined us in expressing thanks and admiration for the tremendous job pupils, parents and staff are doing to support Remote Learning. Well done everyone!
21st Jan - Today we virtually welcomed our County Primary Advisor to review our Remote Learning Offer. She endorsed the positive praise received from pupils and parents as we discussed what's working well, the positive impact of your feedback and our plans as we continue to support every pupil.
19th Jan - Petersfield Press has been sent as an email today for this week. Please do read all the latest updates.
19th Jan - For those in receipt of Free School Meals, your voucher should have arrived today. Please do look out for the email as it probably arrived in your inbox in the early hours of this morning.
14th Jan - Petersfield Press is again just an email today. Please do read this important information and if you are in receipt of Free School Meals, please respond to the question asked. Thank you!
13th Jan - Thank you to those of you who joined our GenR8 Collective Worship today.
13th Jan - Apologies, the broadband locally appears to be struggling - the issues started at the end of the day yesterday. We are looking to see if there is anything we can do, such as turning off cameras, which can help in the short term.
12th Jan - If you want to read again about our Remote Learning offer, the Policy is on the Covid page under 'Classes'. The explanation email (sent on the 5th Jan 2021) has been added to the appendices. Look out for further emails as we all work together to further refine our offer.
12th Jan - Today in Collective Worship, we continued exploring how we can take time to reflect and how this links to the 4 aspects of prayer we learnt about about before Christmas. Thank you to all those who joined today. Great reflection sharing!
11th Jan - Welcome back to our first full week of remote learning. Great job everyone! If you have not yet completed our laptop survey, please do or email us.
Latest Publications
Notices
Run Orwell - now a virtual event for everyone! Click here to visit the website and join in!
As per County and national guidance, Petersfield will only close in exceptional circumstances or where instructed to do so. The decision will be made ASAP and displayed first on our school website in the 'Latest News' above.
Please see our vacancies page for an opportunity for a Playworker.
