Intent

At St. Peter, we are passionate about developing well-rounded, aspirational young people who understand that they must play a pivotal role in creating a better society. We believe that education is not just about academic achievement, but about shaping children into confident, compassionate individuals who can make a positive difference in their local community, and the world around them.

Our approach to personal development is rooted in our belief in the importance of aspiration. We want every child to dream big and know that they have the ability to achieve their goals. To help inspire and broaden their horizons, we build in deliberate opportunities throughout the year, such as visits to local universities, purposeful leadership roles in school, and experiences that introduce them to new ideas, people, and places.

St. Peter’s is proud to be a talk-rich school. We believe confident communication is a vital life skill, and we build in regular opportunities for pupils to explicitly develop their speaking and listening abilities. These include weekly talk assemblies and debates in houses, public speaking competitions, and other events where children present to wider audiences. One highlight of our calendar is a pupil-led parents’ evening, where children take the lead in presenting their own strengths and next steps to their families, encouraging reflection, ownership, and reflecting on their pride in their progress.

We actively promote pupil leadership, giving children the chance to take on meaningful responsibilities and have their voices heard. Pupil leadership at St. Peter's is not tokenistic; children take on real positions of responsibility and drive and measure the impact of their decisions. Through this, they learn the value of service, teamwork, and contributing to a thriving community.

At St. Peter's we place huge importance on mental health, metacognition and emotional wellbeing. Children are taught explicitly how to care for their mental health as part of our curriculum and wider school life. We offer in-school workshops, access to a school counsellor, and support from two trained ELSA (Emotional Literacy Support Assistants) who work closely with pupils who may need extra guidance. Our goal is to ensure every child feels safe, supported, and understood, and develops lifelong tools to support their own wellbeing.

By the time our pupils leave St. Peter’s, we aim for them to be not only academically prepared but also socially aware, emotionally intelligent, and ready to take their next steps with confidence and purpose.

Below is a one page overview as to how we support Personal Development at St. Peter's: