Headteacher's Welcome 

'Rooted in God's love, all our children are given the tools to Love, Serve and Grow. Through the high quality teaching, each child is supported, in order to live life in all its fullness.'

Welcome to Bickerstaffe C.E. School

Hello and welcome to Bickerstaffe C.E. School. My name is Kirstin Carlin, and it is my privilege to welcome you to our school, which has been an integral part of the local community since 1844.

Our school vision is rooted in the Bible story The Vine and the Branches. Guided by this story and the Holy Trinity, our vision and values are centred on Love, Serve, Grow. Through these values, we encourage children to live life in all its fullness—loving others as Jesus taught, serving our community with compassion, and growing academically, socially, emotionally, and spiritually.

We are deeply proud to be a church school and enjoy an extremely close relationship with our local church, Holy Trinity. Reverend Andrew is a regular and valued visitor to our school, delivering weekly collective worship in an interactive and engaging way that the children truly look forward to.

We currently have over 100 children in our school family across five classes: Nursery, Reception, Year 1 & 2, Year 3 & 4, and Year 5 & 6. Our children are what make our school truly special. They are unique, creative, and enthusiastic learners who inspire staff every day. Thanks to our small class sizes, staff know each child as an individual and strive to make learning fun, exciting, and meaningful.

Our staff and governors are a real blessing and work tirelessly to ensure our school is a wonderful place to learn and grow. We are proud to promote a strong sense of Team Bickerstaffe, where our values of Love, Serve, Grow underpin everything we do. This commitment was recognised during our Ofsted inspection in 2024 and our SIAMS “Keeping in Touch” inspection in 2024.

We offer a wide range of lunchtime and after-school clubs, enabling children to develop their interests and talents while having fun. These include singing, craft, reading, and music clubs.

Staff and children’s mental health and wellbeing are areas we are deeply passionate about. We are fortunate to have a trained Thrive Practitioner within school and access to a Play Therapist, ensuring children receive timely emotional and pastoral support when needed. We were delighted to be recognised for our work in this area at the Educate Awards in 2019, where we were proud winners of the Mental Health and Wellbeing Award.

Our scenic location further enhances our uniqueness, with children spending as much time as possible outdoors in our Forest School, Peace Garden, and outdoor classroom.

Bickerstaffe C.E. School is everything a primary school should be: welcoming, fun, safe, and inspiring. However, it is also so much more. We are a family who embrace challenges together, undertake adventures, and excel—knowing we are supported and encouraged to Love, Serve, and Grow together.

But don’t just take my word for it! We would love to welcome you for a visit. Our Head Boy and Head Girl would be delighted to give you a guided tour. We look forward to meeting you soon.