Pilling St John’s (PSJ) is a CofE Primary School School and is Voluntary Aided, belonging to the Diocese of Blackburn. It is closely linked with St. John the Baptist Church, Pilling.

The school has strong links with Pilling St John the Baptist Church. Church Clergy and members are regular visitors in school and contribute to school life. Members of the clergy visit school regularly where they deliver assemblies and watch school performances and productions. 

Links with the local Mother's Union  - Church of St John Baptist

• Pilling Coffee Feast

• Pilling Lights Switch On - Pupils sing Carols 

• Pupils Sing to ‘Meet and Eat’ Club at Pilling Village Hall

• Charities of significance to our children

• School Uniform Donation Area at Church

• Christmas Cards for Pilling Nursing Home

We use the Church building when presenting or taking part in services for example:

• Nativity and other productions

• Christingle Service

• Harvest

• Toy service

• Remembrance

To find out more about us as a Church school, please explore the 'Christianity' section of the website.

At PSJ we are blessed with an amazing outdoor area that our Forest School is situated. We do not have to book transport to access it therefore, we can maximise the time that pupils use it.

We believe that our Forest School provision supports and inspires pupils learning, exposing them to a range of opportunities for holistic growth. These experiences help them learn through play, exploration and supported risk taking. It develops confidence and self-esteem through learner inspired, hands-on experiences in a natural setting. 

For more information, go to our Forest School page.

Leading Foundation Stage Teachers

What is the Leading Foundation Stage Teacher scheme?

The Leading Foundation Stage Teacher Scheme was established in January 2003 to contribute to the continued development of high quality practice within the Foundation Stage in Lancashire.

A group of teachers working in a variety of settings and contexts throughout the County have been selected to offer support to other Foundation Stage practitioners by acting as exemplars and sharing good practice.

Through this scheme, headteachers, teachers and support staff such as nursery nurses have the opportunity to visit other schools, observe high quality teaching and early years provision and have discussion with lead teachers, who are working in a similar context.

Red Rose Letters and Sounds Lead School

The Primary English and Literacy Team at Lancashire Professional Development Service (LPDS) have developed a new systematic, synthetic phonics planning programme using the Letters and Sounds approach titled Red Rose Letters and Sounds. Our practice has been recognised by the LPDS Team and we are now a Lead School with Lead Teacher who will support other Teachers in other schools. Watch out Vlog here.

At Pilling St John’s CE Primary School and Nursery we are a community where all are welcome and encouraged to flourish as individuals.

We want our children to develop a sense of pride in themselves, who they are and where they come from. Our curriculum teaches them about the importance of membership of the community as an active and responsible global Christian citizen and advocate.

We connect what is being taught in school with our surrounding community including local people, Church, institutions, history, literature, cultural heritage, technology and the natural environment, using this as a resource to support our curriculum. 

Our School Values, based on Christian principles are embedded and reflected in all that we do. These Values have been chosen by the school community as a set of moral standards we should understand and try to ‘live’. They align with the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs.

Our school community is not particularly diverse, therefore we have a curriculum that ensures the children are well-equipped with the knowledge and understanding of a wide variety of faiths and backgrounds. We also invite visitors from different cultures and religions, external professionals and volunteers to talk and work with our pupils in assemblies and classrooms. Please see more examples of this throughout our website and you will gain a snapshot of 'community' when looking at our weekly Newsletter. 

'Community is key at Pilling St John’s. The close collaboration between school, church and the wider community significantly enhances the flourishing of pupils and adults.' SIAMS Report 2024

Please our school newsletter page, this will give you a flavour of our community involvement.

Why do we use digital technology and Google?

• Embraces modern approaches to pedagogy

• Enthuses and excites pupils 

• Speed and automaticity

• Smarter way of working - simple and effective in structure, content and functionality

• Hybrid/blended learning - school to home!

Our goal is for all pupils  to have access to technology within their lessons, and for it to be used to allow pupils to become confident and responsible users of modern technology, promoting communication, independence, resilience, collaboration and progress.

Technology is used to supplement and enhance teaching and learning in the classroom and beyond. Google Classroom is used as a platform for presenting lesson content and resources to support learning and the student dashboard offers pupils easy access to additional resources such as software applications, wellbeing and resilience resources. 

Pupils will  have Google Workspace accounts, allowing them to store their work in the ‘Cloud’ as opposed to on a network.  This allows our pupils to log in to a variety of devices, anywhere on the school site or at home and access teaching and learning resources and lesson content, when they wish to.

We have invested in purchasing enough chromebooks for each child in KS2 and children in KS1 can access these when required. We have a digital skills package, starting from Year 1 that enables children to be competent users of their chromebooks and Google apps - thus removing any barriers of the hardware and therefore enabling them to maximise the technology in supporting their learning.

Take a look at our Media Hub which showcase some of the amazing things that our pupils have created using Google Workspace.

Our children access and compete in many different sporting clubs and competitions, such as:

Typical wider offer and after school clubs (these do not all run at the same time but, throughout the year):

• Netball Tag Rugby

• Football

• Archery

• Bowling

• Fundamental Skills

• Dance

• Reading Club

• Multi skills

• Media Club

• Netball

• Athletics

• Judo

• Drawing

• Bowling

• Fun Fitness

• Cricket

Competitions and other events we regularly take part in are:

• Bee Stinger Netball

• Football Festivals and Tournaments, 

• Tag Rugby competitions

• Local Athletics competitions

• National ECO Competition

• Blackpool Dance Festival

PSJ ECO Team 

Our ECO Team champion ECO awareness through he work they do in school and within the community. Last year they developed a project called 'Art at the heart'. The aim of the project was to spread the message of the dangers facing our planet, the climate crisis and what we can do to tackle it. We want to spread the environmental message using imagination, creativity and art skills. We set up a local Art Exhibition, where the submissions should be created in a sustainable way or have an ecological theme. This project was recognised by Primary Awards for Green Education in Schools, and we were were the winners of the Regional North West category. In 2022 we were the National winners  with another ECO project.

Inspired by the 'Dear Earth' exhibition in London, teacher Miss Bell and a group of enterprising students orchestrated an eco-art exhibition titled "Art at the Heart" at Pilling Village Hall. This unique showcase featured environmentally-themed artworks created by both students and local community members, drawing visitors from far and wide and effectively spreading a powerful message of environmental responsibility.

"The students' ingenuity was further exemplified in their presentation folder, crafted entirely from recycled materials. This comprehensive portfolio, chronicling the exhibition's journey from conception to fruition and filled with striking artwork, earned high praise from the judging panel. Their ability to engage and inspire the wider local community, extending the impact far beyond the school gates, is truly commendable."

See our Climate Action Plan here

One of our School Drivers is ‘Aspirations’ and we want our pupils to leave PSJ with as much knowledge about future careers and job opportunities as we can possibly give them. We want them to believe that they can do anything they put their mind to and be the best that they can be. 

Each year we old our annual Aspirations week, where the focus throughout the week is exposing our pupils to new and exciting careers and professions. We invite companies, professionals and parents into school, where they share their experiences and knowledge with the pupils. The pupils engage in other aspirational related activities and assemblies throughout the week.

See our Media Hub for a presentation of this week.

Robert Carter of Preesall, in his last will and testament on 31st January 1710, devised land in the village of Pilling to be used for the benefit of teaching children. So began the history of our school. 

The school was named the Free Grammar School at Pilling in the County of Lancaster and the Diocese of Chester. It was built with walls of peat and stone and a roof of thatch on the site of the now closed, Golden Ball Hotel. The purpose of the school was to teach children writing and good behaviour. 

The school was burned down in 1814 and another built on the present site in 1815. This school was 30ft long, 21ft wide and 10ft high. In 1843 the name of the school was changed to Pilling Parochial School. Children paid 1 penny each week to attend and were known as Carter's Scholars. The children received tutoring in reading, writing and arithmetic. 110 children attended at this time. In 1856 the building was considered too small and a new building (the old buildings of the present school) was built costing £1300. The number of scholars attending then increased to 199. 

The Education Act of 1870 made attendance at school compulsory and in 1885 the number of pupils had risen to 227. In 1891 another Education Act abolished the payment of school fees and free education was provided for all.

The classrooms had galleries to accommodate the large number of pupils. In 1893 an infant classroom was added. In 1959 an additional building was erected and this included a large hall with kitchen facilities. The school still catered for pupils of all ages but soon after this became a purely primary school for children 4-11years. 

In 1996 an extension and modification to the existing school provided a linking corridor, new toilets, including disabled facilities and a new infant classroom. 

During 2002 the Jubilee Wing was built to provide new administration areas (headteacher and school clerk offices) and an infant wet area. A gallery was reinstated in 'Class 3' (now Ocean class) to provide for extra ICT workstations and to house resources. At the same time the school was linked to the internet with up to date facilities in each classroom. 

In 2017 funding was secured to build a separate classroom to fulfil the needs of EYFS children. After consultation with governors, parents and the local community and working together with Lancashire County Council, the school age was lowered to 3 years old and in September 2017 the EYFS unit was established. 

In 2024, School House was handed over to the School by the Church and Diocese and business use was granted. School were successful in acquiring DfE funding to expand the current Nursery. In July 2025, work began on School House and the surrounding grounds, transforming this beautiful and historic building into a brand new Nursery, catering for babies (0-2 year olds) and 2 year olds. 

In September 2025, the Rainbow Room went though significant renovation, transforming this room into a modern multi functional resource, and maintaining the heritage of the existing build. School obtained a portion of the funding required from the Ripley Trust to transform this room and provide the very best for our pupils and staff.

Our school continues to grow, evolve and develop in response to the needs of the pupils, families and the local community.