St Peter's Charity

Who we are

St Peter's Charity (registered charity in England and Wales 1177879) is a small charity with a long history. Founded in 1861 as an order of religous sisters in the Church of England who ran hospitals. The Charity today is lay led and runs St Columba's House and a grant making trust. 

St Columba's House is currently the most visible part of the charity. St Columba's House has 32 beds, 10 meeting spaces and 2 chapels. St Columba’s House retains its Anglican founding ethos but reaches out across all Christian traditions and beyond. St Columba’s House is used by many different kinds of clients including churches, charities, educational groups, businesses and individuals seeking a quiet space.

In recent years St Columba’s House has grown in popularity and it is now a busy, thriving venue with many returning and new guests arriving each year to experience our warm Christian hospitality.

Our grant making trust gives away small grants to local health and disability charities. We have close relationships with many of the organisations we fund. 

The charity is undergoing an exciting strategic review to vision the next stage of this charity's work.

Our culture and values

We aim to be:

Welcoming

We want people to feel at home and recognised in our services.

 Open-minded

We aim to consider a wide range of needs, and to help where we can and where the requests fit with our ethos and tradition.

Nurturing

We want to help people find their own capacity to grow. We respond to people’s needs in thoughtful, practical and personal ways.

 Creative

We explore new ways to promote health and well-being, using our ethos as a guide.

Equality, diversity and inclusion policy

Diversity and Inclusion Policy Policy statement

We are committed to promoting equality of opportunity for all staff and job applicants. We aim to create a working environment in which all individuals are able to make best use of their skills, free from discrimination or harassment. We do not discriminate against staff on the basis of their gender, sexual orientation, marital or civil partner status, gender reassignment, race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin, religion or belief, disability or age (“protected characteristics”). The nature of our charity means that for a very few roles, there may be a necessary requirement to be a member of the Church of England or in sympathy with and with good knowledge of the Church of England. All staff have a duty to act in accordance with this policy, to treat colleagues with dignity at all times and not to discriminate against or harass other members of staff. This policy does not form part of any employee's contract of employment and may be amended at any time. Forms of discrimination Discrimination by or against an employee or applicant is generally prohibited unless there is a specific legal exemption. Discrimination may be direct or indirect and it may occur intentionally or unintentionally. “Direct discrimination” occurs where someone is treated less favourably because of a protected characteristic. “Indirect discrimination” occurs where someone is disadvantaged by an unjustified provision, criterion or practice that also puts other people with the same protected characteristic at a particular disadvantage. “Harassment” is unwanted conduct that has the purpose or effect of violating someone's dignity, or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for them. “Victimisation” is less favourable treatment of someone who has complained or given information about discrimination or harassment, or supported someone else's complaint. All of these forms of discrimination are prohibited. The Charity also prohibits “bullying” which is offensive, intimidating, malicious or insulting behaviour involving the misuse of power that can make a person feel vulnerable, upset, humiliated, undermined or threatened. 19 Recruitment and selection We aim to ensure that no job applicant suffers discrimination because of any protected characteristic. However, there may be circumstances where the Charity, having regard to its religious ethos and the nature of work being done, is permitted by law to stipulate that certain religious beliefs are an occupational requirement of a particular role. We are required by law to ensure that all employees are entitled to work in the UK. Assumptions about immigration status are not made based on appearance or apparent nationality. All prospective employees, regardless of nationality, must be able to produce necessary original documents before employment starts, to satisfy current immigration legislation. Disability discrimination If you are disabled or become disabled, we encourage you to tell us about your condition so that we can support you as appropriate. If you experience difficulties at work because of your disability, you should discuss with us any reasonable adjustments that would help overcome or minimise the difficulty. We may wish to consult with you and your medical advisers about possible adjustments. We will consider the matter carefully and try to accommodate your needs within reason. If we consider a particular adjustment would not be reasonable we will explain our reasons and try to find an alternative solution where possible. We will monitor the physical features of our premises to consider whether they place disabled workers, job applicants or service users at a substantial disadvantage compared to other staff. Where reasonable, we will take steps to improve access for physically disabled staff and service users. Fixed-term employees and agency workers We monitor our use of fixed-term employees and agency workers, and their conditions of service, to ensure that they are being offered appropriate access to benefits, training, promotion and permanent employment opportunities. We will, where relevant, monitor their progress to ensure that they are accessing permanent vacancies. Part-time work We monitor the conditions of service of part-time employees and their progression to ensure that they are being offered appropriate access to benefits and training and promotion opportunities. We will ensure requests to alter working hours are dealt with appropriately.