St Cuthbert's is first and foremost a Catholic school and, as such, we seek to live out the values of Jesus Christ. We promote these values by our words and deeds, and Catholic doctrine and practice therefore permeates every aspect of the school’s activity.
St Cuthbert’s provides a Catholic curriculum, which is broad and balanced, recognising that every pupil is unique and is created in the image of God (Gen 1:27). Our curriculum is designed to enable every pupil to discern their vocation and to be well-equipped to follow it as active citizens in service to the world.
Catholic Religious Education is the “core of the core curriculum” (Pope St John Paul II) and the foundation of the entire educational process. We also provide a wide range of co-curricular activities and strong pastoral support.
We incorporate democratic principles, value the rule of law, support individual liberty and foster a community in which different faiths and beliefs are respected.
We encourage our pupils to be tolerant and respectful to those of different faiths and beliefs. This is done by providing them with an understanding of the main festivals and key dates of significance to British culture e.g. Remembrance Day and major political events such as elections.
The DfE have recently reinforced the need “to create and enforce a clear and rigorous expectation on all schools to promote the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs.”
British Values feature heavily in our PSHE Programme of Study. This unit of work can be viewed here:
Below is an overview of how we promote British Values at St Cuthbert’s Catholic High School.
Democracy
- We vote for Form Class representatives to sit on Year Councils and from these representatives members of the School Council are elected.
- Pupils, students and staff vote during the election for Head Boy following hustings by the candidates.
- We allow pupils to complete Pupil Voices at various points throughout the year that seeks their ideas and opinions and we act upon them where possible.
- We invite parents to complete surveys that seeks their ideas and opinions and act upon them where possible.
- We learn about what democracy means and how it works in assemblies and PSHE lessons. Providing our children with a broad knowledge of and promoting respect for public institutions and services e.g. , MP visits into school, visits to/from Police, Hospitals, Fire Service, Local Councillors, attendance at remembrance day services. Modelling how perceived injustice can be peacefully challenged e.g. by teaching about inspirational figures such as Ghandi, Mandela, Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King and Jesus.
The Rule of Law
- Ensuring school rules are clear and fair, through our consistent behaviour policy.
- Helping children to distinguish right from wrong e.g. by using the example of Christ when dealing with behaviour that is not acceptable
- Promoting respect for the law and the basis on which it is made e.g. through visitors such as PCSOs, Police, MP into school. We have formed excellent partnerships with local Police Officers in order to help safeguard our young men.
- Helping children to understand that living under the rule of law protects individuals e.g. through our RE curriculum and PSHE lessons.
- Having a behaviour policy that is linked to restorative justice e.g. that is based in the Christian value of forgiveness.
- We learn about God’s rules in the Bible in RE lessons and during Assemblies.
Individual Liberty
- Supporting pupils to develop their self-knowledge, self-esteem and self-confidence, through our Catholic ethos, our way of treating people, by investing heavily in meeting the needs of all of the children, by providing equality of opportunity, by knowing and understanding the needs of all of the children.
- Encouraging pupils to take responsibility for their behaviour as well as knowing their rights, by having a fair and consistent approach to the behaviour policy.
- Challenging stereotypes e.g. Visitors into school, disability awareness, anti-bullying and anti-racism learning, fundraising weeks.
- Implementing a strong anti-bullying culture.
- Our daily collective worship gives us time to reflect on our choices.
- We understand that we have freedom of belief and speech in our nation as long as it does not incite hatred and intolerance.
Mutual Respect
- Through our Catholic ethos we promote respect for individual differences e.g. through assemblies, Holy Mass, the RE curriculum, multi faith focus days.
- Openly discuss and celebrate the differences between people such as differences of faith, ethnicity, disability, gender and different family situations such as looked after children and young carers.
- Respect for others, respect for the school building, respect for the values and beliefs of others, respect for ourselves, respect for our Catholic community, respect for other religions, countries and cultures.
- On a more general level, the school undertakes assemblies which uphold traditional values of empathy, respect and tolerance.
Tolerance of Different Faiths and Beliefs
- We learn about other cultures, religions and beliefs in PSHE and Religious Education lessons.
- We read in scripture how Jesus shows us to care for others who don’t share our beliefs.
- We understand how prejudice hurts people and how important it is to accept people for who they are.
- Helping children to acquire an understanding of and respect for their own and other cultures and ways of life e.g. through Geography, International Links, Religious Education; we deal with respect and equality and we reward children on a weekly basis who demonstrate the value in the ethos statement through House Points and VIPAs (Very Impressive Pupil Awards).
