VALUES:
Pupils' Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Development

1. AIMS

to promote the spiritual identity of each pupil, not only within RE classes but in all subject areas and in specific opportunities for extra-curricular activities;
to show by example and by practice as well as by teaching that the Christian Catholic faith expects certain moral values and social responsibility in the community;
to educate pupils within the cultural traditions of the Roman Catholic church while at the same time promoting the understanding, tolerance and importance of other denominations, faiths and religions;
to show by example and by practice as well as by teaching, that no individual should be treated unequally by virtue of their religion, race, background or gender;
to broaden the experience offered by the National Curriculum by the inclusion of appropriate curricular and extracurricular enrichment.

2. PREAMBLE

Daily collective worship.
The school does not have the facilities to offer collective worship by means of regular, daily assemblies. Prayers are said at the beginning of the day, at lunch (the Angelus) and at the end of the day.
School Masses are celebrated on holydays of obligation, feast days and on other occasions.
Form masses and voluntary masses are also timetabled during the school week.

Curricular Enrichment, 11-16.
In years 7 to 11, the school follows the National Curriculum, as it is required to do. However, in each year, subjects are offered which supplement those required by the National Curriculum. Throughout these five years, RE is a compulsory part of the taught curriculum, as befits a voluntary aided Roman Catholic school. Moreover, in year 10, pupils are given an option package of non-national curriculum GCSE subjects.
All pupils follow a course in English to GCSE standard. However, in most cases this is supplemented within the time allocated to English on the timetable by preparation for the GCSE English Literature examination.
Form time (one period per week) is used by the school's pastoral team to reinforce PSHE, citizenship and related topics, and to work on the 'Certificate in Preparation for Working Life'.
Careers is not presented as a separate subject to the pupils, but form time is used (along with other time as required) to offer guidance and help to pupils in exploring options and in choosing careers. There is an annual week of work experience provided by the careers and pastoral staff for all pupils in year 11.

Extra-curricular Enrichment, 11-16

Sporting facilities at the school are used to develop competitive and non-competitive sports. Teams play after school and on Saturdays, and practise at lunchtimes. Sports Day is an annual event held towards the end of the summer term.
Instrumental music lessons are provided within and outside school time.
The school tries to provide opportunities for all pupils to visit the theatre and join other educational trips, to museums and art galleries, for example. There is a separate policy governing the organization of such extra-curricular trips.
The RE department and the school's pastoral team organise a range of residential and non-residential retreats.

vii Teachers should
ensure that students appreciate other cultures and cultural traditions;
ensure that text books and other written material are checked so that wrong or misleading perspectives are avoided or, where appropriate, are addressed with the class;
avoid any suggestion that other cultures are less important than our own.
viii The school librarians should
ensure that fiction books reflect the breadth of world cultures and Britain's multi-ethnic population;
ensure that non-fiction books do not include propaganda designed to reinforce prejudice against other races, religions or cultures.

4. This policy shall be monitored by the Senior Management Team.