Download Providing For Children In A Catholic School: A Vision For All Staff

Providing For Children In A Catholic School:
A Vision For All Staff & Governors
(A Dickinson September 2012)
The Part Timers who worked in the
cotton mills of Shaw and attended
school the other half of the day – it
was parents of such children –
poor as they where – who built our
school!
“Those who are in charge of Catholic Schools are to ensure --- that the formation given in them is, in its
academic standards, at least as outstanding as that in other schools in the area” !!!!
Canon 806 of the catholic Church
“A good school provides a rounded education for the whole person. And a good Catholic school, over and
above this, should help all its students to become saints.”
Pope Benedict speaking at “The Big Assembly” 17th Sept 2010
Put simply – do we need any more motivation than this in our strive for excellence for our children. We are
caretakers of a very special heritage that we have inherited – and in turn will pass on to another generation.
That mission – that vision – remains the same – and the role we have is nothing less than Sacred, To prepare
the children for saints – that indeed they are supernatural in their creation – on a journey back to God the
Father. As such – “outstanding” is merely the bottom rung of the ladder for us in a Catholic School – we
must do all we can above this – in all our abilities – to strive for excellence. This is why it is enshrined in
Canon law that a catholic School should be at least (AT LEAST) as outstanding as other schools in the area!
“Education is integral to the mission of the Church to proclaim the Good News. First and foremost
every Catholic educational institution is a place to encounter the living God who in Jesus Christ
reveals his transforming love and truth.”
Conference Hall of the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. 17 April 2008
The Catholic School is central to the mission of the church – a place through which they are able to
encounter adults who bear witness to Christ and where in all their learning they can come to know God and
the Glory of his creation.
We believe that there is no such thing as a “secular” curriculum! ALL learning and all that goes on in
a catholic school is part of that process that helps a child to grow and to come to know and love God
and his creation.
This should never be restricted to simply an specific religious education nor the planned or
spontaneous act of worship. Learning is all about the world they live in and we believe that this is
GOD’S WORLD. So – all learning they encounter in a catholic School is a Holy curriculum and part
of our “religious Education”.
The holistic approach is then taken and it provides in every way for every child and this is why our Catholic
education also provides inclusively and equally for children of any faith in our school – for it is based on the
premise that it is God’s world WITH THE ONE GOD and whilst Religion may be seen across the world to
divide – Spirituality unites! It is the Spirit which unites us therefore as we build community and strive for
excellence – for all children!
This is also why the school, in preparing children in such a way – with such a responsibility – not only
serves the purpose or mission the church created our school in – it ensures that our children are able to able
to make a vital contribution to the mission of the Church and to truly serve society. In the words of Pope
Benedict “the dignity of education lies in fostering the true perfection and happiness of those to be
educated” and it is happy, perfect children in all the Glory of their creation that we must strive for.
Archbishop J. Michael Miller, CSB identifies from a repeated papal and Roman documents that there must
be certain characteristics present for a school to be considered “Catholic” These I summarize here as:
1. Inspired by a Supernatural Vision
The Church sees education as a process that, in light of man's transcendent destiny, forms the whole child
and seeks to fix his or her eyes on heaven. The specific purpose of a Catholic education is the formation of
boys and girls who will be good citizens of this world, loving God and neighbour and enriching society with
the leaven of the gospel, and who will also be citizens of the world to come, thus fulfilling their destiny to
become saints.
2. Founded on a Christian Anthropology
Emphasis on the supernatural destiny of students brings with it a profound appreciation of the need to
perfect children in all their dimensions as images of God (cf. Gen. 1:26-27). Catholic theology teaches that
grace builds on nature. Because of this complementarity of the natural and the supernatural, Catholic
educators should have a sound understanding of the human person that addresses the requirements of both
the natural and the supernatural perfection of the children entrusted to their care.
3. Animated by Communion and Community
A third mark of Catholicity is the emphasis on the school as a community – a community of persons and,
even more to the point, "a genuine community of faith." Such an emphasis proposes an alternative model for
Catholic schools to that of an individualistic society.
This communal dimension is rooted both in the social nature of the human person and in the reality of the
Church as "the home and the school of communion." That the Catholic school is an educational community
"is one of the most enriching developments for the contemporary school."
4. Imbued with a Catholic Worldview throughout its Curriculum
A fourth distinctive characteristic of Catholic schools is that the "spirit of Catholicism" should permeate the
entire curriculum. Catholic education is "intentionally directed to the growth of the whole person."
An integral education aims to develop gradually every capability of every student: his or her intellectual,
physical, psychological, moral, and religious capacities. Vatican documents speak of an education that
responds to all the needs of the human person.
5. Sustained by Gospel Witness
A final indicator of a school's authentic catholicity is the vital witness of its teachers and administrators.
With them lies the primary responsibility for creating a Christian school climate, as individuals and as a
community. Indeed, "it depends chiefly on them whether the Catholic school achieves its purpose."
Consequently the Holy See's documents pay a great deal of attention to the vocation of teachers and their
participation in the Church's evangelizing mission. Theirs is a supernatural calling and not simply the
exercise of a profession. "The nobility of the task to which teachers are called demands that, in imitation of
Christ, the only Teacher, they reveal the Christian message not only by word but also by every gesture of
their behaviour."
It is in our realization of these characteristics that we create what is readily referred to as our Catholic
“ETHOS”. So many visitors and members of our community refer to the special ethos and yet often have no
full understanding of what this is – only that they can feel it and that it is something special. They often talk
of the lovely atmosphere, good behaviour, caring nature etc etc and many other things too! To summarize
those Characteristics and to understand them is to reflect on what it is that creates that special ethos. Our
Mission is to be clear in our Catholic provision that:
 Children are on a journey to Sainthood – nothing less and therefore we fix our eyes on Heaven in our
inspiration to help them on their journey there.
 We seek to provide for and perfect every child equally in absolutely everything we do
 The school is a true community of faith
 Our provision res[ponds to all of the child’s needs – the provision and the Spirit of Catholicism
permeates all aspects of the curriculum and all aspects of school life
 All who work and volunteer in this school have a supernatural calling by God himself and as such, in
imitation of Christ, the Invisible Teacher in every room of this school, we seek to reveal the
Christian message not just by word and by teaching but in every gesture of our behaviour. In so
doing we enable ourselves to be what Pope John Paul II described as “A window for children to be
able to see out of onto the Divine”! Thus – we are witnesses to Christ in all that we say and do!
It becomes easy therefore, to appreciate why Religious Education in our school must never simply be one
subject among many, but the foundation of the entire educational process. The beliefs and values studied in
Catholic Religious Education inspire and draw together every aspect of the life of a catholic school. “We
are committed to classroom RE, then, because all pupils have the right to receive an overall education
which will enable them, in the light of the faith of the Church, to engage with the deepest questions of
life and find reasons for the hope which is within them” (1 Peter 3.15).
Diocese of Westminster (Education) Issued Thursday 5th May 2000
Religious education is, then, the core subject in a Catholic school, indeed – it is The Core Of The Core! If
this kind of classroom RE is to be achieved, then it is to be taught, developed and resourced with the same
commitment as any other subject and it should be witnessed in all areas of planning, learning, curriculum,
resourcing, support and assessment. “Excellence in Religious Education, then, will be characterised by
clarity of succinct religious learning objectives and of key content, by appropriate methodologies,
rigour, richness of resources, achievement of identified outcomes and accurate methods of assessment.
Classroom RE will be a challenging educational engagement between the pupil, the teacher and the
authentic subject material.”
When classroom RE displays these educational characteristics, then its specific contribution to the life of the
Catholic school, which as a whole is a Catechetical community, becomes apparent. Then the
complementarity of the various roles which contribute to the life of the school is also clarified: the role of
the leadership of the school as a catechetical community, of the school and the partnership in the religious
life of the pupils between the school, the parishes and the families. All these have a part to play in the
handing on of faith and its expression and exploration in daily life.
In conclusion, it is clear that we have a most responsible, vocational role in choosing to work in a catholic
School – whatever our role is. It is vital, valued and appreciated! Whilst responsible, it is also joyous and, no
matter what the external pressures of a modern educational system, it is so essential that none of us lose
sight of this vision. That mission – in which our school was founded – continues. We have had a calling,
whether we realise it or not, and we should never lose sight of the entrusted, valuable mission we are
undertaking. It is nothing less than the role entrusted to the many great saints of whom we read and are
inspired by. This does not mean we walk boastfully! We know we are far from perfect and full of human
weakness – it is human to error! Yet, because we are Christ inspired, we give of our best and strive for
excellence and it is in this way that we become worthy of the heritage entrusted to us by our forefathers and
worthy of the mission entrusted to us by the Catholic Church and (we believe) by Christ himself.