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British Values

This is a Catholic school which seeks 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. We provide 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 extra-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 embed British values at St. Bernadette's and the following should be seen as an indication of our approach rather than an exhaustive list.

Democracy

We have a strong and active school council that are democratically elected by the pupil body. Team Captains are also elected after an election manifesto is presented by the candidates.

The Rule of Law

Each class has their own set of 'class rules'. Alongside this, we have a 'Safe to Learn' group who have been working with external advisors to create a behaviour policy for the school. We also have very strong links with our community police team who visit classes regularly and support whole school events.

Mutual Respect

We have a weekly 'Statement to Live By' liturgy. These statements help the children and adults to think about who we are, what we believe and what we hope to become. We hope that together we will nurture a sense of what it is to be fully human and alive as children and adults sharing in this Christian community. We have an effective anti-bullying policy and a high profile anti-bullying week celebration. Weekly SEAL sessions within classrooms support the respect of everyone.

Tolerance of those with different faiths/beliefs

As part of our Religious Education curriculum, we study in depth other world faiths. This provides an awareness of the faith and traditions of other religious communities as a basis for understanding and respecting them. We also take part in events such as Haulocaust Memorial day.

Individual Liberties

We encourage students to be as independent as possible in all of their learning. We support this with a 'Smart' programme of celebrating learning. This allows children to reflect on their strengths in learning and those of their peers.