Mission and Values

Our Mission Statement

“I am a sign of God's love”

Our Mission Statement is evident as soon as you step through the doors and see that Christ is at the centre of our school.

We all work hard to make sure that everyone is treated with care and respect, and everyone is made to feel special and helped to realise their God-given talents. Every member of our school community is welcomed and valued, Catholic and non-Catholics alike.

Together, pupils, staff and parents work hard towards achieving the mission statement of the school.

Vision

Our vision for St Francis Catholic Primary School is to enable all children to achieve their full potential in a safe, welcoming and happy learning environment.

We will strive to create responsible citizens who are independent and confident lifelong learners equipped to meet the challenges of a changing future.

This will be achieved within an inclusive school that values every individual and celebrates the diversity of our community.

Equality

Equality Statement

At St Francis Catholic Primary School, we are committed to ensuring equality of opportunity for all pupils, staff, parents and carers irrespective of race, gender, disability, belief, sexual orientation, age or socio-economic background. Through our mission statement and Catholic beliefs, we aim to develop a culture of inclusion and diversity in which all members of our school and parish family feel proud of their identity and ability to participate fully in school life.

We tackle discrimination through the positive promotion of equality, by challenging bullying and stereotypes and by creating an inclusive environment.

At St Francis Catholic Primary School, we believe that diversity is a strength which should be respected and celebrated by all those who learn, teach and visit us.

Equality in Teaching and Learning

We provide all our pupils with the opportunity to succeed and to reach the highest level of personal achievement. We do this by:

  • Providing a rich curriculum and strong Catholic ethos to instil the Gospel values in our children, teaching them to be kind, caring, forgiving and respectful young people.
  • Ensuring equality of access for all pupils and preparing them for life in a diverse society.
  • Promoting attitudes and values that challenge any discriminatory behaviour or prejudice.
  • Have high expectations of all children and to provide varied learning experiences within a broad and balanced curriculum.
  • Providing opportunities for pupils to appreciate their own religion and culture and celebrate the diversity of other religions and cultures.
  • Seeking to involve all parents in supporting their child’s education.
  • Utilising teaching approaches appropriate for the whole school population which are inclusive and reflective of our pupils.
  • Make links between the teachings of Jesus and how we behave and treat others in our own lives.
  • To develop self-esteem, respect and social skills enabling children to form positive relationships within school and in the context of a modern multi-cultural society.

British Values

British Values... Gospel Values

'Keeping our children safe and ensuring schools prepare them for life in a modern Britain could not be more important. This change is an important step towards ensuring we have a strong legal basis for intervening in those schools where this is an issue. The vast majority of schools already promote British Values. This is about making sure we have the tools we need to intervene if children are being let down.' (Department of Education 2013)

Expectations

Schools are required to actively promote and not undermine 'British Values'. The government has set out its definition of British Values as:

  • Democracy
  • The rule of law
  • Individual liberty
  • Mutual respect
  • Tolerance of those of different faiths and beliefs

At St. Francis we actively promote values, virtues and ethics that shape our pupils’ character and moral perspective through the teachings of the Church. We are confident that our continued focus on the Gospel Values will give our pupils the necessary awareness of what it means to be a good Catholic citizen in Britain today and embed in them the building blocks of a future life that is both successful and productive.

Through the Values and Virtues Catholic Profile, given by the Archdiocese of Birmingham, we try to show that we are compassionate, loving, hopeful, faith-filled, learned, wise, prophetic, intentional, curious, active, truthful, eloquent, generous, grateful, discerning and attentive in our everyday lives.

Through our RE and PSHE curriculum we are able to make real links between the values of our pupils and the lives of others in their community, country and the world in general.

Through our creative curriculum we teach about democracy, civic responsibility, rules and laws, the monarchy, equality, values and virtues, environmental awareness and the richness and diversity of God’s wonderful world.