Governors' Ethos Statement

The school was founded by and is part of the Catholic Church. The school is to be conducted as a Catholic school in accordance with canon law and the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church and in accordance with the Trust Deeds of the Archdiocese of Birmingham and in particular:

1. Religious education is to be in accordance with the teachings, doctrines, discipline and general and particular norms of the Catholic Church.

2. Worship is to be in accordance with the rites, practices, discipline and liturgical norms of the Catholic Church.

And at all times the school is to serve as a witness to the Catholic faith in Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Our values and ethos are articulated in our school aims:

• We aim to lead our pupils to a living and active faith by developing their awareness of God's presence in their lives, helping them to know and love God and to respond to the invitation to enter into a personal relationship with God through reflection, prayer, worship and celebration.

• We aim to help our children, hear, listen to and respond to the call of God through reflecting on how different people in the scriptures were called and responded, learning about the lives of saints and others who have responded to God's call and by reflecting on ways in which they may be called by God and how they might respond.

• We aim to provide teaching according to the Catholic faith, where the Gospel of Christ is at the heart of school life and the opportunities for a continuing and deepening experience of Christ through prayer and the sacraments are developed.

• We aim to work in partnership with the home and parish to create a Catholic Community and to foster education and faith development outside the school, for example, in the home and in the parish.

• We aim to create a happy school environment which will nurture the individual's joy of learning, promote independence and perseverance in their work and develop a positive self-image and awareness of making the right choices in support of a happy and healthy lifestyle.

• We aim to foster care, courtesy and consideration for others in our daily lives and to encourage the pupils to exercise a sense of responsibility which demonstrates respect for people and their belongings, regardless of faith, culture, ethnicity, gender, ability or lifestyle.

• We aim to develop lively and enquiring minds through the ability to question, argue rationally, investigate, prove, observe and handle and process information. We will encourage creativity and promote knowledge of and concern for heritage and the environment.

• We aim to promote an awareness, understanding and respect for other religious beliefs and an appreciation of human achievement and aspirations from many cultures.

• We aim to help every individual to achieve his/her maximum potential through careful and considered planning of work, exciting and well-chosen activities and celebration of effort and success.

• We aim to recognise and develop the many facets of human potential and encourage the individuals to 'have a go' and not fear failure. We will promote self-evaluation and encourage realistic and achievable target setting.

• We aim to establish an environment where pupils, teachers, support staff and governors can work together in confidence to achieve their own potential, meet and enjoy the challenge for continuous improvement and recognise and celebrate success.

• In line with the National Curriculum and DfE guidance, we aim to promote British Values including teaching children respect for the law, democracy, equality and tolerance of all faiths and other beliefs. This aim is non-negotiable and parents cannot request that their child opts out of any part of this regardless of personal culture or beliefs.

As a Catholic school and in accordance with its Trust Deed, St. Hubert's Catholic Primary promotes Catholic values, including British values which are derived from Christian values and are at the heart of what we teach. These values include: respect for the law, democracy, equality and tolerance of different faiths and religions and other beliefs. Underpinning this is our belief that all are created in the image and likeness of God and are therefore equal in the sight of God; all are encompassed by human rights which are set out in documents such as Pope St John XXIII's Pacem in Terris.

We teach that all should contribute to the common good.

Other faiths are accorded full respect: in the words of Nostra Aetate (1965): "The Church reproves, as foreign to the mind of Christ, any discrimination against men or harassment of them because of their race, colour, condition of life, or religion." We reject discrimination of any kind, and by extension welcome diversity of culture.

As Pope Francis recently wrote: "What we are called to respect in each person is first of all his life, his physical integrity, his dignity and the rights deriving from that dignity, his reputation, his property, his ethnic and cultural identity, his ideas and his political choices. We are therefore called to think, speak and write respectfully of the other, not only in his presence, but always and everywhere, avoiding unfair criticism or defamation. Families, schools, religious teaching and all forms of media have a role to play in achieving this goal." [Message of Pope Francis to Muslims throughout the world for the end of Ramadan, 2013]

In teaching of right and wrong, we teach that conscience should be informed by the teaching of Jesus and the Church; that right and wrong are moral matters and not just legalities.

The position of British law is taught in all matters, but on some issues Catholic differences will be stressed. Religious views on matters of public concern will be considered, particularly in relation to social teaching, as part of pupils' spiritual, moral, social, vocational and cultural education.

Human rights will be discussed with reference to Pacem in Terris and subsequent papal documents such as Sollicitudo Rei Socialis.

Teaching about democracy will take account of its weaknesses as well as its strengths.