British Values

The Government emphasises that schools and academies are required to ensure that key ‘British Values’ are taught in all UK schools.  The government set out its definition of British values in the 2011 Prevent Strategy.

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

The College is dedicated to preparing students for their adult life beyond the formal examined curriculum and ensuring that it actively promotes and reinforces British values to all its students.

THE COLLEGE MISSION AND VALUES

Corpus Christi is a Catholic College where each and every child is loved and valued in having a divine origin and an eternal destiny. Gospel values and the teachings of the Catholic Church underpin all aspects of College life and we place Christ at the centre of all that we do. Following Jesus’ example, we strive to live out our Mission Statement each day. Our Mission Statement is;

Together we work, learn, pray, grow

In order to achieve this, we will always try to:

• Praise God in prayer and worship
• Respect and support each other
• Work to become the best we can be
• Celebrate and rejoice in the talents of all
• Provide equal opportunities for all
• Build links with our community and care for our environment
• Be open to God’s power working in our live

Our students have created a set of ‘Corpus Values’ which they encourage all members of the College community to uphold. Our Corpus Values are:

C Compassion

H Honesty

R Respect

I Integrity

S Service

T Truthfulness

As a College with a distinctive Christian ethos, the key drivers for British values of mutual respect, understanding right from wrong; and the need for laws and tolerance are integral to all that we do. We therefore believe that British values, Gospel values and our Corpus values are not mutually exclusive. By upholding and educating our students about British values, by living out our Mission statement and Corpus Values we ensure our College is a place where everyone is equally respected and unconditionally loved.

COMMITMENT TO DEVELOPING THE WHOLE CHILD

The College is fully committed to developing the whole child including their faith formation and social, moral, spiritual and cultural development. We want our students to be able to contribute fully to the society in which they live and to bear witness to Christ in the modern world. We promote this by;

• A strong Catholic ethos underpins and pervades everything we do
• The successful integration of all students in to our College community
• The promotion of equal opportunities for everyone
• A strong and supportive pastoral structure which supports all students
• Coherent and consistently applied behaviour and anti-bullying policies
• Strong collaborative partnerships with our partner Catholic partner primary schools, local schools, Academies and post 16 providers
• A strong and active Christian commitment to support the most vulnerable and disadvantaged members of our College, diocesan family of schools and communities from which our students are drawn
• Daily collective worship, weekly assemblies, liturgical calendar and a PSHCE programme through which our distinctive Christian ethos, British values and individuality are promoted and celebrated
• Providing opportunities for students in all year groups to plan and lead daily collective worship and assemblies
• Providing opportunities for students in all year groups to plan and lead fundraising events and to support those less fortunate than themselves through charitable work e.g. Chaplaincy and SVP groups
• Providing opportunities for students in all year groups to raise funds for a variety of diocesan, local, national and international appeals e.g. CAFOD, Good Shepherd Appeal, I-CAN appeal and our partner school in Issenye, Tanzania
• Providing opportunities for students in all year groups to assume ‘leadership roles’ e.g. head boy/girl, junior leadership team, prefects, KS3 ambassadors, anti-bullying ambassadors, Chaplaincy reps
• A comprehensive enrichment programme which includes cultural visits in Britain and abroad

Examples of how we actively promote and model democracy include:

• Providing our children with a broad knowledge of and promoting respect for public institutions and services e.g. MP visits into school, visits by the Police, Fire Service, Local Councillors etc.
• Educating students as to how they can influence decision making through the democratic process and providing opportunities for them to be involved in decision making processes to influence College developments e.g. Head boy/girl, Junior Leadership Team, Prefects, KS3 ambassadors, Anti- Bullying Ambassadors and student Chaplaincy groups.
• Ensuring students views are listened to and used to inform whole College developments e.g. student voice groups, student consultation groups, student questionnaires and involvement in conversations with parents/carers
• Providing opportunities through the curriculum, e.g. English and Religious Education, for students to develop the skills of debating; and through membership of the College debating club to enter competitions with students from other institutions
• Modelling how perceived injustice can be peacefully challenged by teaching about inspirational figures such as Ghandi, Mandela, Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King and Maximillian Kolbe
• Facilitating enquiries around “The Big Questions”, “Matters of Life and Death” and contemporary moral issues through Philosophy and Ethics sessions in Religious Education

Examples of how we actively promote and model the rule of law include:

• The importance of laws, whether they are those that govern the class, the College or the country, are reinforced during the College day, as well as when dealing with behaviour and through assemblies and the PSHCE programme e.g. All students sign an ICT Acceptable Usage Policy
• Students are taught the value and reasons behind laws, that they govern and protect us, the responsibilities that this involves and the consequences when laws are broken. This is reinforced by the daily interaction between the College full time safer Police officer and students and their families
• Ensuring our College rules and expectations of behaviour and conduct are clear, fair and applied consistently e.g. through our behaviour for learning policy, hierarchy of sanctions and consequence system
• Helping our students to distinguish right from wrong e.g. by using the example of Christ and Gospel teachings when dealing with behaviour that is not acceptable, by outlining how some behaviours constitute criminal acts
• Promoting respect for the law and the basis on which it is made e.g. the College employs a full time safer school’s police officer. The police officer is a member of the College pastoral and safeguarding teams. She promotes the rule of law through leading assemblies and PSHCE
• Helping students to understand that living under the rule of law protects individuals e.g. through the PSHCE curriculum e.g. e-safety and anti-bullying and inputs from external speakers
• Having a behaviour for learning policy that is linked to restorative justice and based on the Christian value of forgiveness e.g. ensuring reintegration meetings following exclusion include restorative meetings led by trained pastoral staff and/or the safer school’s police officer
• Supporting students in their exploration of opinions through regular Philosophy for Children exploring the “Big Questions”.

Examples of how we actively promote and model individual liberty include:

• Within the College, students are actively encouraged to make choices, knowing that they are in a safe and supportive environment. Students are encouraged to know, understand and exercise their rights and personal freedoms as well teaching them that how they act can impact positively and negatively on others.
• Students are advised how to exercise these freedoms safely, for example through our e-Safety and PSHCE lessons. Whether it is through choice of challenge, how they record work or participate in our numerous extra-curricular clubs and opportunities, students are given the freedom to make choices.
• Supporting students to develop their self- knowledge, self- esteem and self- confidence e.g. through our Catholic ethos, our way of treating people, by investing heavily in meeting the needs of all of the children, by providing equality of opportunity, by knowing and understanding the needs of all of the children.
• Encouraging pupils to take responsibility for their behaviour as well as knowing their rights e.g. through linking rights with responsibilities, by having a fair and consistent behaviour management policy, by ensuring opportunities are provided for students to engage in restorative practices and demonstrate the Christian values of being sorry, forgiveness and penance
• Challenging stereotypes e.g. visitors into school, disability awareness, anti – bullying and anti- racism learning, aspirations week.
• Implementing a strong anti – bullying culture linked to our Advanced Healthy School’s status e.g. the anti-bullying ambassadors scheme which has been implemented in partnership with Leeds Rhinos

Examples of how we actively promote and model mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs include:

• Respect for each other, for our College premises and for others in our local communities is an integral part of our College ethos and Behaviour Policy. Students see staff model this by treating each other with respect and courtesy and we promote this in the way our students interact with each other in their classes, around the College site and at off-site activities
• Promoting respect for individual differences e.g. through assemblies, Collective Worship, Masses, the RE curriculum, welcoming students and visitors of all faiths, meeting the needs of our EAL students, through our Catholic ethos.
• Helping children to acquire an understanding of and respect for their own and other cultures and ways of life e.g. through the curriculum e.g. Religious Education and Geography, cultural trips and visits, links with our partner school in Tanzania
• Openly discussing and celebrating the differences between people such as differences of faith, ethnicity, disability, gender and different family situations such as looked after children, young carers and the different countries and cultures from which our students are drawn
• Sporting activities promoting an attitude of equality and fairness. We celebrate awards and achievements gained from both school and outside school activities during the weekly award assemblies.
• Inviting visitors to school to illustrate to our children different life experiences.
• Taking part in the Leeds Diocesan Steering Group which defined the policy and approach for Catholic schools to positively engage and welcome members of different faith communities.