At St Therese our school mission ‘to live in love’ underpins all that we do. Our aim is to nurture and support our young people to ensure they know they have a responsibility to contribute to the world in which they live and they can make a positive difference both in their own communities and the world beyond.

In order to ‘live in love’ we teach our children that as Christians we are called to;

‘love God, to love each other and to love ourselves.’

 

The government expects all schools to promote British Values. These values are:

  • Democracy
  • The Rule of Law
  • Individual Liberty
  • Mutual Respect
  • Tolerance of different faiths and beliefs

Democracy

At St Therese we encourage our children to embrace and value democracy and the common good. Children are taught that it is vital they listen and respect the views of others and accept majority decisions. There are many opportunities for our pupils to experience democracy in their everyday school life. For example, we start the year with House Captain elections with speeches to the whole school and a school vote. Within classes, leadership roles are identified and children choose their class representatives following speeches and a class vote. Pupils express their opinions and present ideas to the School Council.

The rule of law

It is important for children to realise that rules are there to protect the common good. In school we have rules in every classroom and these are discussed and referred to throughout the school year.  Children follow ‘ten steps to safety’ and e safety and they recognise that such rules are necessary in order to keep us safe and protect our communities. We host Citizenship Day for our older pupils and as part of our school curriculum we have visits from emergency services at various points in the school year.

Individual liberty

We teach our children that the freedom to make choices is a gift and they are encouraged to make choices in their everyday life within a safe and supportive environment. We aim to help all pupils to develop the understanding that each child is already a citizen and has rights now. These rights are not earned; everyone has them – no one has to wait to be adults to have rights. All children have the same rights and these rights are listed in the UN convention on the right of the child. We have considered these rights in terms of what is best, and age appropriate for the children in our school and in terms of what is critical to life and protection from harm. We have a basic shared vocabulary around the issues of rights and responsibilities which enables each child to discuss and explore how to make relationships in a rights respecting way. Pupils are encouraged to know, understand and exercise their rights and personal freedoms and advise how to exercise these safely, for example through our E-Safety and PSHE lessons. Whether it is through choice of challenge, of how they record, of participation in our numerous extra-curricular clubs and opportunities, pupils are given the freedom to make choices.

Mutual Respect

Respect for each other and ourselves is consistently promoted and taught at St Therese. The way we treat others is based around our Gospel values.  Assemblies and discussions frequently refer to what it means to respect and care for each other, not only why respect is important but also how we demonstrate this in our everyday lives. The quality of our relationships is of the highest priority within school and we recognise that our golden rule in school is to treat others as you wish to be treated. All adults working in school model this through their actions. The school works hard to ensure its behaviour policy is lived out by all within the school and takes positive action when any person may act in a way contrary to this.

Tolerance of those of different faiths and beliefs.

This is achieved through enhancing pupils understanding of their place in a culturally diverse society and by giving them opportunities to experience such diversity. Assemblies and discussions involving prejudices and prejudice-based bullying have been introduced and reinforced by learning in RE and PSHE. Members of different faiths or religions are encouraged to share their knowledge to enhance learning within classes and the school. As part of our curriculum provision every class studies a city within Great Britain and a country with a contrasting culture. We embrace diversity and seek opportunities to celebrate this within our school community. Our Justice and Peace Group is very successful in promoting tolerance of other faiths particularly with their charity work. The whole school supports a range of charities throughout the year for example, CAFOD, Help for Heroes, Mary Thompson Fund for refugees, Mission Together, Zoe’s Place.

What is SMSC?

SMSC stands for spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. All schools in England must show how well their pupils develop in SMSC.

We encourage the pupils of St Therese of Lisieux RC Primary School to display the following traits:

Spiritual
Explore beliefs and experience; respect faiths, feelings and values; enjoy learning about oneself, others and the surrounding world; use imagination and creativity; reflect.

Moral
Recognise right and wrong; respect the law; understand consequences; investigate moral and ethical issues; offer reasoned views.

Social
Investigate moral issues; appreciate diverse viewpoints; participate, volunteer and cooperate; resolve conflict; engage with the fundamental values of British democracy.

Cultural
Appreciate cultural influences; participate in culture opportunities; understand, accept, respect and celebrate diversity.