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British Values permeate through everything we do at Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School. We recognise that each student is a member of God’s family and as such, is a unique person at his/her own point in the journey of faith. Our staff work hard to ensure that our learning environment is a safe, nurturing and stimulating environment with a warm and welcoming atmosphere.
Our mission is to provide every student with a ‘Compass For Life’ which means that we are committed to the development of the whole person so that pupils flourish academically as well as in all their personal relationships. Part of our role in that preparation is ensuring that we promote and reinforce British values to our students and that they proceed to adulthood with dignity and confidence.
The government set out its definition of British values in the 2011 Prevent Strategy and considered them to be democracy, rule of law, individual liberty, mutual respect and tolerance of those of different faiths and beliefs. At Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School these values are reinforced in a pervasive manner and permeate the school community at every level.
At Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School the principle of democracy is consistently reinforced, with the democratic process being employed for important decisions within the school community, for instance, elections being held for the School Council, for our Head boy and head girl and through student feedback informing policies such as the rewards policy.
Inside the classroom we further explore the principle of democracy in History, Citizenship and Religious Education as well as in tutor time and assemblies. The Rule of Law and the importance of laws, whether they be those that govern the class, the school, or the country, are consistently reinforced throughout regular school days, as well as when dealing with behaviour and through school assemblies. We are an active participant in the Coventry Safer Schools Network and our pupils have the opportunity to meet members of the neighbourhood policing team as well as hear talks from professionals working in the legal profession during assemblies.
Students are taught the values and reasons behind laws, that they govern and protect us, the responsibilities that this involves and the consequences when laws are broken. Visits from authorities such as the Police and Fire Service are regular parts of our calendar and help reinforce this message. In addition ‘Rights and Responsibilities’ are an integral element of our curriculum.
One of our core values is Respect and within Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School, students are actively encouraged to make independent choices knowing that they are in a safe, secure and supportive environment. As a school we educate and provide boundaries for students to make choices safely, through the provision of a safe environment and an empowering education. Our behaviour policy sets very high expectations for all of our pupils but the simplicity of the 100% compliance system allows for conversations about ‘choices’. Students are encouraged to know, understand and exercise their rights, responsibilities and personal freedoms and receive advice about how to exercise these safely, for example through our exploration of E-Safety in computing and their tutor time activities.
Respect, Ambition and Resilience are at the core of our school ethos and these are modelled by students and staff alike. The school promotes respect for others and this is reiterated through our classroom and learning environments. In line with our commitment to democracy students at Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School are always able to voice their opinions around options for the further developing the environment such as recent developments to the sixth form centre. We foster an environment where students are safe to disagree with each other. Mutual respect is embraced throughout the curriculum from the concept of ‘fair play’ in PE to the student mentoring programme which promotes mutual respect and support between students across different year groups within the school.
Mutual respect is also the foundation of our 100% compliance behaviour policy where pupils are taught that not meeting the expectations of the classroom 100% of the time not only shows disrespect to the teacher but also disrupts the learning of others. They learn that engaging appropriately in their lessons is an essential part of displaying mutual respect to their classmates and a part of the skill set they will need in later life.
Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School is a Catholic School for All. Our strong Catholic ethos is inclusive of all faiths and those with no specific faith and we promote a strong sense of community. This is achieved through equipping students with the ability to understand their place in a culturally diverse society and by giving them opportunities to experience such diversity within the school community. Students are given a plethora of opportunities to be of service to the local community, the Church and society in general irrespective of race and creed. We also run a number of trips abroad and to culturally significant sites across the country throughout the academic year from which our students gain valuable experience of other cultures and languages.
Additionally, students are actively encouraged to share their faith and beliefs within the school. Our Religious Education curriculum provides a broad and balanced education on a range of faiths, religions and cultures, while we provide an extensive and valuable induction to all staff and students who are non-Catholic. Our students’ pathway through their school career at Cardinal Wiseman is celebrated in our weekly Newsletter. Should you feel that the school is not meeting this requirement, you should contact the school office and request to express your concerns with the Principal.
