The CES published Catholic Schools and Community Cohesion: CES Guidance on 14th February 2008. You will find the link to a PDF version of the document at the foot of this page.
For more information about the CES’ work in this area please email general@cesew.org.uk or telephone 0207 901 1900.
If you would like further copies of the document, priced at £7, please fill out the order form below and return by post, including a cheque for payment to CES, 39 Eccleston Square, London SW1V 1BX.
Foreword
Community is a fundamental part of what it means to be a Catholic. This is very evident in our schools irrespective of whether most places are occupied by Catholics or where places are available to welcome others too. Nationally, our schools are places of great diversity and their ethnic and cultural profile reflects the universal meaning of Catholic.
In each pupil, student, member of staff and visitor we are called to see the richness of God’s creation and to undertake our work knowing that in each unique person we see Jesus Christ.
This gives those of us who lead and work in our schools an awesome responsibility to develop everyone’s talents to the full, seeing and responding to Christ in one another. Promoting community cohesion is neither new to us nor an optional extra.
The journey towards building a truly cohesive, sustainable community is undoubtedly a matter that challenges British society today. Promoting community cohesion is now a statutory duty in schools in England and Ofsted is required to report on its implementation. Whilst I have no wish to see teachers experience additional inspection demands, I welcome this new duty and the transparency that it will bring. Through this process and the further inspection of community cohesion within the inspection of religious education and the Catholic life of the school (section 48 inspections), I hope that we will all be helped to review our practice.
Building on this, we continue to work towards an harmonious society; one where all feel valued and respected irrespective of background and personal circumstances.
This publication is intended to make a contribution to our schools’ ongoing understanding about the meaning of community cohesion. It initially draws on a very simple exercise inviting schools to tell us about their current activity in promoting community cohesion. It also provides information about our ongoing section 48 work.
I am most grateful to our diocesan and schools colleagues and to members of the CES’ Community Cohesion Working Group for their support and assistance in producing this guidance. I hope that as inspection beds in and further case studies emerge, that we will be able to publish more exemplar material on the CES’ website.
In conclusion, I invite all our schools to continue sharing with us and the wider community their experiences of all that they do to promote community cohesion.
