Catholic Life and Mission

“With God at the heart of our St. Ursula’s family, we welcome all as we learn and grow together”

Our school mission statement is at the heart of all that we do, at St. Ursula’s we recognise that we are one family within God, we foster a culture of support and inclusivity and are proud of the work we do both with our pupils and their families. We are very fortunate to have a dedicated home school support worker, Mrs Walsh, who works tirelessly to support our families and ensures our school is able to reach out to all those within our school community. Our staff are approachable and friendly and recognise the importance of regular communication and celebration, we invite parents to our celebration days, class assemblies and school performances.

The core values of our school focus on high expectations for all learners, developing skills for life, encouraging good self-esteem and developing a set of core moral values based upon the teachings of Jesus Christ. These values are core to every part of our lives and are reflected in the way that we treat each other, the way that we look for every day opportunities to help those in need and in the example that we demonstrate to all those we meet.

At St Ursula’s we have our School Value trophies that are given out during our weekly Achievement Assembly.

These values were developed by the pupils in our school and voted upon by our Eco School Counsellors as the values that they deemed to be integral to our school community.

Faith – To have faith and let God be our guide
Matthew 17:20 - He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

Respect – To respect for our school and planet

1 Peter 4:10 - Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms
Kindness – To show kindness to everyone through their actions
Ephesians 4:32 - Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

Honesty – To be loyal, honest and understanding of others
Luke 6:31 - Do to others as you would have them do to you.

Resilience – To keep trying our best, never give up
Colossians 3:17 - And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Each week within our achievement assemblies our Gospel value trophies are awarded. These trophies are awarded to different pupils from Reception to Year 6, who have lived out our Gospel Values. These trophies are taken back to class and displayed on our classroom prayer tables. Winners are also celebrated in the Headteacher’s Newsletter.

“There is a great need in our days for people who know how to make a courageous testimony of the moral values taught by the Gospel.” Pope Francis

“Pupils’ behaviour is excellent. This is because the school’s core values, including kindness and forgiveness, are part of the culture. Expectations of conduct are understood and consistently applied by all.” Ofsted July 23

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

Genesis 1: 26-27

As Catholic’s we believe we have been created in the image and likeness of God, that all individuals are important, talented and should be celebrated. As a school we strive to celebrate all of the talents and skills of our pupils. We offer a wide range of after school clubs including gymnastics, football, Spanish and even Chess. Within our achievement assemblies we encourage our pupils to share their achievements from outside of school and our curriculum strives to represent our diverse school community.

For RE we follow the Come and See Curriculum, with the first topic in all year groups focusing on why we are precious, why our families are special and where we have come from.

Throughout the school year we plan in many days to celebrate our students and our different skills and talents such as celebration evenings, school talent shows, sporting competitions, writing competitions and art competitions.

Over the past year our inclusion team have been working to develop and inclusion hub which will further support the pupils within our school. This room incorporates a sensory room, messy play, work stations and dedicated staff to support our pupil’s varying needs.

Catholic Social Teaching (CST) is the moral compass of our Catholic Faith that is deeply rooted in scripture. It comprises of 7 key principles that help to guide Catholics in their mission to walk in the footsteps of Christ and to share the good news of his Gospel with all those that they encounter. As a school we use CAFOD’s resources to support our children in recognising how to become the best Global citizens that they can be.

The key principles of CST are:

Human Dignity

We believe very human person is made in the image and likeness of God. This is a gift that we all share as fellow human beings; we are all infinitely loved by our Creator. God is present in every human person, each one of us is unique and beautiful. We are called to treat every person and every creature with loving respect.

At St. Ursula’s we celebrate everyone’s skills and talents and recognise that we are all individuals.

“Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, before you were born I set you apart."
- Jeremiah 1:5

Solidarity

Solidarity arises when we remember that we belong to each other. Solidarity spurs us to stand side by side with our sisters and brothers, especially those living in poverty.

At St. Ursula’s we fundraise throughout the year for our local, national and global charities and ensure that our pupil’s understand who we are fundraising for and why.

“In truth I tell you, in so far as you did this to one of the least of these brothers or sisters of mine, you did it to me." - Matthew 25:40

The Common Good – Community and Participation

The Common Good means that the fruits of the earth belong to everyone. No one should be excluded from the gifts of creation.

We reflect on the impact we have on the world that we live in, we recognise the world and its resources are a gift from God and that we as Global Citizens have a duty to ensure everyone has access to these gifts. As a Rights Respecting School we regularly discuss the UN Rights of the Child with our pupils and ensure we are considering how we can raise awareness and support these rights throughout our wider community.

“You are not making a gift of your possessions to the poor person. You are handing over to them what is theirs." – St Ambrose

Option for the poor

The option for the poor reminds us of God’s preferential love for the poorest and most vulnerable people. God’s love is universal; he does not side with oppressors, but loves the humble.

At St. Ursula’s we have a clear fundraising schedule that allows our pupils to organised and take part in fundraising for our local, national and universal charities. We also recognise the need to support the less fortunate within our community through signposting families to resources to support them within our local area.

“The spirit of the Lord is on me, for he has anointed me to bring the good news to the afflicted. He has sent me to let the oppressed go free.” - Luke 4:18

Peace – Rights and Responsibilities

All peace requires respect for human life. Peace is the fruit of justice and love and is dependent upon right order among human beings. Peace is far more than just the absence of war. It is an essential attribute of God, a value to be embraced by all of humanity, and a universal duty.

As global citizens we strive to ensure our pupils are aware of the world around them, children have access to First News within KS2 (a child friendly newspaper) and our classes regularly have access to Newsround to enable to be aware of the world around them. In Year 6 children study the book Refugee Child by Benjamin Zephaniah and examine the effect of the Ethiopian Eritrean war. Within BounceBack children are taught about Martin Luther King, Ruby Bridges and Malala, and within RE children look at the impact of Oscar Romero and Maxamillian Kolbe. As part of Refugee Week children explore the impact of war and the stories of refugees from around the world.

We encourage children to consider the ripple effect, that one small act of kindness can create a ripple and that we as a school can start that ripple effect within our community.

“Peace is an order that is founded in truth, nurtured and animated by charity, and brought into effect under the auspices of freedom."- Pope John 13

Stewardship – Caring for Creation

Everyone on the planet must consider how our actions are affecting the earth and the poorest people. Everything is interconnected, and all of creation praises God. It is our Christian vocation to care for creation.

We believe our world is a gift, and that we have a responsibility to take care of it. This year we have been making an effort to improve our food waste and have been working with Keep Britain Tidy. Our Super Scientists have been encouraging our staff and pupils to be aware of the electricity they are using and we have been trying to make more sustainable choice by investing in cutlery to avoid single use plastic and asking our pupils to take bring in flowers for the Crowning of Mary that can be planted, rather than bouquets. Students have worked with the Harold Wood Wombles to pick up litter in our local area and a group of students have taken the responsibility of watering the plants within our school grounds.

“In the beginning God entrusted the earth and it's resources to the common stewardship of mankind, to take care of."- The Catechism

The Dignity of Work and Participation

The human person should always come before the pursuit of profit. Workers have the right to join trade unions, to a just wage and to spend time with their families and to rest. Work is an essential part of our human dignity and everyone has the right to participate.

Our children are educated on the importance of Fair Trade, particularly during our Summer Term RE topic, Universal Church.

As a school we like to plan our fundraising events in order to ensure that our families are not overwhelmed. The following events are planned for each academic year, however additional events may be added to support charities with other issues as they arrive.

Annual Fundraising overview

CST Link

Autumn Term

World Mental Health day fundraising

Each October our children take part in an Annual World Mental Health day fundraising campaigns. In the past we have raised money for a charity called Young Minds, through their Hello Yellow campaign. This year the money raised this year will go to towards funding professional wellbeing support for our pupils and Winston's Wish, a childhood bereavement charity.

Human Dignity

Solidarity

Harvest Foodbank collection

During our harvest festival period pupils are encouraged to bring in items for our harvest festival assembly in order to support our local foodbanks.

Human Dignity

Solidarity

Option for the poor

Poppy Appeal – Remembrance day

Throughout November our Year 6 pupils sell poppies and other items throughout the school community in remembrance of our armed forces.

Human Dignity

Solidarity

Option for the poor

BCCS – Brentwood Catholic Children Society advent appeal

During the advent season families are encouraged to collect money for BCCS a children’s charity run to support those within our diocese.

Human Dignity

Solidarity

Option for the poor

Spring Term

Wellbeing Charity

Each Year we choose a second mental health charity to support, following World Mental Health day. Previously we raised money for the Charlie Waller Memorial Trust through their campaign ‘Fit for February’. This Year we will be fundraising for the Anna Freud Centre, which is a child mental health research, training and treatment centre located in London, United Kingdom.

Human Dignity

Solidarity

CAFOD Lent appeal –

Our R.E. monitors are leading fundraising throughout lent for this year’s CAFOD appeal Walk against Hunger. CAFOD is challenging pupils to walk 200k this Lent and help stamp out hunger, one-step at a time.

Human Dignity

Solidarity

Option for the poor

Peace – Rights and Responsibilities

Summer Term

Saint Francis Hospice is an Essex-based charity committed to providing free, person centred care to those affected by a life limiting illness. It is down the road from our school and has supported many families and friends of our school over the years.

Human Dignity

Solidarity

Other

Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal

The money raised by pupils help provide humanitarian support for children and families fleeing the war in Ukraine.

Human Dignity

Solidarity

The Common Good

Option for the poor

Peace – Rights and Responsibilities

Supporting the Local Community

CST Link

Litter picking with Harold Hill Wombles

Last Year St Ursula’s pupils and the Harold Hill Wombles joined forces to litter pick at Harold’s Woodland, Straight Road. There is still more litter to be picked and so litter picks will be a regular occurrence.

The Common Good

Stewardship

Singing at Care homes

Each Year our wonderful choir visit local care homes to share their wonderful singing with others. Research demonstrates that music can have many benefits for residents, especially those living with dementia, as it can help reduce anxiety and depression, maintain speech and language, and enhance overall quality of life.

The Common Good

Harold Hill Foodbank

Our ‘Faith in Action’ group will be volunteering at the Harold Hill Foodbank. We understand that volunteers are the driving force behind foodbanks, helping to get emergency food to people in crisis. Our pupils will be helping to weigh, sort and store donated food before it’s made into parcels for clients to collect.

Human Dignity

Solidarity

The Common Good

At St. Ursula’s we recognise that we are a community, and understand the importance of everyone in our community having a contribution to our decisions as a school. Our aim over the past few years has been to increase the involvement of pupils in decision making at St Ursula’s, and that has been no different when it comes to the faith of our school.

We have a number of pupil voice groups, but two of those are solely focused on the faith of our school, our Pupil Chaplains, and our RE Monitors.

Pupil Chaplains

Our 2023-24 Pupil Chaplains were appointed in Autumn 1 following a robust selection process. Applying for the role of Pupil Chaplain required our Year 6 pupils to write a letter explaining how their qualities and skills were best suited for the role. In addition to the letter, pupils were also interviewed by Mr Ashburn and Miss Gilligan. The role of the Pupil Chaplain is to help the school to be a community of faith, to encourage the pupils to live their faith in daily living and to support liturgy, prayer and the spiritual life of the school.

Our Chaplains were commissioned during our St. Ursula’s Day Mass and have already begun their mission for this year by interviewing key figures in our school community, leading whole school masses and attending parent coffee mornings to let parents know about our school website and the faith within our school.

Faith in Action

Our Faith in Action group, formerly known as RE monitors are comprised of 1 pupil per class, from Year 1 to Year 6. They lead our prayer and liturgy sessions within classrooms, work with Mrs Hall to consider how they can put their faith in action within the local community and within the school they are responsible for maintaining the prayer table within every classroom. They also write and produce our monthly payer focus which is displayed on our school website and in each of the school entrances.

During the school year they work with CAFOD to raise money for important causes and are always available to greet important visitors to our school. They take their role very seriously and within the school week they lead the classroom prayers as well as the Wednesday Word and Thursday Thought in each class.