Catholic Social Teaching
The principles of Catholic Social Teaching underpin all we do at Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School and Nursery. Our faith calls us to show our Love of God, Love of One Another and Love of our World by following in the footsteps of Christ by loving our neighbours in every situation, especially our sisters and brothers living in need and poverty. We understand that that we are all part of a global family and a neighbour to all.
Social Justice can be defined as the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society. At Sacred Heart School, we aim to create equal opportunity for all our pupils and encourage them to do this within the wider community and our children are exceptionally receptive to the Church’s Social teaching and embrace their work in helping others and putting our faith into action.
To show our commitment to Catholic social teaching about those less fortunate than ourselves and loving our neighbour, we regularly support a number of charities. Our House Council takes on the leadership of our charity work in our school and helps to educate our other pupils about social need in our society, contributing significantly to the children’s awareness of the needs of others, and social justice.
Our houses are named after positive social educators and were chosen to reflect our core values: Mahatma Ghandi for ‘Responsibility’; Helen Keller for ‘Achievement’; Saint Oscar Romero for ‘Faith’; Martin Luther King for ‘Respect’ and ‘Equality’; and Saint Teresa of Calcutta for ‘Compassion’.
Our House Councillors work hard to raise money for the school’s chosen charities in fundraising events across the year. Our charity work can also include responses to national or international events such as the Disasters Emergency Committee Ukraine Appeal.
We also have a long-standing commitment towards tackling local hunger. We have worked with St. Vincent’s Centre and Southend Food Bank to provide food to vulnerable families at key times in the year, over a number of years, and especially during the Cost of Living crisis.
At Sacred Heart School, we work in partnership with home and parish to make sure all children are rooted in our Catholic values and our commitment to social justice. The seasons of Advent and Lent are times of preparation for Christmas and Easter, but also are times of giving and helping. A focus is given to both of these seasons to raising money for certain causes.
Details of all fundraising events and activities are included on our school newsletter. We thank you for supporting us and enabling us to help others.
Foodbank donations to help those at risk of hunger
House Captains - putting our faith into action
Love of our World
Our Eco Council is another active pupil group that contributes significantly to the children’s awareness of the needs of others, social justice and being a steward of creation.
Pope Francis' letter Laudato Si' remains a profound invitation to care for our planet, our common home and one that is embraced and keenly understood by the children at Sacred Heart School.
Children at Sacred Heart School enthusiastically embrace being in a Catholic school and part of the Parish. They take on areas of responsibility that promote the school's Catholic Life and Mission within school and in the community. Our children are empowered to become true agents of the change we want to see in the world by putting our faith into action.
