Catholic Social Teaching
“…the Church’s social thought is primarily positive: it offers proposals, it works for change and in this sense it constantly points to the hope born of the loving heart of Jesus Christ.” Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium 183
The Principles of Catholic Social Teaching are the bedrock of our work and everything we strive for at The Holy Cross School. They provide a unifying thread that runs through our curriculum and the daily life of our school community.
In September 2021, we began our journey with the Oscar Romero Award, gaining our Level 1 Participator accreditation in 2022. This work strengthened our commitment to Catholic Social Teaching and inspired us to continue developing our practice.
Following a robust assessment process, we were delighted and proud to be awarded Level 2 Developer status in Autumn 2023. This was an important affirmation of our commitment to social justice and to embedding the principles of Catholic Social Teaching across our school community.
Since then, we have continued to deepen and develop this work. We have built a shared understanding of each of the principles through whole-school and year-group assemblies, RE lessons and School Badge competitions, as well as through our policies and everyday language. Our aim is to ensure that Catholic Social Teaching is not simply something we learn about, but something we understand, live out and put into action.
Staff have received training in Catholic Social Teaching, including working with Raymond Friel to explore how CST can be embedded meaningfully across the taught curriculum and within different subject areas.
We are delighted that, following our latest assessment, The Holy Cross School has now achieved Level 3 Innovator status in the Oscar Romero Award. This recognition reflects the ongoing commitment of our whole school community to putting Catholic Social Teaching into practice and finding creative and meaningful ways to promote social justice, human dignity and care for others.
Our journey continues as we seek to deepen our understanding, strengthen our practice and create a school community where God's love is shown in tangible, creative and caring ways.
Click below for more information about how Catholic Social Teaching is embedded in our curriculum.
Preferential Option for the Poor
To read the principles of Catholic Social Teaching in other languages, please click here.
