Strategic Plan: 2023-2026

Strategic Plan: 2023-2026

StCuthbert’sCatholicHighSchool

It is my great pleasure to present the St Cuthbert’s Catholic High School Strategic Plan for 2023-2026.

Since 1881, St Cuthbert’s has been offering an alternative vision of education and has provided this Catholic education to boys of all faiths and none.

St Cuthbert’s has a proud tradition of ‘forming great men’, preparing them to take their rightful place in the Church and in the world. This strategic plan will strengthen the school.

Our Strategic Plan has three strategic intents:

1. A Boy’s Learning

2. Men fit for the 21st Century

3. Men for Others

These intents are interconnected and focused to help us to ‘form great men of competence, conscience, compassion and commitment’. The enduring strength of this school is its sense of community and fraternity – what the boys describe as a ‘brotherhood’. The conscientious commitment of staff, parents, and pupils gives us the confidence that we can continue to go from strength to strength.

I encourage all members of the St Cuthbert’s community to share the school’s vision, to read this strategic plan, and to be part of the journey.

Daniel P. Murray Headmaster

Our History

The history of St Cuthbert’s is a cause for genuine pride. Academic achievements and sporting successes in abundance are on record. Our former pupils grace all the professions and make a very valuable contribution to the life of the Church in many parts of the world. On the 16th August 1881, Bishop James Chadwick, entered the premises of 6264 Westmorland Road, Newcastle, and proclaimed the opening of St Cuthbert’s Grammar School. In 1922 the school moved to its current site. In 2020 St Cuthbert’s joined the Bishop Bewick Catholic Education Trust. The story of St Cuthbert’s is an exciting and fascinating one. It has never been an ordinary school, nor will it ever be so. It is no mere organisation but a living entity, changing and adapting when circumstances require it, holding firm and steadfast when a principle is at stake. St Cuthbert’s was founded by the clergy to offer a Catholic education to boys. It has performed that duty now for over one hundred and forty years, and whatever other changes may come about, it will continue to perform that same duty.

OUR GUIDING STATEMENTS

Our Vision

To be a premier Catholic learning community for the 21st century, preparing young men to witness to Christ and so create a world of justice, peace, truth and love.

Our Mission

St Cuthbert’s Catholic High School is a community gathered together by God, to form fine young men of integrity who will live according to the pattern of life given to us by Jesus Christ. We will strive, through dedication to academic excellence and the formation of the whole person, to form young men of competence, conscience, compassion, and commitment, who, educated in faith and for justice, will live their lives in the service of others.

Our Values

Faith – to give boys of all faiths and none, a profound, life-changing experience that focuses on God’s unconditional love and a deeper understanding of themselves as persons of faith and confidence in themselves.

Catholic Spirituality – to root students in the Catholic faith and the rich diverse spirituality of the Catholic tradition. To focus on loving service to God and neighbour. To discover and share one’s gifts and talents with the world.

Formation of the Whole Person – to thoughtfully and intentionally integrate the fullness of human experience through spiritual, intellectual, emotional, social, and physical development.

A World Affirming Perspective – to provide a spiritual dimension which sees creation as good. To promote a dialogue between faith and culture, which fosters the capacity for critical and original thinking. To appreciate the gifts of life.

Diversity – to create and sustain a vibrant, inclusive community reflecting the expansive demographics and rich mixture of Newcastle’s population.

Scholarship – to build a culture of lifelong learning and inquiry through a rigorous and innovative Catholic curriculum. Service – to be informed by a faith that does justice. To challenge our boys to be “Men for and with Others”. To be in companionship with –and learning from – the disenfranchised, the marginalised and the most in need. To serve as Jesus did.

Leadership – to develop young men who are compassionate, intellectually distinguished, and morally courageous. To create young men of integrity who become effective “agents of change” for the world.

forminggreatmen

men of competence

men of conscience

men of compassion

men of commitment

Our Strategic Intents

Strategic Intent 1

a boy’s learning

We aspire to:

• ensure that the classroom climate is such that all pupils can aspire and achieve

We will:

• implement common classroom routines across all classrooms

• implement clear, effective procedures for support and monitoring of all cover lessons

• implement clear and effective systems for monitoring the classroom climate

• ensure appropriate and consistent responses to poor classroom behaviour

• re-establish clear expectations for classroom behaviour with teachers and pupils in keeping with ‘Learning at St Cuthbert’s’

• have programmes of study that truly reflect our Catholic Curriculum enabling all boys to succeed

• review schemes of work and curriculum plans to ensure that they identify the essential knowledge and skills that pupils need

• ensure that plans for learning in all subjects enable staff to support pupils with SEND to achieve their potential

• ensure that planning and implementation of curriculum leads to pupils and students making demonstrable progress across the full range of subjects

• offer all boys high-quality lesson resources and explanations (via shared planning)

• have systems and processes in place that are designed to provide graduated approach to meeting need

• build departmental curriculum development time

• offer high quality professional development on effective teaching

• develop and implement a clear framework for assessment and feedback

• raise the understanding of teaching staff about their responsibilities within the graduated approach

• annually audit all Education, Health and Care Plans and provision in place for individual pupils

• use evidence-based interventions to support pupils with their learning

• review the curriculum allocation at both Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4

• keep the curriculum under regular review

• investigate usage of some parallel groups at Key Stage 3

• review blocks to ensure maximum coverage for pupil/student choice

to fully embrace a boy-centred approach to teaching and learning to ensure that St Cuthbert’s is a place where every boy can aspire, and every boy can achieve

men for the 21st century Strategic Intent

We aspire to:

• promote and witness to a faith that does justice

We will:

• ensure that all members of the school community have a clear understanding of the Church’s teaching on the ‘preferential option for the poor’ and ‘care for our common home’ and that these fundamental teachings inform and direct all policies, procedures and action plans

• ensure that all staff, academic and support, have a clear understanding of the role of the lay educator in the life of the Catholic Church

• ensure that all staff are empowered to fulfil their role as witnesses in the daily life of the school

• ensure that as a result of staff understanding, and action Christ truly is the ‘ever-present’ teacher in every classroom

• provide ready access to safeguarding policies and procedures to all staff, volunteers, and visitors to school

• be a leader in child protection and safeguarding, creating a community where all can thrive and become the best version of themselves

• provide timely reminders of key documents and procedures via safeguarding update and in response to contextual safeguarding

• raise the understanding of teaching staff about their responsibilities as teachers and Form Tutors

• review PSHE and RSE programmes to ensure contextual safeguarding is a key feature throughout

• work to improve the punctuality and attendance within Sixth Form using a range of targeted interventions and support

• development of the ‘professional learner’

• encourage students to identify three ‘study’ periods per week on their timetable to promote independent study

• re-establish clear expectations of work within and beyond the classroom with students and teachers

• review super-curricular resources and develop systems to ensure that these are effective

to establish, local, national, and global mindedness and environmental stewardship as cornerstones of St Cuthbert’s education in light of the teachings of ‘Lumen Gentium’, ‘Laudato Si’, and ‘Fratelli Tutti’.

men for others

to fully embrace a holistic approach to curricular and co-curricular opportunities, to help form well-rounded, balanced young men who are willing and able to live their lives ‘for others’ – understanding the need to put their gifts at the service of the ‘Common Good’.

We aspire to:

We will:

• enable all members of the school community to know “ the gift of God!" (John 7:10 Catechism of the Catholic Church §2560)

• provide all pupils with liturgical and sacramental celebrations woven from signs and symbols (CCC§1145)

• provide pupils/students with increased opportunities to plan and lead prayer and liturgy in school

• provide pupils/students with experience of the rich variety of prayer within the Catholic tradition

• ensure the prayer needs of the boys of other faiths are sought, reviewed and met

• develop opportunities for leadership of the liturgical and sacramental life of the school

• ensure that the calendar for the academic year is informed and guided by the liturgical calendar

• increase the take-up of identified groups within the co-curricular offer

• provide clear and timely information to all pupils, parents and carers about the range of cocurricular opportunities on offer so that informed decision about involvement can be made

• actively seek feedback from pupils and students about the quality of the co-curricular and personal development offer so that our offer adapts to the changing needs of the boys

• further develop the work of the School Council and the Pupil Voice Strategy, giving pupils and students a wide range of leadership opportunities

• actively encourage all members of the school community to take an active part in the work of the School Council

• provide opportunities for the boys to learn about Catholic and British values including synodality and democracy via the work of the School Council

• provide increased opportunities for pupil leadership and feedback to school leaders and governors

organisational excellence

As part of this strategic process, the school examines every aspect of its physical and educational environment –past, present and future – and confirms the areas for development. This section of our strategic plan guides the development of property, particularly the physical space, to ensure that it is aligned with the Vision, Mission and Values, future enrolments and educational trends.

We aspire to: We will:

• develop flexible masterplans in support of the school’s vision, mission and values

• develop the physical environment to support the highest quality of education

• ensure that property and financial management is proactive and future focused

• expand initiatives to enhance sustainability

• improve the social and dining space for the benefit of the boys

• develop and extend the current Dining Room to provide enhanced and improved facilities for the boys

• increase the external social space for the boys by designing and constructing an additional MUGA (Multi-Use Games Area) adjacent to the existing one

• design and construct a multi-use 4G pitch for all-weather training and fixtures

• renew and replace all interactive whiteboards and projectors across the school, integrating audio-visual equipment in each classroom

• use state of the art information technology to aid teaching, learning and the development of the curriculum

• upgrade all desktop computers to ensure that they can use the most up to date software available

• complete the implementation of ‘dark fibre’ internet capability by renewing and replacing all switches and servers moving storage to cloud-based services where appropriate

• ensure that teachers have the resources they require to deliver an innovative Catholic Curriculum

Our focus for 2023-2024

‘Learning at St Cuthbert’s’ fully embedded across the school

Forming Great Men…

‘Dream Big Dreams’: raising aspirations

great order and great manners lead to great behaviour across the school

‘Learning at St Cuthbert’s’ is our approach to teaching and learning. This includes a commitment to high expectations and inclusive learning to maximise the potential of all pupils. Scaffolding and modelling are regular features in all lessons supporting all pupils to progress and be appropriately challenged. All lessons are rich in assessment and supported by the teacher’s explanations that are clear and explicit. Our approach to ‘knowledge recap’ and ‘knowledge summary’ are key features of all lessons.

‘Dream Big Dreams’ throughout his pontificate Pope Francis has encouraged all young people to ‘dream big dreams’. This concept of raising individual and collective aspirations pervades all aspects of our academic and pastoral curriculum. Our personal development and co-curricular programmes are aimed at helping the boys to ‘dream big dreams’ to become ‘great men’. At St Cuthbert’s all of our work is aimed at the formation of the whole person. To do this, we, and they, must dream big dreams.

‘Great order’ and ‘Great Manners’ is our approach to behaviour and attitudes. Our Catholic curriculum, our commitment to the formation of the whole person and our vision of forming great men, require the foundations of great order and great manners. We are committed to ensuring the highest standards of behaviour. Our innovative behaviour curriculum designed is to help the boys know and understand the importance of great order and great manners and the part they play in forming great men.

School Prayer

Ever living God, who did call your servant Cuthbert to proclaim the Gospel in northern England and gave him a loving heart and gentle spirit:

Grant us grace to live as he did, in simplicity, humility and love for the poor.

Grant us also the grace to become people of competence, conscience, compassion, and commitment, so that we might give our lives, as our patron did, in the service of others.

Amen