Community Cohesion

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Community Cohesion
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Catholic education

• Fundamental principles
• In Catholic schools we are concerned with
  educating the whole human person as an individual
  who is whole only in a community relationship
  with others.
• The school is a community which finds its
  meaning and purpose in its relationship with God
  and which seeks to reflect the unity in love of
  the Father, Son and Holy Spirit

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Education and Inspections Act 2006

• E I Act Section 33 (6)
• Schools have a duty to promote community
  cohesion
• Section 154
• The Chief Inspector of Schools should report on
  the contribution made by the school to
  community cohesion (this will happen from
  September 2008)
• Department of Education and Formation of Bishops
  Conference
• Commitment to inspect community cohesion in
  s48 inspections from September 2007

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Definition DCSF guidance for schools

• By community cohesion, we mean working towards a
  society in which there is a common vision and
  sense of belonging by all communities
• a society in which the diversity of peoples
  backgrounds and circumstances is appreciated and
  valued
• a society in which similar life opportunities
  are available to all
• and a society in which strong and positive
  relationships exist and continue to be developed
  in the workplace, in schools and in the wider
  community

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Other related government agendas

• Race and faith are often seen as the most
  frequent friction points between communities, and
  the most visible sources of tension. However,
  discrimination and prejudice can be experienced
  by other groups including the disabled,
  Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender
  communities and different age and gender groups.
  Schools should therefore design their programmes
  to recognise where other strands of the
  equalities agenda including gender, sexual
  orientation, disability and age are
  interconnected with the aspiration to promote
  community cohesion, but should note that the main
  focus of the duty is cohesion across different
  cultures, ethnic, religious or non-religious and
  socio-economic groups.

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Community from a schools perspective dimensions

• the school community the pupils it serves,
  their families and the schools staff, community
  users of the schools facilities
• the community within which the school is located
  the school in its geographical community and
  the people who live or work in that area
• the community of Britain - all schools are by
  definition part of this community
• the global community formed by EU and
  international links.
• In addition, communities of schools for
  example, the networks formed by schools of the
  same or different faiths, or by schools that are
  part of the specialist schools network.

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Integration

• All schools will find it useful to consider how
  different aspects of their work already support
  integration and community harmony
• to take stock of what has worked so far, for
  them and for other schools
• and consider where there may be scope to improve
  their existing work through a more explicit focus
  on the impact of their activities on community
  cohesion.

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Integration or diversity?

• Through their ethos and curriculum schools can
  promote discussion of a common sense of identity
  and support diversity, showing pupils how
  different communities can be united by common
  experiences and values.
• Schools are to promote a common vision and sense
  of belonging (Integration)
• Schools should support and value diversity
  (Multiculturalism)

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Three areas

• Teaching, learning and curriculum
• help pupils to learn to understand others, to
  promote common values and to value diversity, to
  promote awareness of human rights and of the
  responsibility to uphold and defend them, and to
  develop the skills of participation and
  responsible action.
• Equity and excellence
• equal opportunities for all to succeed at the
  highest level possible, removing barriers to
  access and participation in learning and wider
  activities and eliminating variations in outcomes
  for different groups

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Third area

• Engagement and ethos
• provide reasonable means for children, young
  people and their families to interact with people
  from different backgrounds and build positive
  relations, including links with different schools
  and communities
• the provision of extended services
• and opportunities for pupils, families and the
  wider community to take part in activities and
  receive services which build positive interaction
  and achievement for all groups.

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Elements of community cohesion

• Ethnicity
• Culture
• Faith
• Socio-economic background

• Gender
• Age
• Ability
• Disability
• Upbringing

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Links with the inclusion agenda

• Girls and boys
• Minority ethnic and faith groups, travellers,
  asylum seekers
• Pupils who need support to learn English as an
  additional language
• Pupils with special educational needs
• Gifted and talented pupils
• Children looked after by the local authority
• Other children, such as sick children young
  carers those stress pregnant school girls and
  teenage mothers
• Any pupils who are at risk of disaffection and
  exclusion

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Some features in schools

• Cohesion through knowledge of the way of life of
  other pupils in the school and the community
• Cohesion through a recognition of our common
  humanity
• Cohesion through concern for the well-being of
  others in the school community of different race,
  culture, faith, age, upbringing, gender, ability
• Cohesion through common service to help the weak
  and vulnerable in the school, local community and
  the world at large
• Cohesion through a readiness to stand up and be
  counted for adherence to these values
• From Report on 2002 National Meeting of the
  Inter-Faith Network for the UK (Indarjit Singh)

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What does our Faith bring to cohesion?

• Gives a glimpse of the commonality of human
  origins and destiny
• Offers understanding of the truth of the human
  person who we are and how we are to live
• Personhood rests in relationships, in community,
  not in mere individualism a concern for the
  common good
• Clarifies the sources of the virtues that society
  values and teaches respect for others
• (Archbishop Vincent)

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Four arenas for schools

• What we do to integrate those who are from a
  different culture or faith
• What we are doing about religious literacy
  equipping pupils to understand other religions
• Moments in school life where the virtues are
  tested
• The schools moral framework clarity about what
  the school stands for

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Catholic approach to community cohesion

• Significance of Catholic principle of the dignity
  of all human beings equality of all how, and
  the extent to which, this is made real in the
  school.
• Integration of pupils from different ethnic,
  religious or cultural groups into the community
• Extent to which the spiritual and faith
  dimensions of a community or cultural group are
  investigated and understood
• Provision of patterns of moral reasoning to
  inform pupils choices
• Focus on the idea of a community of which pupils
  are members rather than on tolerance and
  individualism

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Catholic approach to community cohesion (2)

• Parents coming together to promote cross-cultural
  contact and community cohesion within the school
• Development of a religious literacy which
  embraces other faiths
• Understanding of the Church, both local and
  universal, as a community and its relationship
  with the world
• Church and inter-faith dialogue as experienced in
  the school

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Other Religions

• Primary schools
• DRE position is that other religions should be
  taught as an aspect of culture what it means to
  live as a Sikh, Hindu, Muslim
• Secondary schools
• Religions taught as culture and faith what
  others believe, how they celebrate and the
  implications for their way of life.

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Inspection

• Framework for Inspection 2007
• Community Cohesion
• 3. How effectively does the school/college
  promote community cohesion?
• Inspectors should evaluate
• how effectively leadership at all levels in the
  school/college promotes community cohesion
• the inclusive nature of the provision for prayer,
  collective worship and liturgical life of the
  school
• how far the Religious Education curriculum
  promotes community cohesion.

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Questions

• TASK
• How would you seek to investigate the extent to
  which the Catholic school promotes community
  cohesion? Who would you talk to and what
  questions would you ask?

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Questions

• Guidance
• Look at this together. How satisfactory is it as
  guidance to schools?

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What should schools be doing now?

• Reviewing their mission statements to see that
  they properly reflect the nature of Catholic
  education
• Considering how they meet the needs of pupils of
  other faiths, denominations or no faith
• Auditing what they currently do in relation to
  the 5 communities of which they are a part
• Determining where they need to give more emphasis
  to a particular community
• Resolving how they will communicate to others the
  quality of their promotion of community cohesion