Flourishing Together in Faith and Hope
Two connected visions invite governors and trustees to ask what it means for children, adults, schools and communities to flourish—and how Catholic education gives that vision its centre in Christ.
Explore the questions Read both documents ↓Flourishing is shared. Flourishing Together offers a collective vision for the education system from the Confederation of School Trusts, the Church of England and the Catholic Education Service. Called to Flourish in Faith and Hope explores that vision specifically for Catholic education through five realms: mission, communion, formation, gifts and fruitfulness. Together they invite a board to look beyond isolated outcomes and ask whose lives are being enriched, whose gifts are being recognised and who is still unable to flourish.
Read the two source documents
They are companions with different scopes: a shared vision for the wider system and a Catholic articulation of flourishing rooted in faith and hope.
Open the PDF ↗
Open the PDF ↗
Five realms of Catholic flourishing
The Catholic document names mission, communion, formation, gifts and fruitfulness. Use each as a lens on pupils, adults and the wider community.
1. Mission · Why are we here?
Flourishing begins with purpose. Catholic education places each person’s dignity and calling within the school’s mission and the life of the Church.
Challenge
Can leaders, staff, pupils and families explain the school’s purpose in ways they recognise in daily experience? Where do strategic decisions draw us towards or away from it?
Support
Use the mission to test priorities, policies, resources and partnerships; return to its effect on people, not only its wording.
2. Communion · Who belongs?
Flourishing is relational. The school is a community in which dignity, mutual care and solidarity are lived, especially when someone is vulnerable or excluded.
Challenge
Who feels known and valued? What do attendance, behaviour, safeguarding, complaints and the voices of families reveal about belonging?
Support
Invest in relationships and accessible communication; remove barriers to full participation and check whether trust grows.
3. Formation · How are we growing?
Children and adults need intellectual, spiritual, moral and professional formation. Learning and faith are brought into conversation around Christ.
Challenge
Does the curriculum deepen knowledge and understanding while nurturing conscience, hope and service? How are staff and governors themselves being formed?
Support
Protect excellent teaching, religious education, prayer and worship, mentoring and sustained professional and spiritual learning.
4. Gifts · What can each person offer?
Flourishing recognises that every person brings gifts. A just community creates opportunities for those gifts to be discovered, developed and shared.
Challenge
Whose gifts are readily recognised, and whose remain unseen? Are pupils with SEND, disadvantaged pupils and quieter voices able to contribute and lead?
Support
Review access to enrichment, responsibility and pupil voice; resource adaptive practice and celebrate contributions beyond attainment alone.
5. Fruitfulness · What grows beyond us?
A flourishing school serves others and the common good. Its fruit is seen in relationships, justice, stewardship and the contribution its members make beyond the school gate.
Challenge
What is changing for pupils, families, the parish and the local community because of our work? Are we caring for our common home?
Support
Choose a few meaningful signs of impact, support service and community partnerships, and revisit longer-term outcomes.
6. Flourishing together · Who is missing?
The wider collective vision challenges the system to prioritise vulnerable children and to create conditions in which adults, schools and communities can flourish together.
Challenge
Are our successes shared fairly? What pressures on staff or families make flourishing difficult, and which require action beyond one school?
Support
Coordinate with the trust or local authority, diocese, parish and community services; advocate for pupils and families when barriers are systemic.
A simple way to use this at a meeting
Use this as a formation resource alongside current statutory responsibilities, diocesan protocols and the school’s governing documents.
A prayer for flourishing together
God of life and hope,
you call each person by name and give gifts for the good of all.
Open our eyes to those who are flourishing
and to those whose gifts and needs we have not yet seen.
Teach us to listen with care and decide with courage.
Keep Christ at the centre of our mission.
Make this school a community of belonging and formation,
where children and adults can grow in faith, knowledge and love.
May the fruit of our work reach beyond these walls
in service, justice and care for our common home.
Amen.
Continue your formation
This bonus reflection sits alongside EducareM’s Governing with Hope series. Read both documents in full and consider how their shared and distinct visions speak to your school.
View Governing with Hope → View the programme diary → Explore bespoke support →