The Catholic School
What the Church’s 1977 document asks of Catholic schools—and how governors and trustees can help the school live its distinctive mission today.
Explore the questions Read the original document ↗A question of identity and purpose. Published by the Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education on 19 March 1977, The Catholic School describes a school centred on Christ, committed to the formation of the whole person and lived as an educational community. Read it in its historical setting and alongside current Church teaching, diocesan guidance and the duties of your governing body or trust. Its challenge is enduring: Can people see the school’s Catholic mission in the education it offers and the life it shares?
Three lenses for the board
Use these together when reviewing priorities, evidence and the experience of pupils and families.
From the document to the board table
Each theme offers a question to ask leaders and a practical way the board can support the school. Paragraph numbers refer to the 1977 document.
1. Form the whole person
The document sees a school as a place of integral formation where young people encounter culture critically, exercise intelligence and learn to choose responsibly (§§25–32).
Challenge
What do our curriculum, pastoral evidence and pupil voice tell us about intellectual, moral, spiritual and social growth? Who is experiencing the least of this formation?
Support
Protect a broad curriculum and evaluate its effect on pupils’ understanding, agency and character as well as their attainment.
2. Keep Christ at the centre
Christ is described as the foundation of the school’s educational enterprise; the Gospel shapes its aims, relationships and choices (§§33–35).
Challenge
Where is this foundation visible beyond a mission statement—in leadership, policy, prayer and worship, conduct and the treatment of each person?
Support
Make the mission a clear test in strategic decisions, and support leaders in forming staff and governors to understand it.
3. Bring faith, culture and life together
The document calls for the integration of faith and culture, and of faith and life, while affirming the proper value and methods of each subject (§§37–44).
Challenge
Do pupils encounter excellent teaching across the curriculum and opportunities to consider truth, meaning and their responsibilities? Is religious education strong in its own right?
Support
Invest in subject knowledge, religious education and thoughtful curriculum development. Avoid reducing Catholic identity to isolated events or displays.
4. Build a community whose values are lived
Faith is encountered through people and community. The document calls for relationships marked by freedom, love, dignity and shared responsibility (§§43, 53–56, 60–61).
Challenge
How do pupils, staff and families describe the school’s daily culture? Are respect, belonging, forgiveness and participation evident when life is difficult?
Support
Listen to lived experience, address gaps between stated values and practice, and ensure that all members of the community can contribute.
5. Put justice into practice
The school is called to work for a more just society and to embody justice in its own life, with particular concern for those who are poor or lack support (§§57–58).
Challenge
Who faces barriers to admission, participation or achievement? Do costs, communication, provision or assumptions exclude any pupil or family?
Support
Review access and inclusion with evidence from families; direct resources towards barriers and check whether decisions improve participation and dignity.
6. Share responsibility and renew the mission
Parents, staff, pupils and others each have a part to play. The document calls for participation, appropriate professional responsibility and honest self-criticism as circumstances change (§§59–61, 66–73).
Challenge
Whose voice is missing from our planning? Are we willing to change a practice that no longer serves pupils or the mission well?
Support
Clarify responsibilities, respect professional expertise, work with the diocese and parish, and return to evidence of impact after decisions are made.
A simple way to use this at a meeting
This is a formation resource. Apply it alongside current statutory requirements, diocesan protocols and the school’s governing documents.
A prayer for the mission of our school
Lord Jesus, our teacher and our hope,
bring us back to the purpose of this school.
Help us to see each child as a person to be loved and formed,
each member of staff as a witness to be supported,
and each family as a partner to be heard.
Give us courage to ask where our words and actions differ,
wisdom to honour truth in every subject,
and generosity to remove barriers for those most in need.
May our decisions make this a community of faith, learning and service,
where your love is made visible in ordinary life.
Amen.
Continue your formation
This bonus reflection sits alongside EducareM’s Governing with Hope themes. Return to the series, explore the programme diary or ask about formation shaped for your governing board.
View Governing with Hope → View the programme diary → Explore bespoke support →