Catholic Social Teaching is based on the belief that God has a plan for creation, a plan to build his kingdom of peace, love and justice. It holds that God has a special plan for every single one of us, whoever we are. Our part in this plan is not just limited to things ‘spiritual’ or times when we do ‘religious things.’ It involves every aspect of our lives, from the things we pray about, to how we live as a responsible global citizen. Our part in this story is a kind-of vocation for the common good, a call to treat everyone as our brothers and sisters. It is something that we all share.

The Catholic Church has six main principles of Catholic Social Teaching that we share with our children through all that we do, through the curriculum, assemblies, special events and activity throughout the school year. We use Westminster’s ‘Rooted in Love’ and CAFOD resources to support our Catholic Social Teaching.

Click on each heading below to find out more about each principle.

Catholic Social Teaching

We teach the children that, as Catholics, we are called to serve by God.  Therefore, we teach our pupils the importance of serving others and promoting social justice.  By engaging in acts of service and advocating for those in need, pupils develop a sense of worth by understanding their ability to positively impact the world.  Each pupil has a crucial role in our school, holding our faith and social justice close to their hearts. We are advocates for social change, which Pope Francis has advocated as he invites us all to be Missionary Disciples of Christ.

Here are a few of the jobs the children have around the school:

Phase	Catholic Social Teaching
Phase EYFS	Gardening Leaders
Phase 1/2	Playtime Equipment Leaders
Phase 3/4	Library Leaders & Litter Picker Leaders
Year 5	Caritas Ambassadors
Year 6	Play Leaders & Reception Buddies

There are also many other jobs that the children have, some of which are voted for by the other pupils and some which are selcted by the staff. These are listed below:

Catholic Social Teaching

House Captains

Class Apostles

Prayer Leaders

Eco Ambassadors

Digital Leaders

Book Monitors

Tidy Up Monitors

Line Monitors

At Sacred Heart, we strive to ensure that all our children recognise their important role in continuing Christ’s mission by promoting the Catholic Social Teachings, where together we call for a better, more just world. Our Caritas Ambassadors lead the way in school; they put their faith into action and are involved in charitable acts, aware of environmental issues as stewards of creation and promote love for their neighbours where people can live in peace and dignity.

	Autumn	Spring	Summer
St Anne – Nursery	Collecting food for Bushey Food Bank at Harvest Christmas Elf Run for Mary’s Meals Making Christmas Cards for the local community	Send Thank you Cards to People Who Help US Mufti Day for CAFOD’s Emergency Fund Collecting for Catholic Children’s Society Easter Hunt for their class charity – Watford Hospital’s Children’s Ward	Fundraising for class charity – Watford Children’s Society Fundraising for Mary’s Meals Looking after Chicks, flowers and and plants
St Joseph – Reception	Collecting food for Bushey Food Bank at Harvest Christmas Elf Run for Mary’s Meals Making Christmas Cards for the local community	Send Thank you Cards to People Who Help US Mufti Day for CAFOD’s Emergency Fund Collecting for Catholic Children’s Society Pyjamas Mufti Day for their class charity – Save the Children	Fundraising for class charity – Save the Children Fundraising for Mary’s Meals Looking after butterflies, flowers and and plants
St Francis – Reception	Collecting food for Bushey Food Bank at Harvest Christmas Elf Run for Mary’s Meals Making Christmas Cards for the local community	Send Thank you Cards to People Who Help US Mufti Day for CAFOD’s Emergency Fund Collecting for Catholic Children’s Society Donating toys for their class charity – The Toy Project	Fundraising for class charity – The Toy Project Fundraising for Mary’s Meals Looking after butterflies, flowers and and plants
St Anthony – Year 1	Collecting food for Bushey Food Bank at Harvest Christmas Elf Run for Mary’s Meals Making Christmas Cards for the local community	Send Thank you Cards to Bushey Museum Mufti Day for CAFOD’s Emergency Fund Collecting for Catholic Children’s Society Fun Run for their class charity – The Heart Foundation	Fundraising for class charity – The Heart Foundation Fundraising for Mary’s Meals Singing songs to the local care home
St Cecilia – Year 1/2	Collecting food for Bushey Food Bank at Harvest Christmas Elf Run for Mary’s Meals Making Christmas Cards for the local community	Send Thank you Cards to Bushey Museum Mufti Day for CAFOD’s Emergency Fund Collecting for Catholic Children’s Society Completing an obstacle course for their class charity – Play Skills	Fundraising for class charity – Play Skills Fundraising for Mary’s Meals Singing songs to the local care home
St Therese – Year 2	Collecting food for Bushey Food Bank at Harvest Christmas Elf Run for Mary’s Meals Making Christmas Cards for the local community	Send Thank you Cards to Bushey Museum Mufti Day for CAFOD’s Emergency Fund Collecting for Catholic Children’s Society Dress to Express Mufti Day for their class charity – Place2Be	Fundraising for class charity – Place2Be Fundraising for Mary’s Meals Singing songs to the local care home
St Bernadette – Year 3	Litter Picking Collecting food for Bushey Food Bank at Harvest Christmas Elf Run for Mary’s Meals Making Christmas Cards for the local community	Send Thank you Cards to Bushey Museum Litter picking Mufti Day for CAFOD’s Emergency Fund Collecting for Catholic Children’s Society Animal Mufti Day for their class charity – The World Wildlife Fund	Fundraising for class charity – The Heart Foundation Fundraising for Mary’s Meals Volunteering at the school’s Big Tidy Up Saturday
St Peter – Year 3/4	Litter Picking Collecting food for Bushey Food Bank at Harvest Christmas Elf Run for Mary’s Meals Making Christmas Cards for the local community	Send Thank you Cards to Bushey Museum Litter picking Mufti Day for CAFOD’s Emergency Fund Collecting for Catholic Children’s Society Making and selling bird see bags for their class charity – Four Paws UK	Fundraising for class charity – Four Paws Uk Fundraising for Mary’s Meals Volunteering at the school’s Big Tidy Up Saturday
St Alphonsa – Year 4	Litter Picking Collecting food for Bushey Food Bank at Harvest Christmas Elf Run for Mary’s Meals Making Christmas Cards for the local community	Send Thank you Cards to Bushey Museum Litter picking Mufti Day for CAFOD’s Emergency Fund Collecting for Catholic Children’s Society Charity Walk for their class charity – Cancer Research	Fundraising for class charity – Cancer Research Fundraising for Mary’s Meals Volunteering at the school’s Big Tidy Up Saturday
All of Year 5	Setting up lunchtime games for Infants Leading Prayer Club for all phases Collecting food for Bushey Food Bank at Harvest Leading Poppies Appeal Volunteering at the Sacred Heart Church’s Macmillan Coffee Morning Making Christmas Cards for the local community Leading the Samaritan Christmas Box Appeal Leading the Christmas Elf Run for Mary’s Meals Running a Mary’s Meals Stall at the Christmas Bazaar Delivering Christmas cards to the local community Making Christmas Hampers for the Bushey Food Bank	Setting up lunchtime games for Infants Leading Prayer Club for all phases Mufti Day for CAFOD’s Emergency Fund Collecting for Catholic Children’s Society Leading and supporting classes with selecting their class charity and holding a fundraising event. St Josephine Bakhita Year 5 – Making and selling a cookbook for their class charity – Make a Wish St Padre-Pio Year 5/6 – Car Wash for their class charity – The Hertfordshire and Essex Air Ambulance	Setting up lunchtime games for Infants Leading Prayer Club for all phases Fundraising for class charity – Year 5 – Make a Wish, Year 5/6 – The Hertfordshire and Essex Air Ambulance Leading Whole School Fundraising for Mary’s Meals Volunteering at the Summer School Fete
All of Year 6	Welcome buddy with new Reception pupil Collecting food for Bushey Food Bank at Harvest Helping as Elf’s at the Christmas Bazaar Christmas Elf Run for Mary’s Meals Making Christmas Cards for the local community	Reading to Reception Setting up lunchtime games for Infants Mufti Day for CAFOD’s Emergency Fund Collecting for Catholic Children’s Society St Padre-Pio Year 5/6 – Car Wash for their class charity – The Hertfordshire and Essex Air Ambulance St John Bosco Year 6 – Cake sale for their class charity – Make a Wish	Reading to Reception Setting up lunchtime games for Infants Fundraising for class charity – Year 5/6 – The Hertfordshire and Essex Air Ambulance, Year 6 – Make a Wish Leading Whole School Fundraising for Mary’s Meals Volunteering at the Summer School Fete