The Catholic school community
The Catholic school community consists of families and school staff and is supported by the parish and the wider community. Together, they constitute the ‘educating community’ of the Catholic school.
- Each member brings particular knowledge, skills and capacities that play important roles in enriching the Catholic school community.
- The Catholic Church stresses the importance of the entire educating community of a Catholic school working collaboratively together.
"To educate a child, it takes an entire village. It is an educational alliance ideally underwritten by all members of the village, for whom the task of accompanying each child is not the exclusive responsibility of the father and the mother, but of all members of the community."
- Pope Francis
Parents and carers
Parents are the first and primary educators of their children.
- Catholic schools purposefully partner with parents and carers in the education of their children.
- Collaborating with the parish and wider community supports this partnership.
- The most effective partnerships intentionally align to the faith formation, learning and well-being of young people.
Benefits of community
We know that when all stakeholders – students, families, schools, parish and communities – are engaged and working collaboratively to build strong learning communities, students:
- achieve better outcomes
- attend school more regularly
- stay on at school longer.
Collaborative school communities are stronger communities because they build on local resources and foster social capital.
"The strongest and most effective schools are the schools that work with and affect the communities that affect them."
- Hargreaves and Shirley, 2009