Catholic Life and Mission

The Catholic Life at the school is outstanding because the well-being and personal and
spiritual development of pupils and staff is at the heart of the school’s vision and
mission.’ (Section 48 Denominational Inspection – October 2019)

‘Pupils show an excellent development of their spiritual understanding in their everyday lives. They lead prayers with as strong blend of confidence and humility. Pupils express their thoughts and prayers with spontaneity as they show thanks and appreciation for other people in their lives. They consider those less fortunate than themselves, for those suffering and for refugees in areas of the world. Pupils are enriched by the strong Catholic ethos and Gospel values that are central to the school community.’ (ISI Inspection February 2022)

Catholic Social Teaching

We encourage our whole school community to follow the key principles of Catholic Social Teaching that come from Scripture, letters written by the Pope, and examples set by Christians throughout history and that build the foundations of all we do as a school. Classes have been allocated their own principal and mascot and throughout the year are working on showing examples of how we can live our lives through these principles. Each week our Newsletter focuses on one key principle and how we are showing that we are living it out through our thoughts, actions and words.

Catholic Social Teaching Principals at Laleham Lea

• The Whole School—The Common Good
• Nursery— Human Dignity
• Reception—Participation
• Year 1—Promoting Peace
• Year 2—Stewardship
• Year 3—Solidarity
• Year 4—Distributive Justice
• Year 5— Preferential Option for the Poor
• Year 6—Subsidiarity

In July we were delighted to be awarded the Oscar Romero Award – Participator Level! This award recognises Laleham Lea’s commitment to Catholic Social Teaching, ensuring that it is at the heart of our strategy, our curriculum and our practical work.

Local Community (The Common Good, Participation)

Laleham Lea School has always been and remains an inclusive family at the heart of the local community. Our mission statement is at the heart of everything we do as the Laleham Lea family, both in and out of school life. As part of our local community, the school hosts and takes part in a variety of events and opportunities including:

• Parents and are invited to attend our Masses at the John Fisher Chapel, our Christmas and Easter Concerts, School Production and Prize Giving as well as Class Assemblies.
• Classes take it in turns to attend Mass at John the Baptist on a weekly rota with parishioners.
• Four of our Year 6 students represented the school at the annual ‘Start of a New Year’ Mass at St George’s Cathedral.
• Our Choir visits local care homes to sing carols at Christmas and also attended the St Mark’s Church Christmas Fair.
• Our Mini Vinnies visit local care homes to read and share stories with residents.
• Representatives from Laleham Lea take part in the annual Remembrance Service and Parade at at The Lord Roberts at Woodcote Green led by St Mark’s Church. Two Year 6 pupils are chosen to attend the Memorial and lay a wreath on behalf of the school community.
• During the month of May we run a weekly Rosary Club for students and parents.
• Our PTA organises popular events throughout the year including a Christmas Fair, Summer Fair, Film and Quiz Nights.
• We work closely with St Mark’s Church and have held our Christmas Carol concerts, Easter Concerts, Summer Play and PTA Disco there. Many of our Pupils are members of the 25th Purley Beaver, Cubs, Rainbows and Brownies groups which are based at St Mark’s.

Little Disciples (Stewardship, Promoting Peace)

Our ‘Laleham Lea Little Disciples’ have been tasked with promoting our mission statement and spreading love across the school. They lead prayers and assemblies as well as promoting the Catholic Social Teaching principles and embedding them into our daily school life.

Charity (Preferential Option for the Poor)

We support a number of charities including local, national and global campaigns. Our ‘Mini Vinnies’ are dedicated to helping those in need. Students wrote applications to be a ‘Laleham Lea Mini Vinnie’ and two students from each Year Group have been chosen to help lead our charitable efforts. Recent appeals we have supported include:

	Operation Christmas Child – We have supported The Samaritans’ Christmas Shoe Box Appeal for many years. Last Christmas we collected shoe boxes full of lovely Christmas gifts that were sent to children all over the world.
	St Vincent’s Centre – Harvest Donations. This year our Mini Vinnies decided to collect our Harvest donations for the Brixton Vincent’s Centre.
	Over the last two years we raised nearly £1000 for Children In Need with our mufti-days.
	We choose a Lenten Charity each year and this year students chose to dress up brightly and raise money for CAFOD.
	Food Hub – We regularly make donations to Purley Food Hub  as part of our Harvest celebrations as well as at other points during the year.