Jesus Christ is at the centre of all that we do at St Edmund Campion. From morning and afternoon prayer, prayer before examinations, class and year group assemblies, class and voluntary masses and feast day celebrations, Christ is the model for all of our works, sufferings and joys, expectations and aspirations.

We take very seriously our mission to assist the Church in making Christ known to all people; to assist parents who are the primary educators of their children, in the education and religious formation of their children; to be at the service of the local Church – the diocese, the parish and the Christian home and to be a service to society.

We actively seek to promote Gospel values and the teachings of the Catholic church as an integral part of our mission and all curriculum areas are asked to take every opportunity to explore these values and teachings as a contribution to the creation of the ‘catechetical’ (faith exploring) community within St Edmund Campion.

We offer a full range of extra-curricula opportunities for spiritual development and growth including active retreats at Soli House and Alton Castle, pilgrimages to Lourdes, visiting speakers and Relationship conferences supported by Life. Active participation in the promotion of Justice, Peace and Charity is a key element of this work and all members of the community are encouraged to be involved in Lenten charity events and in supporting various charitable organisations particularly our in-house charity the ‘Christ the Healer’ project.

It is largely the duty of the Form Tutor to ensure that pupils access these opportunities.

For us every member of the learning community is created in the image and likeness of God, has a God given dignity and a right to learn to reach their potential as a child of god with an eternal destiny and therefore matters profoundly. It is this conviction that drives our desire to create a fully inclusive school – we are the only Catholic school in the north of Birmingham with the capacity to serve the full range of disability. We are therefore developing our Chaplaincy team  to include a Catholic Youth and Community worker and contributions from the school pastoral teams to ensure that every member of our learning community has the opportunity to grow in faith.

It follows that all staff must ensure that their actions and teaching promote this ethos.

Staff are expected to lead pupils to a fuller understanding of, and participation in, the Christian way of life, by their example and a most sincere invitation is extended to all staff to participate as fully as they are able in school worship and liturgy.

Staff are asked to consider very carefully their duty of setting the right example to pupils in respect of the following:

• Making it normal practice to begin and end each school day with prayer
• Preparing or facilitating for the pupils the preparing of Form Assembly (possibly using the resources provided in the Tutor Worship box and the Briefing Sheet)
• Attendance at Year Group (weekly) and Key Stage (half-termly) Assemblies, taking a full part in the worship, prayers and hymns.
• Participating as fully as possible in other liturgical activities such as penitential services in Lent and Advent
• Participation in Mass which takes  place throughout the year for classes, Year Groups and the whole school Community.

The assistance of every member of the teaching staff is invited and welcomed in helping pupils to prepare readings, bidding prayers etc.  All staff, including non-Catholics, are most welcome to volunteer for readings etc. themselves.

Every Christian community is, by definition, a worshipping community. If our school is to fulfil its function, it must develop a full and living spirit of prayer and worship.  Below are mentioned some of the ways in which it attempts to do this.

Assemblies

A Form Assembly should be conducted weekly (see ‘Process of Prayer’ P2 St Edmund Campion Prayer Book). Year Group Assemblies are also conducted once a week – a particular day is allocated to each year group and Key Stage Assemblies are conducted once per half term. The assemblies are primarily acts of worship, and although they are also useful for announcements etc., their prime purpose should never be forgotten and due prominence should be given to prayer.
Form Teachers should accompany their forms to assembly at the end of registration and sit with them to ensure good order and participation.

Masses

Masses for all pupils are arranged on a regular basis and on special occasions, eg. Holy days of obligation, Leavers Masses. Key Stage or even whole school Masses are prepared with the feast day of our saint reserved for particular reverence and celebration. Campion Day Mass is one of the highlights of the school year and staff and pupils are encouraged to make a contribution to the liturgy. 
Form groups attend Mass as the climax of their retreat days and are invited to attend a class mass prepared by themselves, in the Chapel, at least once a year
Most Masses are held during the school day and all pupils and staff in the groups involved are expected to attend.  The school also hopes to offer a Voluntary Mass for all staff and pupils at the discretion of the Chaplain to be appointed. 

Retreats and Conferences

Retreats are arranged throughout the school on an annual basis. In Years 7, 8, and 9 form groups take one day off timetable for this important part of their spiritual development.  Year 8 also have the opportunity to go to Alton Castle in June.
In Year 10 and 11, pupils have the opportunity to go to Soli House for their retreat. Sixth formers have the opportunity to attend Hawkstone.
We have introduced LIFE conferences into Key stages 4 and 5 to facilitate the exploration of relationships and sexuality within a Catholic context and to complement the work of the RE and Science Depts in this area.

Other services

Special devotions are arranged at certain times in the Church's year.  eg. Penitential Services during Advent and Lent, devotions to Our Lady in May, Harvest Festival in October, Remembrance Day and Prayers for the Holy Souls in November. 

Prayers

Each school day should begin and end with a prayer.  The compulsory Act of Daily Worship constitutes this prayer for classes attending Assembly; otherwise, prayer should form part of each Form Period. The Chaplain, Head of R.E., or Senior LeadershipTeam can advise or make suggestions if requested.  Tutor Worship Boxes which include a Prayer Book, Double CD of Worship music, a candle and other prayerful material are available for each class.

School Chapel

We are fortunate to have the Blessed Sacrament reserved in the School Chapel during term time.  Staff are themselves encouraged to use the Chapel for a few moments of silent prayer whenever they wish, and to encourage pupils to do 

Chaplains

The school has a Chaplain who is appointed by the Archbishop and responsible directly to him for the spiritual life of the school. We are currently awaiting the appointment of a new chaplain but much good work in this area is currently being undertaken by our Lay Chaplaincy and Catholic Youth Worker, Francis Baines.
She is available to pupils and to all members of staff, and is willing to advise and help in spiritual and pastoral matters.