Every Child Matters

Faith                 Personal Growth

Social Awareness

Community Spirit    Intellectual Values

"Every Child Matters" is one of the latest Government initiatives in education. When I heard about it at a Conference in February, Sophie's saying "for the sake of one child I would have founded the Society" immediately came to mind.

There are five "outcomes" for children and young people (0-19):

1. Staying healthy
2. Enjoying and achieving
3. Keeping Safe
4. Contributing to the community
5. Social and economic well-being

All these become part of the responsibilities of Governors in their schools, for those in Social Services relevant to youth and of course to parents. Every now and then-and far too often we learn through the media of cases like that of Victoria Climbie where the cruelty of her guardians and the negligence of Social Service personnel led to her death.

As well as being reminded of Sophie's maxim, the Five Goals of Sacred Heart Education seemed very close:

Faith
Personal Growth
Intellectual Values
Social Awareness
Community Spirit

I am unsure of the order of these five, but with a bit of imagination, the link between the Society's Goals and the Every Child Matters' outcomes becomes apparent-to me they pair off:

However, that leaves Keeping Safe paired with Faith, not an obvious partner. In our secular world Faith carries a variety of meanings while for us the Society's Goal of Faith is connected with God, God who is good. Psychologists say that a child's most basic need is for a sense of security. To be able to trust, to feel secure, to know oneself and in relation to others as part of our relationship to God in Faith, no better way of keeping safe.

There has been much publicity recently about the Government's programme for Extended Schools: "one which provides access to a range of services and activities, often beyond the school day, to help meet the needs of children, parents and the wider community. This project, ranging from breakfast clubs to after-school facilities available to 7.00 pm has led some Heads and Governors to enter into a debate about the "nanny state" and ever increasing responsibilities-all in aid of Every Child Matters. It is great that there is so much concern.

Especially when we know that one in four children in the United Kingdom live in poverty. It is a sad state of affairs that some 20,000 children truant every day from school, contrast that with those in developing countries where children are desperate to receive education.

We can only hope that the Government initiative will be equally supported by parents, guardians and children themselves.
The Five Sacred Heart Goals are represented in the modern stained glass windows in the chapel at Woldingham.

Dorothy Bell rscj
Province of England – Wales