Overview

Welcome

Welcome to the subscribers’ area of the website. You now have access to all the resources you need to run the Common Good Schools programme.

Our relationship with you

The Common Good Schools programme has been created by Together for the Common Good: a small charity working to strengthen the bonds of social trust and designed in partnership with teachers and other educational professionals.

At Common Good Schools we see ourselves as a partner rather than a provider and we’re delighted that you are partnering with us. We want a relationship with you and your school in the same way that you will make relationships with local groups and institutions in your school’s neighbourhood.

Our work is to call people to fulfil their vocational responsibility by putting Common Good principles into practice and working with others of different opinions and backgrounds in shared purpose. Your school’s initiative is best understood as a progression, a journey, which will develop over time rather than a one-off event or project.

Pupils should see an obvious benefit from all three components of the programme (lessons, assemblies and community engagement activities) and the change witnessed needs to be tangible. All involved should be left with a sense of pride in their school and community.

Common Good Schools staff are with you every step of the way. Don’t hesitate to be in touch for support and guidance.

What is the Common Good?

The Common Good principles

Induction Training

Impact on students and school

What is the Common Good?

The Common Good is an ancient idea that resonates across many cultural traditions, from shalom to Aristotle. This programme draws from the Christian understanding of the Common Good, rooted in Catholic Social Teaching.

However, putting the Common Good into practice requires a coherent set of principles. Together for the Common Good has developed a simple framework called ‘Common Good Thinking’. These principles are universal and yet are rooted in the gospel.

The Common Good is much more than an idea, it is a rigorous concept that leads to human flourishing. For the sake of clarity, this is the definition underpinning these resources:

“The Common Good is the shared life of a society in which everyone can flourish - as we act together in different ways that all contribute towards that goal, enabled by social conditions that mean every single person can participate. We create these conditions and pursue that goal by working together across our differences, each of us taking responsibility according to our calling and ability.”

The Common Good principles

At the heart of Common Good Thinking is a coherent framework of principles to put into practice in our everyday lives. Click each principle below to learn a little more about it.

The Common Good Principles weave throughout these resources.

At KS2 we focus on The Common Good, Human Dignity, Solidarity, Subsidiarity, Stewardship and Option for the Poor.

At KS3/4 a broader range of principles are taught (see below). Principles in yellow fall under theme of ‘The Human Person’ and principles in green, ‘Human Relationships’.

Pupils associate the principles with the icons in the slides, on the stickers and poster found in the lesson tab

The Common Good is the shared life of a society in which everyone can flourish - as we act together in different ways that all contribute towards that goal, enabled by social conditions that mean every single person can participate.

We create these conditions and pursue that goal by working together across our differences, each of us taking responsibility according to our calling and ability.

The Common Good is built as people participate freely in the shared activities that generate it.

It is not a utopian ideal and cannot, by definition, be imposed.

Every person is worthy of respect simply by virtue of being human.

All human beings are of equal worth in the eyes of God.

Work is more than just a way to make a living – it is good for our humanity, because through work we participate in God’s great creative plan.

People matter more than things: each human life has value, from the youngest to the oldest, from the weakest to the strongest.

Induction Training

All staff who will be involved with Common Good Schools - teaching lessons, delivering assemblies, facilitating community engagement activities and members of SLT - are warmly invited to attend the Induction Training. Here are the documents you will require during the training session.

Community Mapping Sheet

KS2 Unit Plan

Introduction to the CST principles

Please print a copy of the Community Mapping Sheet and bring it along.

Impact on pupils & school

We know that having a positive impact on pupils is important to your school. It’s also important to us at Common Good Schools

As your partner, we want to equip you with tools to help you measure impact in terms of children’s learning, its application and the impact within your local community. The following are provided for you:

End of Unit Quiz - you will find one for each key stage in the Week 6 lesson downloads
Family Reflection Sheets – you will find one in each week's lesson downloads
Staff Report on Community Engagement
Photography & Filming Consent Form