The School Aims

St Edmund's Catholic School was established by the Roman Catholic people of Portsmouth to provide a Christian education for their children within the discipline and tradition of the Catholic Church. The fundamental aim of the School today is to present a clear Christian philosophy and way of life, providing opportunities in which Christian values may develop. This is reflected in the School motto "Caelum Dives Ingredi" ("To enter Heaven enriched") To encourage spiritual development and understanding of the Faith handed down to us by the Church.

• To create an atmosphere of order, discipline and respect
• To build a school community which cares for all its members and where understanding, mutual trust, friendship and collaboration are fostered.
• To enable every pupil to achieve his or her true potential in every activity.
• To set standards of excellence in teaching and learning and to provide a broad, balanced and relevant curriculum.
• To strengthen self-discipline, responsible maturity and creativity

Attainment and Reporting
Reports, giving essential facts about a pupil's progress and effort in class and examinations are presented at least once a year. Parents are able to discuss this information on the appropriate Consultation Evenings, which are held annually for each Year group.

Pupils will take the National tests towards the end of Year 9 (Key Stage 3) and GCSE examinations are held at the end of Year 11 (Key Stage 4). All pupils then receive their Record of Achievement, a summative document owned by the pupil for use both in and beyond school to support their applications for employment, or entry to Higher Education. The document provides a wider insight into the ability of the pupil and encourages the full development of potential during the child's time at St Edmund's.

Discipline
In a caring Christian community, pastoral care is the concern of each member of staff. In and out of the classroom, pupils are encouraged to show a sense of responsibility and a concern for our standards and the quality of relationships.

At St Edmund's we pride ourselves on the caring and supportive relationships that exist at all levels within our community. For this reason, we take a serious view of any incidents of bullying or intimidating behaviour. The School's anti-bullying policy is rigorous and simple: bullying will not be tolerated.

The anti-bullying policy is seen to be part of the wider Code of Conduct - an agreed set of guidelines for acceptable behaviour drawn up after consultation with staff and pupils. A positive attitude is taken towards discipline and pupils are encouraged to see the link between good behaviour and academic success, through our Behaving to Learn Policy, which includes a reward system. Naturally poor behaviour will bring some sanction.

Special Needs
The School aims to identify pupils with any individual learning need which impedes progress towards their full potential. We seek to provide effective support to address that need. Pupils may have Statements of Special Educational Need or be assessed by the Code of Practice.

The Learning Support Team of Special Needs teachers and assistants offers appropriate levels of provision which can include individual programmes of work, support teaching in class or small group withdrawal. Home-School links are established to assist parents to work in partnership with the School.

Copies of the full Governors' Policy Statement for the Learning Support Department are available from the School on request.

School Exchange
St Edmund's has established strong links with both the Collège St Paul (Caen) and the Gymnasium Franz Haniel (Duisburg). These well-established links ensure regular exchanges between the schools for both pupils and, more recently, teachers.