Our School Mission Statement: Living and Learning with Christ as our Guide.

Our Mission Statement, along with the Dominican motto ‘Laudare, Benedicere, Praedicare’ (to Praise, to Bless and to Preach the word of God), ensures that Christ is at the heart of our School, here at St. Dominic’s Priory.

Aims & Ethos of the School

We aim to create a love of learning in a friendly and happy environment, nurture individuality and instil in our students a sense of community spirit, rooted in Gospel values.

We wish to provide each child with tools that will equip them to, not only succeed academically, but contribute positively to a society in which values of justice and compassion are paramount.

St. Dominic’s welcomes children of all faiths and ethnic backgrounds and, within our school community, diversity is recognised and respected.

Educating the Whole Child

Here at St. Dominic’s, we recognise that children have a wide variety of interests and talents beyond the academic disciplines and these are encouraged and supported through our extra-curricular provision; whether that be on the sports field or in a school production.

As a Catholic school, social, spiritual and moral development plays a part in all subject areas. Beyond the classroom, students are encouraged to be involved in both supporting our chosen charities, and participating in the liturgical life of the school, either as an altar server or by taking part in collective worship as lector or as part of our school choir.

Nurturing the Individual

One of the strengths of our small community is that every pupil has a voice. There is a strong family atmosphere, and a spirit of collaboration is promoted throughout the school.

Investing time and individual attention in all our students helps them to develop into confident, nurturing and caring young people who are ready to go out into the world and make a difference.

Aims

To provide excellence in Teaching and in Learning

We will:

• Ensure we have the highest competency in whole school management
• Foster a high-performance culture in staff and in pupils
• Recruit and retain the highest quality teachers and support their development and wellbeing
• Target excellence in educational outcomes for each and every pupil
• Support all of our students to build their personal confidence and learning potential
• Offer a varied, expansive and competitive curriculum to meet each and every pupil’s needs

To offer an exceptional all-round education

We will:

• Deliver extracurricular provision in sport, music and the performing and arts across the whole school
• Deliver a broad and balanced extra-curricular provision that emphasises participation and extension for Prep and Seniors
• Enhance our extra-curricular facilities at Prep and Seniors to provide pupils with an exceptional platform to pursue their interests and talents

A focus on the whole child

We will:

• Maintain the unique kind spirit and ethos of St. Dominic’s
• Deliver pastoral excellence alongside and with our parents
• View our Prep and Seniors as One School aiming to provide a seamless pastoral path that cares for each and every student as they grow
• Focus on delivering excellence in our pastoral care through highly skilled pastoral leaders
• Adopt a progressive and proactive approach when viewing pupils’ well-being, embedding initiatives to foster pupils’ resilience so they are equipped for the demands of the modern world

A school at the heart of its community

We will:

• Develop close partnerships with local catholic schools, our feeder schools and local educational equivalents in teaching, learning and extra-curricular terms for the benefit of our pupils and theirs
• Utilise our school site, facilities and expertise for the benefit of our local community
• Continue our commitment to charity and giving back to our region and those in need
• To innovatively engage with leading local institutions, organisations and partners in programmes that enrich the opportunities accessible to our pupils

Maintaining and enhancing the school reputation

We will:

• Embed and enrich St. Dominic’s scholarships programmes in academia, sport, music, performing arts and art
• Connect our alumni ever more closely with our school and seek to harness their energy and insight for the benefit of our pupils
• Social media and marketing campaign to ‘highlight’ successes of our current and past pupils

Securing the future

We will:

• Ensure St. Dominic’s has a suitably robust financial position to facilitate its strategic goals
• Focus on delivering the highest standards within an efficient school with a sustainable cost
• Generate alternative income streams to further invest in the School and its pupils
• Ensure sustainable scholarship and bursary spend
• Constantly develop the school estate with a focus on absolute quality and a forward thinking, innovate approach

Ensure all our pupils are well prepared for their next step

We will:

• Established ‘Careers’ programme for higher education and the world of work
• Support a rich curriculum and external societies framework in school to allow students to exercise their interests and passions
• Enable innovation and personal mentoring in our programmes that facilitate pupils to experience work, professional experiences.