Religious Education

Intent

As a Catholic School, Religious Education and the Gospel Values are at the core of the curriculum. Our intent is to enable every child to grow in their personal relationship with God; to know that God created each and every one of us and that we are all precious in the eyes of God and made in His image and likeness.

Our Religious Education lessons will help develop the knowledge, skills and understanding of Scripture as well as allowing the children to grow in spiritual awareness. 

As well as developing a personal relationship with God, the children will also develop respect for others, an inclusive world, contribute positively to society and help protect our world, guided by the principles of Catholic Social Teaching (CST).

Implementation

From EYFS through to Year 6, our school follows Margaret Carswell’s programme for the teaching of RE. The materials are mapped to the new Religious Education Directory (RED) and are differentiated by the RED End of Phase Outcomes, to an age-appropriate level.

Content is arranged deliberately to mirror the Liturgical Calendar and so the life of Jesus is explored 'logically', at the same time in school as it is in the Church.  In God's Name presents a Catholic world view through learning about the Traditions of the Church, Human Experience, Creation and Scripture, named as the sources of revelation in Dei Verbum.

To enable teachers to feel confident and engaged with the subject, the Key Information for Teachers (KIT) necessary for the teaching of the theological content, is vital, and a key component of every resource. Further, videos for staff and pupils at each phase level provide additional support

Although In God’s Name provide the building blocks for our Religious Education teaching content, it is supplemented by additional resources such as the Diocese of Westminster’s Rooted In Love materials and CAFOD’s online resources, which have a specific focus on CST.

Gospel values are embedded in all aspects of the curriculum and not limited to the teaching of Religious Education.

Impact

We continually strive for excellence in all areas and continually monitor and assess all aspects of the teaching and learning of RE teaching, including displays, assessed tasks, pupil voice, questionnaires and book scrutiny. 

Through our Catholic teaching, we prepare the children for citizenship in today’s diverse society, both locally and globally.  We enable the children to develop care and compassion for themselves, each other and our global neighbours.  As a result, the children are fully living out our school mission, and are equipped with the skills and knowledge to allow them to positively contribute to the community in which they live.

Through regular monitoring it is certain that the school is maintaining its distinctive Catholic nature.