Religious Education

At St. John’s Catholic Primary School, our Religious Education (RE) curriculum is at the core of our Catholic ethos, providing students with a deep understanding of their faith and how it shapes their lives. Through a broad and balanced curriculum, we aim to nurture pupils’ spiritual, moral, and academic growth, helping them to develop a strong relationship with God, grounded in the teachings of Jesus and the traditions of the Catholic Church.

Our RE curriculum encourages students to explore their gifts and talents, promoting the belief that each child is made in the image and likeness of God. Teachers create meaningful links between RE and other areas of the curriculum, allowing students to see how their efforts, words, and actions reflect their faith. Lessons are designed to be creative and engaging, drawing on strategies from ongoing INSET training. This includes task planning, retrieval activities, and opportunities for pupils to express their ideas and opinions, ensuring high levels of engagement and dynamic learning experiences.

Religious Education at St. John’s is integrated with other subjects, particularly through music, drama, art, and ICT. By incorporating these elements into RE teaching, we ensure that lessons are not only academically challenging but also spiritually enriching. This interdisciplinary approach helps pupils connect their faith with all aspects of their learning, encouraging creativity and self-expression in line with our Catholic values.

To ensure the continued success of our RE curriculum, staff receive regular, focused professional development. Dedicated meeting times are used to introduce new developments in the RE curriculum, ensuring that teachers remain up to date with best practices and can incorporate them into their planning. This commitment to staff development allows us to continually enhance the quality of RE teaching, keeping lessons engaging, purposeful, and reflective of the school's Catholic mission.

Through our dynamic and well-rounded RE curriculum, we aim to foster a love of learning and a deepened understanding of faith, preparing our pupils to lead lives grounded in compassion, service, and a commitment to the teachings of Christ.

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, 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 In God’s Name 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 mission, to Let The Light of Christ Shine In Us, 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.