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, contribute positively to society and help protect our world, guided by the principles of Catholic Social Teaching (CST).

RE - Implementation 

In EYFS and Key Stage 1, we have implemented the RED and are using the model curriculum. Teachers use the diocesan planning support materials and supplement them with Day by Day materials (produced by the Arundel & Brighton Diocese in partnership with St. Mary’s University). Key Stage 1 have also engaged with pilot programmes, trialling resources as recommended by the diocese.

In Key Stage 2, 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

As well as being incorporated in all RE topics, Catholic Social Teaching (CST) is taught explicitly across the school at the beginning of each half-term. The Rooted in Love resources produced by Caritas Westminster are used by all year groups and the themes are regularly revisited through ongoing projects in school, whole-school displays, within our prayer and liturgy.

CST and 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.