RE Curriculum
Intent:
We are a Catholic school and we are committed to the Catholic Faith, recognising and valuing every individual as special and unique in the image and likeness of God.
Religious Education at St. Chad's Catholic Primary School respects and promotes each child’s innate capacity for wonder, awe, reverence and spirituality. Our Religious Education curriculum leads our children to aspire to be the best they can be; children are taught about God’s love; they learn about their Christian responsibilities; children are provided with experiences of church, Catholic and Christian traditions, as well as being taught to be respectful and understanding of people and traditions from other faith backgrounds. Through Religious Education our children learn about their unique place and contribution both towards and within the home, school and parish community.
Implementation:
At St. Chad's Catholic Primary School we follow the ‘Come and See’ Religious Education Programme in line with guidance from the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle. This programme is followed throughout school from Nursery through to Year 6.
This programme provides:
- opportunities for celebration, prayer and reflection in implicit and explicit ways.
- children with the language of religious experience - a 'literacy' in religious activities, places, stories, symbols and rituals, people and objects.
- a 'systematic presentation of Christian event, message and way of life' in ways appropriate to the age and stage of development of the child.
- that for its implementation and production it requires the adults involved to understand the underlying theological as well as educational principles.
- appropriate materials about other faiths.
- academic respectability as in other curricular areas – utilising appropriate stages from the National Curriculum.
The programme explores the religious dimensions of questions about life, dignity and purpose within the Catholic tradition. Links are made with the children's own experience and with universal experience. It will raise questions and provide material for reflection by the children on their own experiences. It will enable them to explore the beliefs, values and way of life of the Catholic tradition and where appropriate other faith traditions.
Overview of Content
'Come and See' is taught through a series of 9 topics exploring:
Community of faith – Church
Celebration in ritual – Sacraments
Way of life – Christian Living
Other faith traditions are also explored through discreet topics.
The process for delivering the topics in 'Come and See' has three stages - Explore, Reveal and Respond which enable the pupils with the development of knowledge, understanding, skills and the fostering of attitudes.
10% of teaching time is dedicated to the teaching of RE.
The Process
Search – Explore (1 week) This is the introduction to the topic where the children's life experience is explored, the questions it raises are wondered at, shared, investigated and their significance reflected on.
Revelation – Reveal (usually 2 weeks) This is the heart of the programme where knowledge and understanding of the Catholic faith is revealed through the Word, in Scripture, Tradition, doctrine, prayers, rites and Christian living.
Response – Respond (1 week) This is where the learning is assimilated, celebrated and responded to in daily life. This reflective work is collated in the class Respond scrapbooks which travel up through the school with each class.
Other Faiths and Religions
Judaism is studied in the Autumn Term. The other religion to be studied is Islam during Summer Term.
Assessment
Ongoing informal assessment against the Standard Indicators. Assessment is moderated internally and externally within key stage moderation sessions and Diocesan Moderation sessions.
Impact
As a result of these strategies, children at St Chad's Catholic Primary School:
- Are well prepared for the next stage of their education as confident and enthusiastic learners.
- Produce good quality work which they are proud of.
- Achieve consistently well in all areas of Religious Education and make at least good progress.
- Are happy, well rounded individuals who have developed a deep-rooted relationship with God and understanding of their Catholic faith.
- Are ambassadors for Christ who are ready to go out into the world and proclaim the values of the Gospel confidently, building the Kingdom of God through compassion, justice, love and forgiveness in their relationship with others.
- Understand that they are part of the family of God and know how they can play their part in this Global family united by Christ.
We also use the Diocesan recommended materials from Ten:Ten entitled ‘Life to the full’ for the teaching of Relationships and Sex Education.