RE Curriculum

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Religious Education Curriculum Statement

Religious Education Curriculum Directory 2012-2025:

In Years 5-6, our Religious Education curriculum is based on the delivery of the RE Curriculum Directory, supported by the 'The Way, the Truth and the Life' Catholic Primary Religious Education Programme, which guides the teaching and learning of Religious Education throughout the school. Our RE curriculum enables the children to explore key questions of life from the Christian tradition and how to put what they have learned into context.

Religious Education Directory - To Know You More Clearly:

In line with the Diocese of Shrewsbury support for planning; our EYFS, Year 1, 2, 3 and 4 classes will deliver their Religious Education curriculum based on the delivery of the new RED. In Year 1, 2, 3 and 4 this will be supported by the 'Vine & Branches' Catholic Education Publication. All pupils will be invited to encounter Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ as the living person at the heart of their study in a way that respects their individual religious identity.

They enjoy the creative, practical lessons which motivate and inspire them to discuss and explore a wide range of themes covered within the programmes of study.

In Year Three pupils are supported in the preparation to receive the sacraments of Reconciliation and First Holy Communon.

“Following the footsteps of Jesus – excellence in a nurturing and exciting environment”

The primary purpose of Catholic Religious Education is to come to know and understand God’s revelation which is fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ.’

(Religious Education Curriculum Directory (3-19) for Catholic Schools and Colleges in England and Wales 2012)

At St Clare’s Catholic Primary School, Religious Education is central to the life of our school. We aim to educate our children and guide them in becoming religiously literate young people who will, in turn, pass on the gift of faith to future generations. We want every child to be a happy and enthusiastic learner of RE, and to be eager to achieve their very best in order to fulfil their God-given talents. We firmly believe that the recipe for success is high quality teaching in RE, which is central to the life of our happy, caring and nurturing school.

Intent

At St Clare’s Catholic Primary School, we are committed to our Catholic Faith and provide a nurturing environment that reflects the teachings of the church. Our children are taught by example to grow as happy, responsible, independent, creative and adaptable young people, showing tolerance among themselves and towards others. We seek to develop an ethos whereby the spiritual, moral, social and cultural needs of all within the school community are supported.

The ‘Way, the Truth and the Life’ and 'The Vine and the Branches' are the RE schemes recommended by the Shrewsbury Diocese and used at our school. It is firmly rooted in scripture and presents Catholicism as a world Church, open to the truth in other religions and it encourages learners to engage with and discuss the big issues in our world today.

The centrality of the Mass in the lives of Catholics is present throughout the teaching and learners can explore this together in ways that are appropriate for each age group. The scheme of work presents children with meaningful activities, requiring a wide range of skills, which help to develop their religious understanding and knowledge and encourage their appreciation of Christ’s most wonderful gift to us.

Implementation

Religious Education is at the centre of everything we do as a Catholic school and permeates through every aspect of the curriculum and school life. We ensure that a minimum of 10% of Curriculum time is allocated for RE teaching across all key stages. The requirements of the RE curriculum are met through the scheme ‘The Way the Truth and The Life’ which in turn meets the requirements of the Religious Education Curriculum Directory set out by the Bishop’s Conference of England Wales. All requirements at St Clare’s are met at a standard that equals or is better than those of Literacy at all key stages and Foundation stage.

Through the high standard and exceptional teaching of RE, pupils are inspired to become critical thinkers and to reflect deeply upon their own faith journey. They are challenged through the topics taught, to think about how they put the teachings of the church and Jesus into practise in their own daily lives. The children are encouraged to continually think about their own spirituality and teachers plan opportunities for children to explore this through discussion, lesson, prayer and weekly Prayer and Liturgy. A high priority is given to the formation of pupils in their understanding of, involvement in and service to building the Kingdom of God and taking care of our common home.

Each phase uses the RE level descriptors from the Bishops’ conference to assess the attainment of the children and their progress is tracked on a termly basis. Teachers also highlight ‘I can statements’ which reflect the children’s learning across a unit. The children’s work in moderated by staff across the school termly to ensure judgements are well evidenced and verified. Children’s work is assessed not only on the content of their assessment piece but on their individual, group and oral work through each topic. This enables both class teachers and the subject leader to monitor coverage and identify progress made throughout the pupils’ time at school.

Each unit begins with a ‘cold task’ to assess the children’s prior knowledge and at the end of each unit of work a ‘hot task’ is completed to measure progress through the topic. This is used as a monitoring and assessment tool by teachers and a self-assessment tool by pupils.

Impact

What is the impact of our curriculum on the pupils?

They are well prepared for the next stage of their education as confident and enthusiastic learners who are witness to Christ in their words and actions
They are happy learners within RE. They experience a wide-ranging number of learning challenges in RE and know appropriate responses to them.
They produce good quality work which they are proud of.
They will be able to reflect and consider important questions about RE
They deepen their appreciation of their faith and fulfil their God-given talents
Visits within RE have enriched the lives of the children and they are able to discuss how the experience impacted their knowledge and understanding.
They achieve consistently well in all areas of Religious Education and make great progress.
Children of all abilities and backgrounds achieve well in RE, reflected in good or outstanding progress that reveals a clear learning journey.
They talk enthusiastically about their learning in RE and are eager to further their learning in the next stages of their education.
There is a proven track record of success in assessments that reflects the impact of deep learning.
There are clear outcomes focus and guide all RE development plans and drive improvement.
The majority of children are working at age related expectations by the end of EYFS, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2.
They will develop their relationship with God and become religiously literate.
Are confident, resilient and actively engaged in the wider society.
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.
They 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.
The school environment reflects and celebrates our Catholic faith
They will grow to know and love God, develop their moral and spiritual nature and deepen their faith.
They will live their faith in an active and positive way, always aware of the presence and love of Christ guiding them.