Religious Education Curriculum, Intent, Implementation and Impact Statement

We aim to create

Faithful, Active, Disciples

At St Chad’s our school motto, ‘Grow in love, Live in Peace’ reflects our vision for RE

Our principal aim is that children leave St Chad’s School with a wide range of happy and rich memories in RE formed through interesting and exciting experiences driven through an engaging and comprehensive curriculum which is the basis of knowledge and understanding of the Catholic faith, enabling them to develop a living and personal faith in Jesus Christ and allowing them to know and love God.

Intent:

We are a Catholic school with Catholic Faith at the centre of our lives. We recognise and value every individual as special and unique in the image and likeness of God.

Religious Education at St. Chad’s respects and promotes each child’s innate capacity for wonder, awe, reverence and spirituality. Our Religious Education curriculum leads our children to aspire not to have more, but to be more; 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 within the home, school and parish community. Central to our ethos are the opportunities for prayer and worship which lie at the heart of our faith. We will promote and encourage these at every level, together with the skills and attitudes necessary to live out the Christian message in the modern world.

 

                              

Implementation:

RE is a core subject of the curriculum and all children will study RE for 2hrs 15 mins per week in Key Stage 1 and 2 hrs 30 mins per week in Key Stage 2.  Collective worship is in addition to this. The curriculum hours in RE are non-negotiable and will be followed by all staff in the school.  Fixed timetables will be set before the academic year and monitored by the Senior Leadership Team of the school.

 

We follow the ‘Come and See’ Religious Education Programme from Reception 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.

 

This carefully designed scheme of learning in RE ensures consistency and progress of all learners. To support that high quality teaching responds to the needs of children and Learning Objectives are shared in order to guide children to achieve their potential. This ensures work is demanding and matches the aims of the curriculum.

Pupils also participate in Mass, feast days, Holy days, collective worship & dedicated prayer time, which involves religious actions and worship, including the celebration of the sacraments.We explore 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.

 

                              

 

                   

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. The children then complete their Respond Booklets, were they have the opportunity to create and organise their class liturgy, based on their choices of scripture, prayers and learning from the topic.

 

Other Faiths and religions:

Judaism is studied in the Autumn term, with each year group focusing on a particular aspect of the Jewish faith. The other religion to be studied each year, is either Hinduism, Islam or Sikhism – the religion focus is carefully selected with consideration given to the most relevant and appropriate in light of each class and current local, national or world-wide events.

Assessment

Ongoing informal assessment against the Standard Indicators and Formal Assessment

Tasks are used to inform planning and to identify areas for focus and support.

Assessment is moderated internally and externally within cluster meetings.

 

Impact

Through the complete and rigorous Religious Education at St Chad’s, children are given the opportunity to develop and become brothers and sisters in Christ. Children of all abilities and backgrounds achieve well in RE, reflected in outstanding progress that reveals a clear learning journey.   They talk openly and deeply about their Faith and reflect this in their everyday life. They show this learning through deep questioning, reflective responses, respect for all and treating others as God would want them too. The children live their faith in an active and positive way, always aware of the presence and love of Christ guiding them and the children are happy and confident in their place in the community and have a clear understanding on their impact in it.