RE
Intent
At St. Bede’s, we believe that it is important for all our pupils to learn about religion so that they can understand the world around them. As a Catholic school, our aim is that every child achieves their full potential as an individual made in the image and likeness of God. This includes the spiritual, moral, social, academic, physical and creative dimension of each child. Our R.E. curriculum is the vehicle through which we support and nurture children to achieve this potential.
Our intent is for children to learn about faith and learn to live the faith. The Catholic values promoted underpin every aspect of learning in our school and are at the heart of everything we do. This is a place where children and adults work together, learning in the light of Christ.
We want our children to develop a respect for other beliefs and religions and appreciate and celebrate the diverse world in which they live. It aims to nurture pupils’ awareness of diversity so that all children show respect and tolerance of others and feel like they belong to our very special school community. The RE policy is clear and our school values encompass our beliefs, which filter into all aspects of teaching/learning and ensuring that children are aware of their rights and responsibilities, as UK citizens.
Curriculum leaders show understanding of important concepts related to curriculum design, such as: knowledge progression and sequencing of events. Our curriculum coverage allows all learners to access the content, make progress through the curriculum and designed to encourage creativity, imagination, enquiry, debate, discussion and independence. As teachers, the aim to provide high quality teaching, developing the appropriate subject specific knowledge, skills and understanding, and a well-resourced rich environment so that pupils can learn effectively, fulfil their potential and bring about outstanding outcomes. For example, students progress from knowledge and understanding to evaluation and analysis. We encourage our pupils to ask deep reflecting questions about the world and to reflect on their own beliefs, values and experiences.
Implementation
Religious Education Curriculum, Directory 2012- 2015
For 2024 - 25, Year 6 uses the Bishop’s Conference Directory topics: Revelation, The Church, Celebration and Life in Christ as a basis for all our planning, which are also outlined in the Diocesan RE wheels which every teacher incorporates in to their plans. The Directory provides ‘valuable guidance for the RE curriculum to ensure that our teaching and learning truly reflects the vision and breadth of the teaching of the Church’. This revised Directory was published so that religious educators can continue to meet the needs of the pupils of today.
At St Bede’s, for Year 6 only, we use the Diocesan approved scheme of work 'The Way, the Truth and the Life'. This includes 6 topics per year group. At the end of each term children are assessed against R.E. objectives as either working towards, within or above Age- Related Expectations. Teachers ensure that pupils see the ‘purpose’ of each lesson and the content in relation to their lives. Teachers make deliberate and intentional retrieval of previous knowledge to continually build on learning. There are regular checkpoints and formative assessments within lessons to tailor learning to the needs of pupils. Teachers are encouraged to be creative in task design, and children’s work can take the form of artwork, discussion, drama, song, writing or a mixture of these.
Religious Education Directory - To Know You More Clearly 2025:
In line with the Diocese of Lancaster support for planning; our Reception, Year 1, Year 2, Year 3. Year 4 and Year 5 classes will deliver their Religious Education curriculum based on the delivery of the new RED. 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.
To ensure the children can be assessed accurately teachers ensure that the expectations of the Assessment Standards are integrated into the whole planning process. This will inform the teaching and ensure that expected standards are aspired to. The critical question to address at the planning stage is ‘what must I do, in this theme, to enable children to achieve the standard I know they can achieve?’
Teachers are given the opportunity to share and evaluate pupils work with local schools and schools across the diocese. This supports a consistent approach across schools and enables good practice to be shared.
Subject leaders at all levels have clear roles and responsibilities to carry out their role in curriculum design and delivery. They have expertise and practical skill to design and implement a curriculum. Leaders at all levels, including, governors regularly review and quality assure the subject to ensure that it is implemented sufficiently well. Leaders ensure that ongoing CPD is available for staff to ensure that curriculum requirements are met. Curriculum resources selected to serve the schools curricular intentions and the course of study and enable effective curriculum implementation. The way the curriculum is planned meets pupils learning needs.
All religions and their communities are treated with respect and sensitivity and we value the links, which are, and can be made between home, school, and a faith community. We acknowledge that each religion studied can contribute to the education of all our pupils. We promote teaching in Religious Education that stresses open enquiry and first- hand experiences wherever possible for both staff and children.
Throughout the school week, children are involved in daily acts of worship, liturgy and opportunities for deep, spiritual reflection. Children are given the opportunities to plan and lead Liturgy during many aspects of the liturgical year including Advent and Lent leading up to Easter. Different year groups attend Mass weekly and whole school Masses are held at the beginning and end of term including Holy Days of Obligation. Children are given the opportunity to plan their own collective worship and lead this with their peers on a weekly basis.
Impact
The impact of this curriculum will nurture children who truly live out the gospel values and apply these to everything they do in their lives going forward. Our children will live out these values in an active and positive way, understanding that the presence of Christ is guiding them. Children will develop their relationship with God and become religiously literate and produce good quality work across religion, which they are proud of.
Success will be shown by the children showing a deepening of their personal knowledge, understanding and response to Christ through their service of others. This will support children to love themselves, love each other and love Jesus Christ so that they are ready when they reach the end of Year 6 to commence the next stage of their life journey.
The children at St. Bede’s enjoy learning about other religions. Through their RE learning, the children are able to make links between their own lives and those of others in their community and in the wider world, developing an understanding of other people’s cultures and ways of life.
The curriculum is successfully implemented to ensure pupils progression in knowledge. Pupils successfully learn the curriculum, which provides parity for all pupils at St. Bede’s school.
Learning about other religions
Learning about the religion and cultures of those who do not share the Catholic faith is one of the ways in which Catholic schools embody the call to love one’s neighbour. As the Church says, “The love for all men and women is necessarily also a love for their culture. Catholic schools are, by their very vocation, intercultural.”
It is required by the Bishops, who state that the Catholic nature of our schools entails “a willingness… to try to understand better the religion of one’s neighbours, and to experience something of their religious life and culture.”
Many of the children in Catholic schools are practicing members of other faiths and our schools need to be places of hospitality for these children. It is an act of respect and courtesy that our curriculum helps them to reflect on the nature of their own religious identity. As the Church says, “All children and young people [including those of other faiths in our Catholic schools] must have the same possibilities for arriving at the knowledge of their own religion as well as of elements that characterize other religions.” (Congregation for Catholic Education)
It prepares the pupils in our Catholic schools for life in modern Britain, giving them an understanding of the beliefs of others. This in turn will improve social cohesion and contribute to the common good by increasing mutual respect between those of different religions.
Newsletter (Autumn 1)