Religious Education
We follow the guidance of the Catholic Religious Education Curriculum Directory.
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. Joseph’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.
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 ‘Come and See’ 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 Joseph’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 Collective Worship. 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.
At St. Joseph’s we follow the ‘Come and See’ Religious Education Programme in line with guidance from the Southwark Archdiocese. This programme is followed throughout school from Nursery through to Year 6.
This programme provides:
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opportunities for celebration, prayer and reflection in implicit and explicit ways
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children with the language of religious experience - a 'literacy' in religious activities, places, stories, symbols and rituals, people and objects
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a 'systematic presentation of Christian event, message and way of life' in ways appropriate to the age and stage of development of the child
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that for its implementation and production it requires the adults involved to understand the underlying theological as well as educational principles
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appropriate materials about other faiths
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academic respectability as in other curricular areas – utilising appropriate stages from the National Curriculum
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.
OTHER FAITHS and RELIGIONS
Judaism is usually studied in the autumn term; however, this can vary due to the needs of the school. The other religion to be studied is Sikhism (year 2) Hinduism (year 3 &4) and Islam (year 5 &6).
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
As a result of these strategies, children at St Joseph’s:
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Are well prepared for the next stage of their education as confident and enthusiastic learners.
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Produce good quality work, which they are proud of.
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Achieve consistently well in all areas of Religious Education and make exceptional progress.
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Are happy, well-rounded individuals who have developed a deep-rooted relationship with God and understanding of their Catholic faith.
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Through RE, children deepen their appreciation of their faith and fulfil their God-given talents
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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.
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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.
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The school environment will reflect and celebrate our Catholic faith.
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Through wider reading in RE, children will know about a wide variety of Saints, how we can learn from their example, and historical religious events and figures. They will be able to make links between Jesus’ life and teaching and link it to their own lives, making links between different forms of Christian action, such as in rituals and charitable acts.
More information can be found under the RE Curriculum page here.
Useful Links
‘Come and See’ Scheme yearly overview
Examen for children
Wednesday Word leaflet