Curriculum – RE
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. Bede’s respects and promotes each child’s innate capacity for wonder, awe, reverence and spirituality, underpinned by our mission statement ‘Shine brightly for all, with Christ as our guide…’. 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.
At St. Bede’ 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 Reception 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. As a core subject in our curriculum, 10% of teaching time is dedicated to the teaching of RE.
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.
OTHER FAITHS and RELIGIONS
- Judaism is usually studied in the Autumn term. The other religion studied is Islam.
At St. Bede’s children are happy learners within RE. They experience a wide-ranging number of learning challenges in RE and know appropriate responses to them.
Through RE, children deepen their appreciation of their faith and fulfil their God-given talents.
Children of all abilities and backgrounds achieve well in RE, reflected in outstanding progress that reveals a clear learning journey. Children 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.
Clear outcomes focus and guide all RE development plans and drive improvement.
Fundamental British Values are evident in RE and children understand how RE can celebrate difference.
Children will understand the Catholic virtues and how these relate to their personal life and to the rights of all children. They will grow to know and love God, develop their moral and spiritual nature and deepen their faith. Children will live their faith in an active and positive way, always aware of the presence and love of Christ guiding them and will develop their relationship with God and become religiously literate.
The school environment will reflect and celebrate our Catholic faith.
Children will be able to define, describe and discuss areas of RE. They will confidently use skills such as retelling, describing, comparing, giving reasons, explaining the meaning of biblical stories and considering the impact of beliefs.
Children will be able to reflect and consider important questions about RE.
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.