Religious Education
The core subject in a Catholic school
“Teaching has an extraordinary moral depth and is one of our most excellent and creative activities for the teacher does not write on inanimate material but on the very spirits of human beings.”
(Congregation for Catholic education the Catholic school on the Threshold of the third Millennium.)
At Our Lady’s the Catholic ethos of the school permeates the whole curriculum.
“The curriculum in all its aspects must reflect the fact that Christ is the foundation of the whole educational enterprise in a Catholic school.”
(The Catholic school para 33.)
The aim is to nurture quality caring supportive Christian environment in which all pupils are healthy, positive, confident and independent and reach their full potential as active members of society. To achieve this we provide a quality education which involves a broad balanced and relevant curriculum, a creative and enjoyable skills based curriculum, a curriculum which acknowledges the uniqueness of each individual. RE is considered as the core subject in a Catholic school.
“The outcome of excellent religious education is religiously literate and engaged young people who have the knowledge, understanding and skills - appropriate to their age and capacity - to reflect spiritually, and think ethically and theologically, and who are aware of the demands of religious commitment in everyday life.”
(Religious Education Curriculum Directory for Catholic Schools 2012)
“Catholic schools are guided in all they do by an important and coherent vision of education. This vision is based on the truth revealed by God about ourselves, our life together in community and our ultimate destiny with God. This gives rise to an educational endeavour centred on the person of Jesus Christ who is our Way, Truth and Life.”
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION - COME AND SEE and TO KNOW YOU MORE CLEARLY
To fulfil our aims and objectives of religious education we use the ‘Come and See’ programme of Religious Education for the children in Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 and ‘ To know You more clearly’ curriculum in EYFS as recommended by the Archdiocese of Liverpool.
- Two hours 10 minutes each week (10% of curriculum time) is set aside for the teaching of RE.
- Two hours and 30 minutes each ( 10% of curriculum time) is set aside for the teaching of R.E.
- There are clear objectives and learning outcomes for each year group, allowing pupils to work at the appropriate level for their understanding and stage of development.
THE PROCESS: COME AND SEE
KNOWLEDGE
The process for delivering the topics in ‘Come and See’ has three stages - Explore, Reveal and Respond which enables pupils to develop knowledge, understanding, skills and attitudes.
SEARCH - EXPLORE
The introduction to the topic where the children's life experience is explored, the question (s) it raises are wondered at, shared, investigated, and their significance reflected upon.
REVELATION AND REVEAL
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.
RESPOND
Learning is assimilated, celebrated and responded to in daily life.
EXPLORE (1 week)
The teacher helps the children to begin to look at and focus on the experience within their own lives - concerning themselves, their relationships and their world. In this way the children are led to a deeper understanding, clearer vision and the discovery of significance and value of the experiential events of everyday life.
REVEAL (2 weeks)
Reveal is the heart of the process. The teacher and the children together discover the Christian understanding of the mystery of the Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. They explore the mystery of human life as revealed in the person, life and gospel of Jesus Christ Christians. It will involve learning about Scripture, the teaching of the Church, prayers, rites, psalms, hymns and other expressions of Christian faith and the lives of outstanding Christians.
RESPOND (1 week)
Remember is the first part of this section. The children will respond by remembering and celebrating all that they have learnt. This new understanding will enable them to make a personal response in their daily lives. This part begins by reflecting on what the children wonder about. This is followed by providing the opportunity for the children to remember what they have understood and learnt.
Rejoice is the second part of the section. There will be an opportunity to plan to take part in a celebration. It will be essential to involve the children in the choice of material to be used in the celebration.
Renew the teacher helps each child to make an individual response, to hold on to and make their own, what they have understood of the topic. In this part the children will think about how they can apply their learning to their lives.
THE PROCESS TO KNOW YOU MORE CLEARLY
(Phasing in for EYFS, Year 1 and 2 in 2023 - 2024)
The curriculum follows 6 Branches each of which is taught through the lenses of HEAR, BELIEVE CELEBRATE AND LIVE.
See document for more information.