13We strive to live by our Mission Statement in everything we do:
“Live, Love and Serve.”
Intent
As a Catholic school, we believe that we are all called to be disciples of Christ and stewards of creation. Through our Mission Statement, we aim to encourage our children to ‘Live, Love and Serve.’
Through their lived out experiences in school, we aim to nurture an understanding that the children are part of a global community united through the values of the Gospel. With the Gospels and ‘Laudato Si’ as our inspiration, the children develop an understanding of their role in caring for our common home and caring for one another. We aim to provide an environment where the children will learn about the mission of Christ through careful study and emersion in scripture, which is rooted in experience. Through our curriculum and the Catholic life of the school, the children learn how Christ showed love, justice, dignity and hope to those most in need and are encouraged to think and ultimately act this out in their own lives.
We develop children’s understanding and knowledge of world faiths and cultures, respecting and appreciating alternative viewpoints. We recognise the social, moral, spiritual and cultural diversity of our communities, and encourage curiosity tolerance and respect, inspiring pupils to understand how life in Britain and the wider world is changing around them.
In accordance with section 1.2 of the RED:
Aims of religious education
The aims of religious education are:
1. to engage in a systematic study of the mystery of God, of the life and teaching of Jesus Christ, the teachings of the Church, the central beliefs that Catholics hold, the basis for them and the relationship between faith and life;
2. to enable pupils continually to deepen their religious and theological understanding and be able to communicate this effectively;
3. to present an authentic vision of the Church’s moral and social teaching to provide pupils
with a sure guide for living and the tools to critically engage with contemporary culture and
society;
4. to give pupils an understanding of the religions and worldviews present in the world today and the skills to engage in respectful and fruitful dialogue with those whose worldviews differ from their own;
5. to develop the critical faculties of pupils so to bring clarity to the relationship between faith
and life, and between faith and culture;
6. to stimulate pupils’ imagination and provoke a desire for personal meaning as revealed in the truth of the Catholic faith;
7. to enable pupils to relate the knowledge gained through religious education to their
understanding of other subjects in the curriculum.
Religious education as the heart of the curriculum
1. Religious education is the core of the core curriculum and is to be the source and summit of the whole curriculum.
2. Religious education is an academic discipline with the same systematic demands and rigour as other disciplines.
3. Religious education is to be delivered within a broad and balanced curriculum, where it
informs every aspect of the curriculum. Every other subject is to be informed by religious
education and have a strong relationship with it.
4. In each year of compulsory schooling, religious education is to be taught for at least 10%
curriculum time within each repeating cycle of the regular school timetable.
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’ and the diocesan-and-Trust approved pilot scheme, ‘Be Still and Know’, which both meet the requirements of the Religious Education Curriculum Directory set out by the Bishop’s Conference of England Wales.
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 different forms of Prayer and Liturgy. 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.
Each phase uses the RE Age-Related descriptors from the Bishops’ conference to assess the attainment of the children and their progress is tracked on a termly basis. Teachers assess children’s outcomes across branches and topics and over time. This enables both class teachers and the subject leader to monitor coverage and identify progress made throughout the pupils’ time with us.
Come and See
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. The sequence is as follows:
Explore: 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. This session may include:
- Exploring experiences through music, story, drama, dance or art
- Investigation and story telling
- Consideration of the Big Question
- Discussion
- Reflection
Reveal: 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. The process of this delivery will include:
- Meeting new knowledge of Religious Education
- Reflecting on the wonder of the mystery
- Research, collating information
- Asking searching questions
- Discussion
- Making links between Cristian understanding and the shared life experiences
- Acknowledging and respecting differences
- Being open to new perspectives.
Respond: This is where the learning is assimilated, celebrated and responded to in daily life. This may be carried out through:
- Creating a quiet, prayerful atmosphere for reflection
- Reviewing work carried out throughout the topic
- Sharing thoughts and feelings
WORLD FAITHS and RELIGIONS
In EYFS, children encounter and celebrate key feasts and festivals throughout the year from a range of world religions.
KS1 and KS2 learn about World Faiths in educational weeks throughout the year. We explore Judaism, Islam and one Dharmic faith.
We also encounter World Faiths in theme days, such as Golden Rule Day, whereby we explore the ‘golden rule’ which unites all major world faiths.
Be Still and Know – Pilot Scheme
This year, Year 1, Year 2, Year 3 and Year 4 are taking part in the Trust-and-diocesan-approved pilot scheme, ‘Be still and Know’: a scheme of work with lessons that are carefully designed to meet the outcomes as prescribed by the Bishops of England and Wales in the new RED.
Impact
As a result of our RE provision, children at St. Edward’s are religiously literate and consciously 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 recognise the demands of religious commitment in everyday life.
