“Catholics believe that Religious Education is not one subject, among many, but the foundation of the entire educational process. The beliefs and values it communicates should inspire and unify every aspect of school life”.
(Bishops’ Conference of England & Wales, 1988)
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Intent
Religious Education is central to the curriculum at Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School and is at the heart of the philosophy of Catholic education. The primary purpose of Catholic Religious Education is to come to know and understand God’s revelation which is fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ. In addition, it teaches about our faith in the context of a school which proclaims the Gospel and invites the individual to respond to the message of Christ.
Religious Education is concerned not only with intellectual knowledge but also includes emotional and affective learning. At Sacred Heart, we will develop the pupils’ moral formation, religious education, personal and social responsibility and other civic virtues which are important contributions to the development of the Common Good. In addition, we aim to embed a relationship of love between child and God and between the child and other people in a community. Religious Education fosters this relationship through daily prayer, collective acts of worship and celebrations of liturgy. As a Catholic school we feel it is important that children learn how to co-operate with others, respect others and forgive others. Scripture, teachings of the Church and the teachers’ own witness and example are means by which these are taught. We work closely with our parishes to prepare liturgies and sacraments and we value the partnership between home, school and parish and the wider community.
The Aims of Religious Education
- To present engagingly a comprehensive content which is the basis of knowledge and understanding of the Catholic faith.
- To enable pupils continually to deepen their religious and theological understanding and be able to communicate this effectively.
- To present an authentic vision of the Church’s moral and social teaching so that pupils can make a critique of the underlying trends in contemporary culture and society.
- To raise pupils’ awareness of the faith and traditions of other religious communities in order to respect and understand them.
- To raise pupils’ awareness of the faith and traditions of other religious communities in order to respect and understand them.
- To develop the critical faculties of pupils so that they can relate their Catholic faith to daily life.
- To stimulate pupils’ imagination and provoke a desire for personal meaning as revealed in the truth of the Catholic faith.
- To enable pupils to relate the knowledge gained through Religious Education to their understanding of other subjects in the curriculum.
- To bring clarity to the relationship between faith and life, and between faith and culture.
Implementation
10% of curriculum time is devoted to the teaching of Religious Education which is separate from times of prayer and collective worship. The pupils receive 2.5 hours a week of taught RE in Reception to Year 6 and 1.5 hours for our Nursery pupils.
The framework of the curriculum is based on the events of the Liturgical Year, the sacraments and the teaching of the Catholic Church. Whenever possible, other curriculum subjects are used as an integral part of and extension to this framework.
The planning, recording and assessment of Religious Education are undertaken with the same rigour as other subjects. The New Agreed Levels of Attainment in R.E. produced by the Bishops’ Conference are used as the basis for assessment.
All classes are using the Diocesan curriculum materials from Margaret Carswell, supplemented by other resources as necessary to ensure a Curriculum led delivery of Religious Education. These materials have been mapped with the Bishop’s Religious Education Curriculum Directory (2012) to ensure continuity and development across Key stages 1 and 2.
The Sacraments of Baptism, Reconciliation, Eucharist and Confirmation can be identified throughout the Religious Education programme at every level.
RE Curriculum (1632 downloads)Other Denominations and Faiths
Our children live in a multi-cultural and multi-faith society, so it is important for them to learn about other traditions, cultures and faiths. All faiths and denominations are respected and acknowledged and festivals celebrated locally are recognised, especially those celebrated by the families in our school.
Children of other faiths or celebrating different traditions are actively encouraged to tell others about them. The school has several resources which explain other faiths, cultures and traditions to our children.
Children study aspects of World Faiths and approximately two weeks per year of the Religious Education curriculum is devoted to World Faiths. Other traditions, faiths and cultures are explored through other cross-curricular topics.
We do not look at other faiths in comparison with Roman Catholicism, but rather in terms of what practising other World Faiths looks like for believers. Understanding, respect and tolerance are key elements to our programme of study.
The following links give further information about the RE curriculum:
Overview of Prayers Taught (297 downloads) Prayers for the Classroom (291 downloads) Annual Celebrations (269 downloads) The Participation of Children in a School or Class Mass. (272 downloads)You will find further details about the RE curriculum in the Curriculum letters and the homework letters (currently home learning) .
These can be accessed by the link below:
Impact
The teachers at Sacred Heart School are using and adapting the assessments outlined in the Diocesan curriculum materials. These are marked according to the guidance given and logged onto the class tracking sheet provided. (See assessment folders, guidance and tasks.)
At Sacred Heart School we are aware that great care and sensitivity is required in the assessment of those pupils who have difficulties in Literacy. Their inability to express their knowledge in writing can often fail to reveal their true level of understanding in Religious Education. Opportunities for these children to discuss their work and strategies to support this process are currently under review.
Regular moderation of religious education work, ensures that staff apply the assessment criteria in a systematic manner. External moderation usually takes place yearly. The Religious Education leader meets with other schools to validate the assessment levels of pieces of work.
R.E Policy (272 downloads)For further information about the RE curriculum, please contact the school office on 01923 901179 or admin@sacredheart682.herts.sch.uk.