Religious 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 the person of Christ, the deepest meaning of what it is to be human is discovered — that we are created by God and through the Holy Spirit united with Christ in his Incarnation. This revelation is known through the scriptures and the tradition of the Church as taught by the Magisterium. Religious Education helps the pupil to know and experience the meaning of this revelation in his or her own life and the life of the community which is the Church.  ⁽Religious Education Curriculum Directory, Catholic Bishops’ Conference, 2012, p. 3). The Religious Education Programme at Our Lady of the Rosary is ‘Come and See’.

• Religious Education is a core subject in the Catholic school.
• For some in the classroom, Religious Education may well be received as catechesis, deepening and enhancing their personal faith; for some it will be evangelisation, the first time they will have been presented, personally, with the truths of living faith. Nevertheless, its primary purpose is the step by step study of the mystery of Christ, the teaching of the Church and its application in daily life. The criteria by which it is to be judged are educational. (Religious Education in Catholic Schools, a statement from the Catholic Bishops’ Conference, 2000, p. 8-9)
• Religious Education is planned, taught, assessed and monitored with the same rigour as other core curriculum subjects.

The outcome of 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, Catholic Bishops’ Conference, 2012, p. 6)

• To present a comprehensive content which engages pupils and 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 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.  (Religious Education Curriculum Directory, Catholic Bishops’ Conference, 2012, p. 6)

Come and See

Religious Education is taught throughout the school using the 'Come and See' programme.

“Come and See” is an invitation and a promise of life for everyone. The invitation is open to all. In response to the question ‘Where do you live?’, Jesus invited the disciples to ‘Come and See.’ They went with Jesus ‘and spent the rest of that day with him.’

We recognise that all children are at different stages in their journey of faith; for some children RE is catechesis and part of their formation in the faith. Those who receive the invitation to ‘Come and see’ may also offer it to others. In the same invitation we remember that for some of our children RE will be evangelisation, the first opportunity to hear the good news.

Religious Education is a core subject of the curriculum for Catholic Schools and as such teaching and learning in RE makes up 10% of curriculum time. As such it is taught rigorously with all the same expectations as other core subjects whilst maintaining a creative element and encouraging children to question and think at a high level.

What pupils learn

Each term pupils study three topics, each lasting four weeks and following a common theme across the school. As the children move through the school this theme is developed further, appropriate to the pupils age and stage of learning.

Each year group approaches the theme through a different topic eg the Autumn term topic 1 is a 'Domestic Church' theme which is explored through:

Early Years – Myself

Year 1 – Families

Year 2 – Beginnings

Year 3 – Homes

Year 4 – People

Year 5 – Ourselves

Year 6 – Loving

In the Autumn term theme of Belonging (topic 2) Early Years children will be learning about Baptism as being welcomed to God’s family, in their “Welcome” topic, Years 1,2 and 3 further develop their understanding of Baptism, including Signs and Symbols (Yr2) and Promises (Yr3), whilst in their “Community” topic Year 4 move on to learn about Confirmation, Yr5 learn about the commitment of Marriage in their Life Choices topic and Yr6 learn about the vocation to priesthood and religious life in their “Vocation and commitment” topic. Scripture is at the heart of each topic.

The termly themes are as follows:

AUTUMN  

 The three autumn themes are developed in the light of an understanding of Creation.

• Family - Domestic church;
• Belonging - Baptism/Confirmation/Marriage/Vocation;
• Loving - Advent/Christmas.

SPRING   

The three spring themes are developed in the light of an understanding of Incarnation

• Community - Local church;
• Relating - Eucharist;
• Giving - Lent/Easter.

SUMMER                                             

The three summer themes are developed in the light of an understanding of Redemption and the work of the Holy Spirit

• Serving - Pentecost;
• Inter-relating - Reconciliation;
• World - Universal Church.

Each four-weekly topic is broken into 3 aspects:

EXPLORE (1 WEEK)

• Introduces the topic;
• The children’s life experience is explored;
• The questions raised are wondered at, shared, investigated and their significance reflected upon;
• Focus on AT2 Reflection on meaning.

REVEAL (2 WEEKS)

• Heart of the programme;
• Knowledge and understanding of the Catholic faith revealed through Scripture, Tradition, doctrine, prayers, rites and Christian living;
• Focus on AT1 Knowledge and Understanding & AT2 Reflection on Meaning.

RESPOND (1 WEEK)

• Learning is remembered, celebrated and responded to in daily life;
• Prayer.
• Prayer and celebration are integral to Come and See;
• Opportunities for reflection are present within Explore, Reveal and Respond;
• Traditional prayers are introduced in the different Key Stages;

• Prayer styles: children are introduced to a range throughout the scheme.

Children all have a RE book where there Come and See learning is both treasured and shows high expectations for learning. In addition, each class will have a moral issue question which they can answer in RE lessons, Collective Worship and cross curricular subjects. This evidence will be put into a class file.

The children’s personal social and emotional understanding is developed through our Religious Education and the Catholic Life of the school.

OTHER FAITHS

Judaism is taught in the Autumn Term and a Multi-Faith week takes place in the Summer Term.