Curriculum Statement for Religious Education

Intent

Religious Education permeates across daily life and learning at St. Anne Line Infant School.  Children learn about their Catholic faith, developing an understanding of the teachings of the Catholic Church and actively participating in worship.  We promote and develop an appreciation of and active participation in prayer and liturgy. This is recognised as a gradual process which takes account of the different stages of personal, social and religious growth of our pupils.

We aim to develop within each pupil a trusting, loving and personal relationship with God by giving them a solid background to the whole life and mysteries of Christ. We aim to give each child strong moral and spiritual beliefs, through the Gospel teachings of Jesus. Through the Gospels, children will develop a positive attitude towards themselves and others, developing a strong sense of what is right and wrong and a confidence in sharing their beliefs with others.

It is our aim that children at St Anne Line Infant School will recognise and value all people, with their diversity of gifts, cultures and faiths, developing a thoughtful consideration for others.  

The Aims of Religious Education as stated in the RE Curriculum Directory (2023) 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.

Implementation

As a Catholic School, Religious Education is planned, taught, assessed and monitored with the same rigour as other core curriculum subjects.

The school and parish church community of Our Lady and All Saints work closely together to provide explicit teaching of Religious Education both in school and at Holy Trinity Church. From Nursery onwards, our children visit the church to feel the warmth of this special place. The priests visit the children in school, such as having lunch and guiding the children in their faith at significant times of the year.

Parents, Staff and Governors also play a key part in supporting the Religious Education for children in our school.  We develop links with families through:

• stay and pray sessions, where children share prayers and scripture from their current topic learning
• parents attendance at Mass and assemblies
• sending home the Lent and Advent bags where families can worship together with a candle, child's religious story book and a prayer book, which families are encouraged to write in.

Staff model and encourage our children to show the values of God’s kingdom; prayer, truth, holiness, justice,

love, forgiveness.The celebration of the Mass, liturgies, assemblies and prayer are an integral part of our teaching and school life.  For our children to feel faith all around them, our school environment provides imagery, objects and reflective spaces. 

The children are placed into 4 houses, Saint Bernadette, Saint John Paul II, Saint Martin De Porres and Saint Alphonsa.  These Saints have been chosen as they represent the rich and diverse families we have in our school community.  The children celebrate their house Saint's feast day, where they can gather together in celebration.

We currently follow the Come and See scheme for learning in Religious Education.  This scheme enables our young children to respond creatively and thoughtfully to teaching about the Catholic faith. From September 2024 we will begin to teach Religious Education through the RED programme.

All of our nursery rooms and classrooms have prayer table with a Bible, rosary beads, candle and cross and other items to help our children recognise and respect these symbols of our faith.  At special times of the year other significant items may be added for the children to reflect upon such as a stable scene, advent wreath or easter garden with tomb.  This space in our settings also holds photographs of our priests and Bishop Alan along with our school prayer and key words to support our young children.

Paper copies of any information regarding our curriculum statements can be requested from the school office free of charge.