Religious Education

"I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."

John 10:10

Intent

On this page we have gathered information about our approach to Religious Education as a Roman Catholic faith school.
Our Mission Statement, “Shining in the Light of Jesus, as we learn, grow and love” demonstrates how we value the inspiration and light of Christ at the centre of our lives, in all that we do together for ourselves and the good of others.

Religious Education is about engaging with the deepest questions of life and finding reasons for the hope which is within them (Peter 3:15).

It is about the Christian vision of the human person.

It is the core subject which is central to the life of our Catholic School.

Religious Education is the study of:

• The mystery of God, as discovered in the Bible and particularly through the life and teachings of Jesus Christ;
• The teachings of the Church;
• The lives of the Saints;
• The relationship between faith and life.

Expectations of the teaching and learning of Religious Education

Classroom Religious Education in school is primarily educational

Excellence in Religious Education is achieved by:

• Clarity of succinct religious learning objectives
• Key content
• By appropriate methodologies
• Rigour
• Richness of resources
• Achievement and accurate assessments

Come and See is a Catholic Primary Religious Education programme for Foundation and Key stages 1 and 2. The programme of study, written by a group of experienced diocesan advisors was introduced across Our Lady, Star of the Sea Catholic Primary School in September 2012 and has been warmly received by staff and pupils. The child friendly material provided within Come and See allows children to explore the teachings of the Catholic church through the use of age appropriate resources and activities.

Each year group from Foundation 1 to year 6 have their own list of focus topics to consider throughout the academic year. The topic will coincide with the church calendar however, the depth in which the topic is explored is dependent upon the respective age of the child. For example, during Lent, whilst all children will learn about the plight of Christ, our Early Years children will consider the importance of growing and new life; Key Stage 1 children explore the effect of change and opportunities, with Key Stage 2 children considering the importance of self-discipline, sacrifice, death and new life.

At the heart of the programme is the mystery of God’s self-revelation of love through Jesus Christ. Come and See gives pupils the opportunity to explore the mystery of faith through Scripture and Tradition.

Implementation:

Our Religious Education curriculum is taught using the Great Teaching Toolkit, 2020. We endeavour to be consistent in our approach to create a supportive environment that is inclusive. We support all our pupils using adaptive teaching techniques, Voice 21 talk tactics and oracy sentence stems. We activate hard thinking through our thinking schools strategies and Q Matrix questioning to bring Religious Education to life and develop a real sense of enquiry. At Our Lady Star of the Sea, we have a consistent recipe for teaching Religious Education which follows Rosenshine's Principles of Instruction.

We follow the 'Come & See' programme, which sets out each topic through the headings of Explore, Reveal and Respond. These take four weeks to complete and are broken down as follows:

Explore (ONE week to complete)
This is when we introduce 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.

Reveal (TWO weeks) 
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.

Respond (ONE week)
This is where the learning is assimilated, celebrated and responded to in daily life. Part of our celebrations and sharing with our school community is fulfilled in End of Topic celebrations for Phase Groups (e.g. EYFS, KS1, Lower KS2 & Upper KS2).

Impact

The impact of our RE curriculum is measured through a variety of different strategies. Ongoing teacher assessment is used throughout lessons to inform teaching. Retrieval practice is used throughout each lesson to address gaps in pupils’ knowledge before moving on. Key 'driver' words help the children to understand what is expected of them and to support maximum possible progress for all pupils. 

Children’s learning is monitored by regular book scrutiny by the RE Subject Leader in which constructive feedback is given to staff for future planning. RE is also monitored through learning walks and pupil voice.

All of this is used to inform further curriculum developments and provision. 

At Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic Primary School, staff work closely together as a team to ensure children receive the best RE curriculum to allow them to develop a love of learning and create an understanding of their own and others' faiths.