Religious Education
Curriculum Intent
At St Joseph’s we follow the Catholic Primary Religious Education Programme Come & See. The Catechism of the Catholic Church addresses the search for meaning in life. God’s initiative in Revelation who comes to meet us and our response of faith. This pattern guides the structure of the programme and informs the process of each topic, opened up through; Explore, Reveal and Respond.
The curriculum is organised to allow children to develop and build upon their knowledge of religious beliefs and practices. It provides opportunities to learn about and understand different faiths, through first-hand experiences such as visits to local places of worship and guest speakers.
The RE curriculum builds upon age appropriate ‘driver words’,
- Recognise
- Retell
- Describe
- Show understanding
- Give reasons
- Make links
to help children to convey their learning and understanding. The ‘Big questions’ focus each topic, by encouraging both individual and whole class discussion and reflection.
Come and See has been created in a cyclical format to enable children to revisit and build on prior knowledge of the different beliefs and practices taught across the school.
As part of the Religious Education provision provided by Catholic primary schools we also teach the statutory requirement of RSE (Relationships and Sex Education) using the Ten Ten ‘Life to the Full’ scheme of work. This scheme allows for the teaching of sensitive and important areas in an age appropriate way, which is built upon each year.
Curriculum Implementation
RE is taught in a three topic blocks each term. Coverage is planned to link with key dates and religious festivals to provide opportunities to celebrate festivals and religions with greater consistency and contextual relevance. Work is recorded in RE books and is evidenced with a variety of outcomes, including written pieces, artwork and photographs.
Each topic is assessed beforehand to enable teachers to target knowledge and skill appropriately. Learning is planned and sequenced , focusing on key knowledge and vocabulary around key concepts of
- Moments of wonder and question (cloud)
- Opportunities to live out our faith (heart)
- Understanding and thoughts (head)
Curriculum Impact
Alongside a whole school approach to celebrating different religious and cultural celebrations, the RE curriculum provides the means to celebrate the diversity of the community, including their beliefs, traditions, culture, language and history. We ensure children develop spiritually, academically, emotionally and morally to realise a better understanding of themselves and others and the challenges and responsibilities they face living in a rapidly changing, multicultural world.
