Intent

Following the National curriculum and Nottingham Diocesan Guidance for RE our intent is that all our children will:

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Head

  • Have knowledge of the Bible and its teachings in the Catholic Church
  • Have the ability to read and engage with Scripture.
  • Have knowledge of the Catholic Faith which is central to the life of a Catholic School.
  • Have opportunities to deepen their understanding of key theological ideas.
  • Have opportunities to develop their skills in investigation and reflection.
  • To engage with their own and others beliefs and values to develop dispositions and attitudes so that they are instilled with a love of learning and a desire to go on learning in a modern multicultural, global world.
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Heart

    • Engage with the deepest questions in life and find reasons for the hope that is within them.
    • Develop attitudes that allow for a free informed response to God’s calling in everyday life.
    • Explore Christian values through the school virtues- love, kindness, courage, respect, confidence, resilience, and faith, love of learning, respect and forgiveness in living their faith.
    • Explore the Bishop’s themes of Encounter, Discipleship and Missionary discipleship through living their faith.
    • Foster curiosity and creativity about what they are learning and about the world around them to ask questions.
    • Foster a love of learning new knowledge and skills, a love of building on existing knowledge and skills and a sense of pride in their achievements in RE.
    • Develop a sense of respect for their own faith and that of others.
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Hand

  • Understand and appreciate the link between faith and life.
  • Have a sense of self-worth through their own faith experience and as part of a wider faith community.
  • Be aware of the demands and commitments of Faith in everyday life.
  • Use their values, morals and virtues to lead a faithful life.
  • Be respectful and aware of the many different faiths within British society always showing respect, tolerance having the ability to engage and work together to create a peaceful world.

Implementation:

  • A clear and comprehensive scheme of work in line with the National Curriculum and Diocesan guidance where teaching and learning should show progression across all key stages through the Come and See scheme.
  • Children have access to key language and meanings in order to understand and readily apply to their written and verbal communication of their skills.
  • Children will use a range of resources to develop their knowledge and understanding that is integral to their learning and develop their understanding of RE.
  • Knowledge organisers for each topic will show the teaching and learning that will take place and highlight the specific vocabulary for the topic.
  • Children will reflect on previous learning and cross curricular links will be made wherever possible
  • Children will be able to build on prior knowledge and link ideas together, enabling them to question and become enquiry based learners.
  • Attainment will be assessed each term through related topic assessment tasks

Impact:

The impact of our RE curriculum is that each child learns more knows more and remembers more so that they reach their full potential in this curriculum area.

  • Most children will achieve age related expectations in RE at the end of their cohort year.
  • Children will retain knowledge that is pertinent to RE with a real life context.
  • Children will be able to question ideas and reflect on knowledge.
  • Children will work collaboratively and practically to investigate and explore ideas.
  • Children will be able to explain how they have reached their level of understanding through links, examples in Scripture and lived faith in everyday life.

In the life of faith of English Martyrs CVA, Religious Education plays a central and vital part, it is the foundation of the entire educational process. RE is a core subject in our school which occupies ten percent of our timetable and the majority of classroom teaching is delivered through the Diocesan ‘Come and See’ Programme. A termly newsletter is sent home with more information about what is covered within lessons across each key stage. In September 2012 the school, like all of those in the Nottingham diocese, replaced the ‘Here I Am’ syllabus with a new programme called ‘Come and See’. ‘Come and See’ invites pupils to explore the religious aspects of life, dignity and purpose within the Catholic tradition. Pupils reflect on personal experiences and links are made with the Catholic faith as well as other faith traditions.

At the heart of our RE curriculum are our ‘Big Questions’, which ultimately drive the learning of the topic. These questions remain open ended and challenging, providing children with opportunities to engage with the deepest questions of life (Peter 3:15), encouraging pupil collaboration, discussion and reflection. Children are exposed to the mystery of God, the teachings of Jesus Christ and the Church, lives of Saints and the relationship between faith and life.

RE is a core subject and, in line with the Bishops’ Conference recommendations, 10% of teaching time is allocated to RE per week. This equates to two hours for KS1, and two and a half hours for KS2.

A variety of teaching methods and resources are used, including stories from the Bible, songs and hymns, role play, liturgical dance, creative activities, videos and discussion.

The pupils study three themes each term and 63 topics in total from Reception through to Year 6.

The themes are: Advent term: Our church – Family, Baptism and Confirmation – Belonging, Advent and Christmas – Loving.

Lent term: Local church – Community, Eucharist – Relating, Lent and Easter – Giving.

Pentecost term: Pentecost – Serving, Reconciliation – Inter-relating, Universal church – World.

All of the topics are rooted in the children’s own experiences in life and our teachers then extend the learning further through reflection and purposeful activities. We look at scripture passages that match the topic being covered and unpick the meaning and how we can use this Scripture to enhance our lives and help us to be better Christians.

Click on each topic to see the RE Knowledge organisers, split into year groups.

EYFS – Friends/ Good News/ Islam/ Our World

Year 1 – Being Sorry / Holidays and Holy Days / Neighbours / Sikhism

Year 2 Hinduism / Rules / Spread the Word / Treasure

Year 3 Choices / Energy / Islam / Special Places

Year 4 Building Bridges / God’s People / New Life / Sikhism

Year 5Freedom & Responsibility / Hinduism / Stewardship / Transformation

Year 6Common Good / Healing / Islam / Witnesses

RE Assessment

We assess our children in RE using the Nottingham Diocese End of Year Expectations document, which uses key driver words for each year group. We make use of external and internal moderation opportunities to ensure the quality of teacher’s judgments, as well as half-termly book scrutinies to ensure work is engaging and is sufficiently challenging for all pupils.

During the academic year, two other faiths are also taught; during the Advent term we learn about Judaism and during the Pentecost term, we discover more about another world religion such as Islam, Sikhism or Hinduism.

Each term, parents receive an information sheet that details what the pupils will cover as well as some suggested activities that can be done at home to support pupils.

For more information about RE teaching at English Martyrs, please take a look at the Parent Booklet.

Click here to view our three year assessment planner and here for our end of year expectations document.

Click here to view a range of Bible Stories for each year group.

Please click here to read about our teaching of other faiths.

Website link:

ST Philip’s Centre https://stphilipscentre.co.uk/