RE

We believe Religious Education to be ‘the core of the core curriculum.’ We believe Religious Education is central to the educative mission of the Church.

We acknowledge and concur with the Bishops’ view of the importance of high quality Catholic Education: ‘At the heart of Catholic education lies the Christian vision of the human person. This vision is expressed and explored in Religious Education. Therefore Religious Education is never simply one subject among many, but the foundation of the entire educational process. The beliefs and values studied in Catholic religious education inspire and draw together every aspect of the life of a Catholic school….. All pupils have the right to receive an overall education which will enable them, in the light of the faith of the Church, to engage with the deepest questions of life and find reasons for the hope which is within them.’

At the moment, we are in a state of transition between the old and new framework.  We are on an exciting journey and have started to implement the new framework called ‘To Know You More Clearly’ in Nursery, Reception, Year 1 and Year 3.  

Please click on the links to view the framework that we follow for Religious Education at St Cuthbert's.

Intent

As a Catholic school, we are all called to put Christ at the centre of our lives and be stewards of creation. Through our Mission statement, ‘Letting the love of Jesus shine through in all that we think, say and do’ we aim to encourage children to come to know Him through their experiences and interactions with others.

At St Cuthbert's we believe that through Jesus we seek to grow as a caring Catholic community in faith and love; knowledge and understanding; aspiration and independence.

As a Catholic primary school, we work within an inclusive, caring environment, always promoting Gospel values and ensuring that the teachings of Jesus Christ permeate throughout our school curriculum. We aim to equip our children with a respectful attitude towards others, an excitement for learning about their faith and an enthusiasm to share their faith with others when they leave our school. We prepare children with the skills, knowledge and understanding necessary to enable them to make informed choices about their future, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Through their learning experiences in school, we aim to foster the sense of ‘togetherness’ in our children by showing them we are part of a global community.  We will teach the Catholic faith as our core faith, but will also open children to the understanding that we respect and acknowledge other worlds faiths alongside the beliefs of our own.

With the Gospels as our inspiration, the children develop an understanding of their role in caring for one another. The purpose of our RE curriculum is to ensure that children will learn about the mission of Christ, through  scripture. Through our curriculum, the children learn how Christ showed tolerance, compassion, justice, love and forgiveness to those most in need and are encouraged to actively live out these values in their own lives.

We aim to help our children grow through;

• Placing scripture at the heart of our Prayer and Liturgy
• Within the perspective of the Gospel, engaging and responding to the challenge of global current affairs
• To develop an understanding of their faith in order to become compassionate followers of Christ.

Implementation

As a Catholic school, Religious Education is at the heart of all we do and is central to our inclusive curriculum and school life.  We currently use a variety of schemes and resources such as; ‘Come and See’ and 'Vine and Branches' .  We have high standards at St Cuthbert's, whereby leaders regularly monitor the implementation of Curriculum RE, Prayer and Liturgy and Catholic life.  Teachers celebrate children’s learning and engagement through a variety of platforms such as Facebook, Class Dojo and Instagram.

Our pupils are motivated to develop their critical thinking skills and to reflectively examine their own religious journeys through our RE provision. The children are challenged within our personalised curriculum to consider, to consider how they apply the gospel and the teachings of Jesus to their own daily lives. Leaders plan opportunities for pupils to explore their theological journey through discussion about pieces of scripture, prayer leader groups, Lectio Divina and Collective Worship in order to continually reflect on their own spirituality.  A high priority is given to the formation of pupils in their understanding of, involvement in and service to building the Kingdom of God and taking care of our common home. The children contribute to a 'Building the Kingdom of God' A3 book.

 Teachers use age-related moderation statements to assess the children’s learning across an attainment target.  This is done collaboratively across our Mater Christi Trust schools led by the Diocese to ensure judgements are well evidenced and verified. Children are observed throughout their learning on their individual, group and oral work through each topic. This enables both class teachers and the subject leaders to monitor coverage and identify progress made throughout the pupils’ time at school.

Impact

We develop life-long faithful children who have an enthusiasm to share their faith with others as ambassadors of Christ.

As a result, children at St Cuthbert's…

• Achieve consistently well in all areas of Religious Education and make progress.
• Are happy, comprehensive individuals who have developed a deep-rooted relationship with God and understanding of our Catholic faith.
• Are well prepared for the next stage of their journey in education as aspirational and independent learners, who are proud of all they have achieved.
• In line with The Diocese of Lancaster Education Service’s desire to bring the word of God to the people, we aim for our children to ‘go out to the whole world and proclaim the good news.’ Mark 16:5