Intent
At St. Anthony’s, our intent for Religious Education is to ensure each child develops a comprehensive understanding of the Catholic Religion, the teachings of Jesus Christ and the Catholic Church, are at the core of our whole curriculum. We strive to create an ethos whereby the spiritual, moral, social and cultural needs of all within the entire school community are supported. Through exploration, questioning and discussion, we will ensure each child has an understanding of the life of Jesus and the People of God from the Bible. We see Religious Education as a subject that is not only taught in timetabled lessons, but is a way of life which is promoted by all members of our school community. We guide the children to strive towards living their lives following the Gospel Values, the teachings of Jesus Christ, using His life as an example, and the Catholic Church. We will also ensure children will be informed and gain an understanding of other Christian faith denominations and world religions. At St. Anthony’s, we feel it is imperative to help the children to become kind, caring, moral people and to help deepen their understanding of how these virtues will lead them to a closer relationship with God.
Implementation
Religious Education is timetabled weekly, ensuring lessons are planned with an in-depth knowledge of the Religious Education Curriculum Directory (REDC) as well as following advice from the Lancaster Diocese. We incorporate the Diocesan approved schemes: Come and See and The Way, The Truth and The Life, to create our own unique Religious curriculum. We have adapted the schemes to suit the needs of our pupils and to ensure all pupils learn and can access new learning from EYFS to Year 6. Teachers ensure questions are given after each lesson to deepen the children’s understanding and religious beliefs. Our Religious Education is also taught through other subjects, visits to local places of worship and links with our Catholic community, including Father Peter and the Catechists. At St. Anthony’s, we believe it is crucial for all teaching staff to be offered regular opportunities for in-house and external training. We carry out regular formal and informal assessment and monitoring of work, through moderations in phase teams (EYFS, Year 1/2, Year 3/4 and Year 5/6), across the school, at local cluster meetings and at yearly Diocesan meetings.
Impact
Through our Religious Education curriculum, we hope for our children at St. Anthony’s to develop an in-depth understanding of the Catholic religion, the Bible and the meanings within, so they can analyse, discuss, reflect and express their own understanding and views. Also, that the children will have access to this knowledge, understanding and values throughout all school life and the curriculum. We hope the children will gain the knowledge and teachings to live their lives following the Catholic Virtues, so they will be ready to continue their Religious Education at a higher level when they complete their time at St. Anthony’s. We believe children will become kind, caring, moral people, who will continue to share the Word of God with others through their lives and continue to be part of the Global Church. ‘The outcome of excellent Religious Education is religiously literate and engaged young people who have the knowledge, understanding and skills – appropriate to their age and capacity – to reflect spiritually, and think ethically and theologically, and who are aware of the demands of religious commitment in everyday life’ (Religious Education Curriculum Directory).
Year A and B RE Curriculum Overview
Our most recent RE Inspection took place in June 2018. The report can be viewed here: