Religious Education

Religious education is more than just one subject in the curriculum. In Catholic schools it is the core of the “core curriculum

- Pope St. John Paul II

INTENT

At St Francis, we strive for all children to enjoy and have enthusiasm for Religious Education (RE). We want all children to have access to high quality RE teaching that helps them develop good understanding, knowledge and respect of their own faith and others so that a cohesive community is built. We want RE to build the foundation of our children's spiritual development and to bring them closer to God, creating children who are highly educated, skilled and cultured to contribute to the common good of society.   RE will have a positive impact on the children’s spiritual and moral understanding of the world and give them skills for their future life, along with access to their gifts from God.

IMPLEMENTATION

At St Francis, we are proud to implement RE with the help of the Diocese whereby the Catholic faith permeates everything we do. The curriculum is characterised by clear learning objectives and key content and is implemented through effective teaching and learning and rich resources; and achievement is identified by outcomes and accurate methods of assessment. RE at St Francis is developed and resourced with the same commitment as other core subjects. The content of the curriculum is taught, developed and resourced to make sure all children can access and understand their Catholic faith. Through creative and enriching lessons, the expectation is that children will confidently develop and apply their key skills, such as evaluating and recognising and making judgements. They will develop these key skills progressively through the years which then allows them to deepen their understanding of their faith. Alongside lessons, we also moderate (planning, lessons and books) so that we can be sure that progress is made across all year groups. If progress is not being made, support is immediate and steps provided to ensure all pupils achieve and make progress.

Impact 

Children are enthusiastic in their Religious Education learning journey. They build and deepen their knowledge and understanding of their faith; make links through engaging and responding to other people's views; and begin to evaluate their own faith and its impact on their lives and others. These key strands, as outlined in our Religious Education curriculum, are continuously developed and built upon year by year and are measured against the assessment criteria set by the Diocese of Leeds. Teachers use Knowledge, Skills and Vocabulary (KSV) grids to plan and resource creative, engaging lessons over the course of a half-termly unit, ensuring children receive a high quality Religious Education where the key knowledge and skills are developed over time. Pupil Voice shows our children are engaged and enthusiastic about Religious Education lessons. They believe it brings them close to Jesus and their faith. They enjoy creative lessons that teach them scripture and understanding of their faith. This in turn allows them to have deep, thought provoking discussions, reflecting on their own views and those held by other people. Key questions and other engaging starter activities allow pupils to embed their knowledge, making links across different units they have studied. In doing so, pupils are also able to see how their understanding of their faith can make a positive difference to themselves, their community and the world, putting their beliefs and values into action. 

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