Religious Education

As a Catholic School, we devote 10% of curriculum time to the teaching of Religious Education; this is separate from times of prayer and collective worship, such as assemblies, liturgies and class prayer which happen in addition to the taught curriculum. This means 2.5 hours a week of taught RE for pupils in Reception to Year 6 and 1.5 hours for our Nursery Pupils.

At school we follow the 'Come and See' scheme of work for RE, which fulfils the requirements of the Bishop's Conference and the Curriculum Directory for Religious Education, which sets forth the expectations for what should be covered by Religious Education teaching in Catholic Schools in England and Wales. Children are assessed in RE through our use of the Diocese of Westminster's Age-Related Standards (3-19) in Religious Education. This also helps teachers to ensure that learning is suitably pitched in order that RE is as interesting, enjoyable and challenging as any other curriculum subject.

As well as covering the delivery of Catholic Education, 'Come and See' also contains the resources and units required for us to regularly teach children about other world religions, in order that they develop an appreciation for faith in a wider sense and are appreciative and respectful of the religious beliefs, practices and observances of others thus enabling them to be responsible and constructive members of the multi-cultural, multi-faith society in which they live.

Although preparation for the Sacraments of Reconciliation and First Holy Communion are completed outside of school within the Parish community, during Year 3, the RE curriculum also supports children in this journey towards fuller participation in the Mass and the life of the Church.

Religious Education – Curriculum Intent

Our Religious Education curriculum aims to be ‘the core of the core curriculum’, Pope John Paul II.

By placing RE at the core of the curriculum, we are able to fulfil our mission to educate the whole person which has been created lovingly by God. Religious Education at Holy Rood aims to bring pupils’ closer to God through knowledge and understanding as well as facilitating all pupils to be religiously literate. As well as engagingly presenting a comprehensive curriculum which provides the basis of knowledge and understanding of the Catholic faith, the intent of our Religious Education curriculum is to:

Enable pupils to continually to deepen their religious and theological understanding and be able to communicate this effectively;
To present an authentic vision of the Church's moral and social teaching so that pupils can make a critique of the underlying trends in contemporary culture and society;
To raise pupils' awareness of the faith and traditions of other religious communities in order to respect and understand them;
To develop the critical faculties of pupils so that they can relate their Catholic faith to daily life;
To stimulate pupils' imagination and provoke a desire for personal meaning as revealed in the truth of the Catholic faith;
To enable pupils to relate the knowledge gained through Religious Education to their understanding of other subjects in the curriculum;
To bring clarity to the relationship between faith and life, and between faith and culture
To encourage children to respect and be fully aware of the needs of others as equal members of God’s creation