At St Bede’s we follow the Come and See programme as recommended by the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle.

Curriculum Intent

We will:

• Explore the contribution of Christianity and other religions to culture, personal commitment, and action in everyday life.
• Enable each child to develop a deeper understanding of the Catholic faith, promoting respect for religious and moral values.
• Prepare children for life in a multi faith society by fostering respect for and understanding of rich cultural diversity.
• Foster the growth of each child’s potential, by promoting the individual talents and abilities of all pupils.
• Ensure that RE plays a central role in the school’s work on spiritual, moral, vocational, social, and cultural education.
• Promote an understanding and care of the environment.
• Ensure that children leave St Bede’s School with a wide range of happy and rich memories in RE. They will meet the Diocesan Standards for Primary Religious Education, which will be taught by highly qualified staff who will engage children’s intellect, hearts and imagination, inspiring enthusiasm, and interest in RE.
• Develop children’s skills in RE, to make links and connections, engage and respond, analyse, and evaluate using sources of evidence.
• Apply skills taught in other subjects in RE and children will be encouraged to investigate the faith with enthusiasm and rigour.
• Develop the knowledge, understanding and appreciation of the Sacraments for children and their parents/carers.
• Create opportunities for children of all ages to experience learning beyond the classroom. This will allow them to enrich their knowledge by, for example, visiting different places of worship, local parish church etc.
• Establish close and collaborative relationships between home, parish, and school.
• Follow the Ten:Ten programme of RSE, a scheme which conforms to the teaching of the Catholic Church and follows Diocesan guidelines.
• Ensure the children develop an awareness of God’s presence in their lives and the lives of others, developing the spiritual life of each child through prayer and reflection.
• Ensure that children develop a well-formed conscience allowing them to make sound moral judgements in the light of personal commitment to God.
• Encourage parents/carers, family members and friends to attend school Masses and religious celebrations and pupils to participate in parish activities outside of school time, promoting good links with the Parish of St Bede.

Implementation

• 10% of curriculum time is allocated to Religious Education and will be followed by all staff in the school. Fixed timetables will be set before the academic year and monitored by the subject lead and Senior Leadership.
• Carefully designed schemes of learning as outlined in the Come and See programme ensure consistency and progress of all learners. Each year group explores the themes of Church, the Sacraments, Liturgical seasons, and Christian living through a range of topics.
• The topics covered by each year group are detailed in the Come and See Overview and termly letters are sent to parents (both accessible on the Curriculum section of the website).
• Whilst RE is taught as a discrete subject it plays a central role in all areas of school life.
• Success criteria in every RE lesson are set in order to guide children to achieve their potential.
• High quality teaching responds to the learning needs of all children.
• Children will be highly engaged in RE lessons through the use of a variety of sources such as religious stories, scripture, religious artwork, songs, music, dance, drama and religious signs and symbols.
• Teaching approaches will meet the differing preferred learning styles of the children, including whole class teaching, group activities and individual work. Children will have opportunities to work individually as well as cooperatively and collaboratively, developing their own knowledge and expertise as well as sharing experiences with others.
• High quality input from visitors and visits will enhance the RE curriculum.
• Pupils will participate in Mass, feast days, Holy days, events held during Advent/Christmas and Lent/Easter and collective worship which will involve religious actions and worship including the celebration of the sacraments.

Impact

• Children are happy learners within RE. They experience a wide-ranging number of learning challenges in RE and know appropriate responses to them.
• Children will be able to describe and discuss areas of RE. They will confidently use skills such as retelling, describing, comparing, giving reasons, explaining the meaning of biblical stories and considering how beliefs affect our actions.
• Children deepen their appreciation of their faith and fulfil their God-given talents.
• Retreats within RE have enriched the lives of the children and they are able to discuss how the experience impacted their knowledge and understanding.
• Children of all abilities and backgrounds achieve well in RE, reflected in outstanding progress that reveals a clear learning journey. Children talk enthusiastically about their learning in RE and are eager to further their learning in the next stages of their education.
• Proven track record of success in assessments reflect the impact of deep learning.
• All children, regardless of ability, faith and background will have appropriate and differentiated access to the RE curriculum.
• Fundamental British Values are evident in RE and children celebrate difference.
• Children will live their faith in an active and positive way, living out the gospel values, always aware of the presence and love of Christ guiding them.
• The school environment will reflect and celebrate our Catholic faith.

Religious Education Policy

Come & See Annual Overview

Come & See Annual Overview (with dates)

Theological Stepping Stones

Letter to Parents – Religious Education (Autumn 2024)