St Bernard’s RC Primary School

Religious Education (RE) Policy

St Bernard’s a joyful, aspirational community rooted in faith Believe, Grow, Succeed

At St. Bernard’s R.C. Primary School we are committed to helping every child to grow and develop in the love of God and others, recognizing the unique nature of each individual’s needs. Our vision and aims of the school emphasis the central role of Jesus plays in providing aFoundation on which our school’s life and work is based, and where the 5 W’s (Word, Worship, Witness, Welfare and Welcome) play a vital part of our daily lives.

Religious education within our school complements and is underpinned by this mission and in partnership with home and parish, provides a setting for the development of a sensitive and reflective attitude to life and opportunities for living and sharing our faith with the wider community.

Whole School Objectives

We aim to Emphasis the Catholic ethos and distinctiveness of our school by making the whole school a place where children and adults feel respected, confident, and loved.

We aim to provide an environment in which to:

Develop a greater love and knowledge of God, which grows from the experience of the love and kindness we receive from others.

Develop a sense of awe and wonder towards God’s creation Grow towards a deeper understanding, knowledge and experience of the teachings

of the Catholic Church through the study of the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, the central beliefs that Catholic’s hold and how these impact lives

Promote a gradual opening of the mind and heart in the search for truth about God. Help children to prepare for, participate in and appreciate liturgical prayer and

worship. Understand, appreciate, and celebrate the similarities between Catholicism and

other faiths, traditions and cultures.

Affirm the value and worth of all people, contributing to the development of positive self-esteem, self-understanding and responsibility.

Help each child to live, grow and contribute as a citizen, in a way which fosters care and responsibility towards others and their environment.

Work positively with home and parish to fulfil our shared role in the Sacramental Programme.

Aims for the pupils:

Through engaging and stimulating Religious Education, we aim to develop knowledge, concepts and attitudes in our pupils which will enable them to:

Grow in the knowledge and love of God Grow in understanding and appreciation of Scripture and its place in Christianity Grow in the experience, knowledge and understanding of the church, its life and

teachings, its significance and relevance in the world today and concern for peace and justice and the environment.

Become familiar with the liturgical year and involved in the sacramental life and worship of the parish community by preparing for and participating in liturgical prayer and worship and sacramental celebrations.

Become familiar with the person, life and teachings of Jesus who reveals both the face of God and the fullness of humanity, i.e. what it is to be human.

Become familiar with the beliefs of other faiths. Develop a moral awareness in the light of the Christian message

Planning

Our rich curriculum embraces our Catholicity at its heart and complies with the Religious Education Directory requirements, we allocate 10% of teaching time to curriculum RE in each class.

Children currently follow the 'Come and see" scheme and the 'Caritas in Action' scheme.

We ensure that the curriculum is made available to all children regardless of age, gender, ability, ethnic origin or faith. A variety of teaching styles will be used to impart the curriculum and reference will be made to other subjects where appropriate.

The Caritas in Action scheme has been produced by Salford Diocese as a response to Catholic Social Teaching, which calls us all as Catholics to work for the common good, help build a just society, uphold the dignity of human life and work for justice and the dignity of all our brothers and sisters, especially those in the greatest need.

All classes also have planned acts of collective worship on a regular basis. As the children progress through the school they take pleasure in planning these for themselves.

We plan our work in 5 areas along the guidelines of the '5 W's framework'; Word. Worship, Witness, Welfare and Welcome and you can see below a brief overview of each area.

Word

Children learn about stories and passages from the Bible, thinking about what they can learn from these. We believe it is important to promote Gospel values and their relevance to everyday life and living to help children fully embrace their faith.

Worship

Our G.I,F.T. team take a lead in preparing pupil prayer groups during the significant dates of the liturgical calendar. We are actively engaged and liaise closely with our Parish’s Sacramental Programme team to support children in their sacramental journey. We strengthen links between home, school and our faith community by sharing in a range of shared Masses, celebrations and acts of worship.

Welcome

We feel the presence of Christ’s love, in the warmth of our welcome as we open our doors, our hearts and our minds to serve, strengthen and encourage all who visit or work with our school and Parish community. Everybody is treated with dignity and we reach out with ‘open hands’ as we live our Mission daily. This can be witnessed in the joy around the school and the respect adults and children show to each other.

Witness

Gospel values are understood and evidenced in policies and procedures of the school. Scripture is read during collective worship. This impacts significantly on learning and the life of the school. In lessons and around school pupils are courteous and considerate. We also provide a variety of opportunities for children to demonstrate responsibility and witness to their community by holding a number of fundraising/ community activities.

Welfare

Our Inclusion practice is evidence that the explicitly Christ centred ethos is loving, creative, compassionate, highly positive and fosters a high level of understanding, empathy, forgiveness and respect for all. We promote moral development by recognising and valuing our pupils and implementing a school behaviour and attitude system based on reconciliation.

Planning:

In line with Bishops’ Conference recommendations, 10% of curriculum time is allocated to Religious Education. This does not include Collective Worship.

RE is taught using the Salford Diocese’s approved scheme: Come and See. This syllabus sets out 9 units of study for all year groups from Early Years to Year 6. Each class in the school will study the same theme at the same time, with the topic changing for each year group. Short term planning is based on learning focuses from the teachers’ books relevant to each year group.

Teaching of other faiths is built into the programme, so our pupils have the opportunity to learn about other faith communities and their beliefs and practices. Each class will study Judaism for one week, and learn about either Islam, Hinduism or Sikhism in a focused week.

Formative assessment is ongoing and summative assessment takes place at the end of each unit (approximately every four weeks) with levels recorded within books and recorded half termly on a school tracking grid. Summative assessment tasks can be based on activities from the teacher books or designed by class teachers to fit their needs. At periodic moderation meetings analysis of work and level judgements are discussed. These form part of a review and inform the overall planning provision for Religious Education.

Resources:

Each class has a resource box which has various resources to enable a progression of relevant, age related resources to support in teaching and in prayer. Other resources are stored centrally in the R.E cupboard off the school hall. Money is made available in the school budget in order to purchase new resources as required and to ensure that RE is resourced to a high standard in line with other core subjects.

Display:

Each class has their own altar area which is adapted during the year to reflect the Liturgical calendar and collective worship themes. RE themed displays will also be present in communal areas such as the hall.

Prayer and Worship:

Planned opportunities for high quality worship are an essential part of school life. Collective worship, individual prayer time and opportunities for reflection at school, phase and class

levels enrich the religious experiences of both children and adults in our community, and are supported by school and diocesan guidelines. These include:

Daily prayers at the beginning and end of each session Weekly class collective worship, including music, scripture and reflection. Weekly whole school assemblies. Whole school masses at the start and end of each term and on Holydays Class masses on a rota basis Nursery welcome service

Individual worship and reflection is supported by a prayer focus within each classroom and in shared areas around the school. In this way we aim to make prayer and worship an intrinsic part of our daily lives.

We endeavour to support our parents in a number of ways. We distribute the ‘Wednesday Word’ for parents to share with their children the Sunday Gospel. We invite parents.carers to assemblies and masses and consider these events key learning opportunities for our wider community. Our school website reflects the Catholic nature of our school and celebrates Jesus Christ at the centre of all we do.

Legal Rights:

Parents have the right to withdraw their child(ren) from Religious Education and Collective Worship. However, given its importance in a Catholic school, parents and prospective parents need to be aware of the fact that it can never be confined to ‘timetabled slots’, but may take place in a variety of contexts other than those which are specifically structured.

Equal Opportunities:

At St Bernard’s we aim to provide all pupils with equal access to a broad and balanced curriculum, of which RE is an integral part. In this way all should make the greatest possible progress and reach their full potential. Group work, extension activities and individual

support are used to meet the needs of all children ensuring inclusion, and full access to all aspects of the RE curriculum .

Monitoring/Evaluation

The RE coordinator will

review the policy regularly in the light of new developments. monitor children’s work, observe lessons and speak to children, to ensure that

progress is being made. Monitor assessment across the school and track progress. Inform staff of any developments in RE and feedback from training opportunities

Updated: September 2018