Intent
RE is the foundation of the entire education process and permeates all areas of the curriculum and school life. We are a Catholic school and we are committed to the Catholic Faith, recognising and valuing every individual as special and unique and giving everyone the opportunity to ”let their light shine”. With Jesus in our hearts, we encourage love and respect for all. We are nurturing every child through an engaging curriculum that is centred around our Gospel Values.
Religious Education at St. Matthew’s respects and promotes each child’s capacity for wonder, reverence and spirituality. Children are taught about God’s love; they learn about their Christian responsibilities; children are provided with experiences of church, Catholic and Christian traditions, as well as being taught to be respectful and understanding of people and traditions from other faith backgrounds. Through Religious Education our children learn about their unique place within the home, school and parish community.
Our principal aim is that children leave St Matthew’s they will have met the attainment targets in the RE programme of study and are happy and confident in their place in the community and have a clear understanding on their impact in it.
Implementation
Under Diocesan advice, we have adopted The Way scheme of work in order to deliver the R.E. curriculum. Each class follows the same topic at their own level. Special attention is paid to teaching and adaptive learning when teachers are planning each topic.
The aim of The Way programme is to explore the religious dimension of questions about life, dignity and purpose within the Catholic tradition. Links are made with the teaching of the Church, pupils’ own experiences and universal experience. The children will explore the beliefs, values and way of life of the Catholic tradition and, where appropriate other faith traditions.
All pupils in our school, irrespective or ability, faith and background will have appropriate access to the religious education programme. Parents have the statutory right to withdraw pupils from RE lessons but should be aware that RE and the Catholic faith are integrated across our curriculum so pupils would still be exposed to many elements of faith teaching.
Impact
Through the complete and rigorous Religious Education at St Matthew’s, children are given the opportunity to develop and ‘let their light shine’ in the image and likeness of God. They talk openly and deeply about their faith and reflect this in their everyday life. They show this learning through questioning, reflective responses, respect for all and treating others as God would want them too. Children are happy and confident in their place in the community and have a clear understanding on their impact in it. This is reflected in the positive impact they have through their responses to charitable work, their contributions to the liturgy of the school and the parish, and in the reflective work they produce in their RE books.
The children leave St Matthew’s knowing that they have a purpose in the world and a responsibility towards one another.
RE Questionnaire Results