Religious Education

Subject Leader Mrs N Atkinson

"With Christ in our hearts we live life to the full."

INTENT

‘Following the example of Blessed Christopher Wharton, we seek to grow in the virtues of Faith, Service and Courage so that our schools may be a light to the world. Together in the Light of Christ, our family of schools will strive for educational excellence, creating thriving Catholic learning communities where each person can fulfil their God-given potential.’

Mission - Blessed Christopher Wharton Trust.

‘Religious Education is concerned not only with intellectual knowledge but also includes emotional and affective learning…

Without religious education, pupils would be deprived of an essential element of their formation and personal development,

which helps them attain a vital harmony between faith and culture.’

Religious Education Curriculum Directory - p4.

Our Primary aims:

to promote knowledge and understanding of Catholic faith and life.
children to meet the Diocesan Standards for Primary Religious Education, which will be taught by highly qualified staff who will engage children’s intellect, heart and imagination, inspiring enthusiasm and interest in RE.
to promote the unique and individual talents of each child and ensure that they reach their full potential.
to promote the skills required to engage in examination of and reflection upon religious belief and practice.
to promote a close relationship between home, school and parish.

IMPLEMENTATION

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, 1988

Programme of Study:

From September 2025, Religious Education (RE) will be taught using a new Catholic RE programme called ‘Lighting the Path’ published by Oxford University Press and approved by the Diocese of Leeds. The implementation of the new programme will be phased in over the next two academic years. Children in Early Years and Year One and Year Two will be taught RE using Lighting the Path from this September, followed by all Key Stage Two classes from September 2026. Lighting the Path follows a spiral curriculum which means that each year group follows the same broad theme, but the content differs depending on the age of pupils.

‘Your word is a lamp to my feet, a light on my path’

Psalm 119:105

Please click this link to find out what your child will be learning this Autumn term.

From 2019, we also follow the Diocese implementation of the “Virtues to live by - The flourishing of the whole person” a collection of Virtues that coincide with the Church’s Year that are taught throughout the three school terms. Children learn about the Virtues, links to the Bible, Jesus’ teachings and their everyday life. Through Liturgies, assemblies, collective worship and circle time they explore these virtues and are commended for living them out in their daily lives. We aim to teach our children to display virtues to others and carry out our Mission.

Link to the Virtue site : https://www.virtuestoliveby.org/

The planning for each year group, with key I can statements:

Autumn Term

Spring Term

Summer Term

Other Faiths

As we slowly introduce Lighting the Path, we will continue to learn about Other Faiths in our 2-year cycle. This academic year, we will dedicate one week each term to learn about Buddhism, Islam and Judaism. Next academic year, we will learn about Hinduism and Sikhism.

IMPACT

Children are happy learners within RE. They experience a wide-ranging number of learning challenges in RE and know appropriate responses to them.
Through RE, children deepen their appreciation of their faith and fulfil their God-given talents
Children talk enthusiastically about their learning in RE and are eager to further their learning in the next stages of their education.
Children are well prepared for the next stage of their education as confident and enthusiastic learners who are witness to Christ in their words and actions
Children produce good quality work across religion, which they are proud of
The children will grow to know and love God, develop their moral and spiritual nature and deepen their faith.

Children will live their faith in an active and positive way.
Children live out the school's virtues in their relationships with others.

The school environment will reflect and celebrate our Catholic faith.
Children will be able to define, 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 the impact of beliefs.
Children will be able to reflect and consider important questions about RE.
Through wider reading in RE, children will be able to make links between Jesus’ life and teaching and link it to their own lives, making links between different forms of Christian action, such as in rituals and charitable acts.
The majority of children are working at age related expectations by the end of EYFS, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2.