RE Curriculum

“We Journey with Jesus beside us.”

RE Curriculum Intent 

Religious Education encompasses all aspects of school life and our community engagement.  Pupils are encouraged to share in the work of Jesus to reach out to others and spread the good news about life and its purpose. Christ is at the centre of everything we do and therefore RE can be seen everywhere from in the classroom to outside on the playground. We intend for children to live their lives rooted with a firm moral compass to guide them to make good choices based on their Catholic faith.

We aim to grow children who live their lives rooted in the Catholic values of Faith, Hope, Trust and Love as well as living their lives mirrored in reflection of Jesus Christ. Through the Pope's Laudato Si message, we aim to ensure children don't want to grow to have more, but to be more.

Through our teaching of RE, we aim to explicitly develop the knowledge and understanding of the Catholic faith but to also develop tolerance and respect for the different cultures and beliefs within our own community and society.

St Dunstan's follows the "Come and See" RE Scheme.

Curriculum Implementation 

We use the national Roman Catholic Primary Religious Education Programme ‘Come & See’ as the backbone of our Religious Education syllabuses from Diocese of Salford. This programme is delivered throughout school from Nursery through to Year 6. This programme provides:

* opportunities for celebration, prayer and reflection in implicit and explicit ways.
*children with the language of religious experience – a ‘literacy’ in religious activities, places, stories, symbols and rituals, people and objects.
* a ‘systematic presentation of Christian event, message and way of life’ in ways appropriate to the age and stage of development of each child.
*appropriate materials about other faiths.
*academic respectability as in other curricular areas

The programme explores the religious dimensions of questions about life, dignity and purpose within the Catholic tradition. Links are made with the children’s own experience and with universal experience. It will raise questions and provide material for reflection by the children on their own experiences. It will enable them to explore the beliefs, values and way of life of the Catholic tradition and where appropriate other faith traditions.

OVERVIEW OF CONTENT

‘Come and See’ is taught through a series of 9 topics exploring:
Community of faith - Church
Celebration in ritual - Sacraments
Way of life - Christian Living
Other faith traditions are also explored through discrete topics.

The process for delivering the topics in ‘Come and See’ has three stages - Explore, Reveal and Respond which enable the pupils with the development of knowledge, understanding, skills and the fostering of attitudes. 10% of teaching time is dedicated to the teaching of RE.

The Process
Search
Explore (1 week) This is the introduction to the topic where the children’s life experience is explored, the questions it raises are wondered at, shared, investigated and their significance reflected on. This session may include:

• Exploring experiences through music, story, drama, dance or art
• Investigation and story telling
• Consideration of the Big Question
• Discussion
• Reflection

Revelation
Reveal (usually 2 weeks) This is the heart of the programme where knowledge and understanding of the Catholic faith is revealed through the Word, in Scripture, Tradition, doctrine, prayers, rites and Christian living. The process of this delivery will include:

• Meeting new knowledge of Religious Education
• Reflecting on the wonder of the mystery
• Research, collating information
• Asking searching questions
• Discussion
• Making links between Cristian understanding and the shared life experiences
• Acknowledging and respecting differences
• Being open to new perspectives.

Response
Respond (1 week) This is where the learning is assimilated, celebrated and responded to in daily life. This may be carried out through:

• Creating a quiet, prayerful atmosphere for reflection
• Reviewing work carried out throughout the topic
• Sharing thoughts and feelings

OTHER FAITHS and RELIGIONS

Judaism is usually studied in the Autumn term. The other religion to be studied is either Hinduism, Islam or Sikhism - the religion focus is carefully selected with consideration given to the most relevant and appropriate in light of each class and current local, national or world-wide events.

Assessment
Assessment of standards is carried out according to Diocesan guidelines using the criteria set out in Levels of Attainment in RE agreed by Bishops’ Conference.