At St. Joseph’s School, Religious Education is central to who we are. As members of the Body of Christ and part of a Christian community, we recognise that everyone is at a different point in their journey of faith. Through our Religious Education curriculum, and by living out Christ’s teachings in every part of school life, we seek to grow in our understanding of faith. This growth enables us to love and serve God each day, both in the present and as we look to the future.
Aims
Our aims for Religious Education will be to enrich the lives of the children in the;
- Love of God for everyone and everything He has created.
- Understanding of the Good News of the Lord, to enable them to respond to His love.
- Teaching of the Catholic faith and how their lives should be shaped by their beliefs and values.
- Growth of faith by relating the Gospels to their lives and levels of understanding.
- Development of worship and prayer, allowing children to take a leading role.
- Awareness and respect of other Christian faiths, world faiths and cultures.
- Standards to be high and children to be challenged in their understanding so that they can deepen this.
We feel that the best way to achieve these aims is a three-way process involving the Home, School and Parish. We endeavor to make these links wherever possible, acknowledging that the foundation of Religious Education is presented to children from a very wide range of backgrounds and commitment to the faith.
Based upon the varied backgrounds and experience of Church and Religious Education we tailor our programme to meet the needs of all pupils.
Whilst we are first and foremost a Roman Catholic School with a strong mission and vision statement, we do support other religious backgrounds within our school, focusing on the similarities within the beliefs and celebrating the differences.
The objectives of curriculum religious education in catholic schools are:
- To develop knowledge and understanding of the mystery of God and of Jesus Christ, of the church, and of the central beliefs which Catholics hold.
- To develop awareness and appreciation of Catholic belief, understanding of its impact on personal and social behaviour and of the vital relationship between faith and life, life, and
- To encourage study, investigation, and reflection by the
- To develop appropriate skills: for example, ability to listen; to think critically, spiritually, ethically, and theologically; to acquire knowledge and organise it effectively; to make informed
- To foster appropriate attitudes: for example, respect for truth; respect for the views of others; awareness of the spiritual, of moral responsibility, of the demands of religious commitment in everyday life and especially the challenge of living in a multicultural, multifaith society.
RE Curriculum
The ‘Come And See’ programme was developed to respond to the needs of children today in their faith journey, to enable them to grow in their religious literacy and understanding in a way that is coherent with current educational principles. It integrates the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the end of year Diocesan Expectations and the new Religious Education Curriculum Directory.
At the heart of the programme is the mystery of God’s self revelation of love through Jesus Christ. Come and See gives pupils the opportunity to explore the mystery of faith through Scripture and Tradition. Throughout a pupil’s school journey they will each have the opportunity to explore different faiths and religions as part of this curriculum.
At St Joseph’s, our Sacramental Preparations take place in year 3 (or those who are 7 by December in year 2. We work with the catechists from our three local parishes who deliver the Diocesan Sacramental Preparation Programme.
