RE
Our Faculty Mission Statement is:
Religious Education is the foundation of creating global citizens in our Catholic school. We hand on the moral and spiritual frameworks of the Church to each learner, whilst providing a curriculum which is rooted in excellence, knowledge rich and effectively sequenced with a strong grounding in faith. As a family, we recognise our call to be servant leaders, promoting the Gospel and not only learning about faith, but living it.
The RE department aims to build global Catholic citizens by providing all children with an education which will enable them, in the light of the faith of the Church, to engage with the deepest questions of life. The curriculum reveals the mystery of faith, from the revelation of God to how God became man in the person of Jesus. Students come to understand the influence and impact of the words and actions of Jesus on the lives of believers, past, present and future, and the structure and teachings of the Church.
At KS3, the RE department follows a nationally developed framework called The People of God – Called to Serve which is deliberately mapped against the Religious Education Curriculum Directory for Catholic Schools and Colleges in England and Wales (2012). Students acquire knowledge and understanding through study, discussion and reflection. This leads them into critical reflection on their own experience and an appreciation of the Christian message. The People of God framework helps them to focus on understanding who God is, how to live as a people of God and the challenges of being the people of God. It also enables them, through the study of other faiths, to appreciate the common human quest for meaning, truth and happiness and God at work in human lives. The focus in lesson is on knowledge recall, stickability over time and sequencing mastery.
RE allows students to develop knowledge and understanding of religious beliefs and the importance of personal choices and commitments. This knowledge leads them to have a greater awareness of how beliefs influence lives. They learn how to make connections and comparisons with different areas of study, developing and constructing arguments using sources and contextually accurate specialist language as evidence to support points of views. In the light of religious teaching, students compare and explain responses, coherently presenting arguments that show awareness of other points of view. This enables them to analyse and deconstruct different debates within Theology, Philosophy and Ethics ensuring that they develop the cultural capital to become knowledge-rich citizens of the future.
RE students are given opportunities to understand what it means to be a British citizen – developing respect for and tolerance of different faiths. They also learn the importance of equality and the need to identify common ground between all people to promote understanding of and engagement in shared action for the common good of all.
