RE
Religious Education Intent
As a Catholic school, Religious Education plays a central and vital part here at Saint Anne's. At the heart of Catholic Education lies the Christian vision of the human person. This vision is expressed and explored in Religious Education. Therefore Religious Education is never simply one subject among many, but the foundation of our entire educational process.
The beliefs and values studied in Catholic Religious Education inspire and draw together every aspect of the life of a Catholic school. We are committed to classroom RE, then, because all pupils have the right to receive an overall education which will enable them, in the light of the faith of the Church, to engage with the deepest questions of life and find reasons for the hope which is within them (1 Peter 3.15).
Religious Education is, then, the core subject in a Catholic school.
Parents/Families as Educators
The first educators in the faith are parents. It is they, above all others, who establish in their children the first sensitivity and responsiveness to the presence of God, to the practice of prayer and to the patterns of life in the community of faith, the parish. The foundations of life-long faith and discipleship in their children are laid down in the home.
Collective Worship
At Saint Anne's, we come together in our key stages and as a whole school for collective worship. Collective consists of a group of people coming together at an appropriate time, in an appropriate place intentionally to focus upon things of worth and value for the group.
Collective worship gives us:
A sense of special time
A sense of special place
The intention of focusing on matters of worth ‘beyond the everyday’
A sense of occasion
Times of collective worship are educational, planned learning experiences. They contributes to the education of the pupils and facilitate spiritual growth and respect of each other’s religious beliefs and practices. This may be done by evoking the sense of beauty, awe, wonder or feelings of pride, pity, sharing or by exploring the spirituality of life and experience.
Other Religions
In his life on earth Jesus showed a respect for those within and outside his own faith community. Children today live in a fast changing global world, where communication and travel opens children to diversity and challenge. It is important that we prepare them for this.
The Church calls us to be committed to respecting people from other religions and to recognise that God is at work in them. The Church teaches that, whilst living out our Christian faith, we are called to dialogue and be ready to learn from those of other faiths, many of whom may, be our neighbours.
Pupils are encourages not simply to learn facts about other religions but to also reflect upon them and gain insights from them. Children will learn:
how members of different faiths live as a community
how other faiths worship
At Saint Anne's, we teach other faiths separately in order to avoid confusion. Comparison can lead to inaccurate teaching and does not do justice to the integrity of each religion. Comparisons may be noted by the pupils, but that will not be the starting point of teaching.
IMPLEMENTATION
'Living and Growing as the People of God' is the curriculum strategy for Religious Education across the Diocese of Birmingham.
The RE strategy provides a curriculum that is inclusive for all pupils, focusing on the development of their intellect, understanding of their faith (progressively through the year groups) and an opportunity to ask wondering questions that allow children to grow their relationship with God.
Its content also provides the foundations for a partnership between school, home and parish, a partnership that lies at the centre of Catholic Education.
Below you can find an overview of the work covered in RE in each year group.