At St. George’s, we follow the Way, the Truth and the Life programme of Catholic Education. We supplement this scheme with the knowledge and resources gained through the Diocesan Foundation Stones programme and appropriate and relevant sources such as encyclicals and the Rooted in Love Catholic Social Teaching materials. We intend a Religious Education that covers all aspects of Catholic education and introduces children to other faiths.  As a Catholic school, our identity is a, ‘reference to Christian concept of life centred on Jesus Christ’ (Ref). Through this, the children live out our school motto, ‘In everything we do today, we’re following Jesus and His Way.’

We are using the Interim Age-Related Standards in Religious Education approved for use in Catholic Schools by the Department of Catholic Education and Formation of The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales. These interim standards aim to develop a range of skills over the course of primary school in the areas of:

• Knowledge and Understanding (Learning ‘about’)
• Engagement and Response (Learning ‘from’)
• Analysis and Evaluation (for children in Years 3 – 6)

These Standards further break down the skills which we will develop in each area. For Developing Knowledge and Understanding, this includes Making Links and Connections and accurately using Religious and Specialist vocabulary. At St. George’s, we place an important emphasis on the accurate use of Religious and Specialist vocabulary through introducing children to new words at an appropriate pace. Retrieval practice helps children to build on prior learning.

Engaging and responding seeks to build children’s ability to ask and response to questions, and make comparisons, aiming to develop their ability to find Meaning and Purpose in religious texts and understanding of their and others’ Beliefs and Values. We truly treasure the awe and wonder that children have as a result of what they see and hear during their Religious Education lessons. The priests from our Parish, Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St. George, are regular visitors to our school and help the children answer some of these ‘big’ questions.

For Analysis and Evaluation, children are asked to use sources as evidence to support a point of view. These sources include Scripture, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, prayers and encyclicals. Children learn how to construct arguments, make judgements and recognise diversity.

Adaptive and responsive teaching, along with the use of appropriate scaffolds, ensure that we have high expectations of all children. We plan opportunities for children to express their knowledge and understanding in a variety of ways, including writing, art, poetry, music, computing and drama. Religious Education truly is ‘the core of the core’ at St. George’s Catholic Primary school.