Religious Education makes up at least 10% of our teaching time throughout the school.  The Religious Education Directory “To Know You More Clearly”  documentation  form the basis of our curriculum for Religious Education and this is supplemented with a variety of other resources.  The Bible is a vital resource for our school life.  We aim to deliver the objectives within our RE curriculum in the most creative and engaging ways possible. 

This includes: writing, reading, art, drama, Philosophy for Children and the use of ICT. Cross-curricular approaches to Religious Education are encouraged e.g. R.E through literacy, using religious work as a stimulus for art work and using ICT to research aspects of Religious Education.

Reflection and meditation are important aspects of our religious education and we provide opportunities for this (including our very youngest children).

We believe that success means the development of each child’s unique gifts and talents as well as good academic achievement.

Other Religions

Why do Catholic schools teach about other religions? 

 Teaching about other religions is important for several reasons:

1.    Learning about the religion and cultures of those who do not share the Catholic faith is one of the ways in which Catholic schools embody the call to love one’s neighbour. As the Church says, “The love for all men and women is necessarily also a love for their culture. Catholic schools are, by their very vocation, intercultural.” (Congregation for Catholic Education p61).

2.    It is required by the Bishops, who state that the Catholic nature of our schools entails “a willingness… to try to understand better the religion of one’s neighbours, and to experience something of their religious life and culture.” (Catholic Bishops' Conference p3).

3.    Many of the children in Catholic schools are practicing members of other faiths and our schools need to be places of hospitality for these children. It is an act of respect and courtesy that our curriculum helps them to reflect on the nature of their own religious identity. As the Church says, “All children and young people [including those of other faiths in our Catholic schools] must have the same possibilities for arriving at the knowledge of their own religion as well as of elements that characterise other religions.” (Congregation for Catholic Education) 

4.    It prepares the pupils in our Catholic schools for life in modern Britain, giving them an understanding of the beliefs of others. This in turn will improve social cohesion and contribute to the common good by increasing mutual respect between those of different religions.

As part of the RED Branch 6, each class studies other religions. This helps pupils to develop an understanding of themselves and others, promoting their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.