RE Overview

Religious Education Curriculum Statement

Intent

The Religious Education (RE) curriculum at St. Thomas More Catholic Primary School is in line with the Guidance provided by the RE Curriculum Directory of the Clifton Diocese and broadly based on the Strategy ‘God Matters’. The teachings of the faith are based around the Catholic Church’s Liturgical year. The pupils revisit the themes on a yearly basis. These lessons are based around scripture.

In addition, we ensure the whole Religious Education curriculum is taught in the light of the Gospel values and actively promotes the spiritual and moral development of our pupils.  We also endeavour to ensure the Religious Education curriculum is in line with Bishop Declan’s teaching – Deepen Prayer, Enable Communion and Strengthen Mission.

Through Religious Education we aim to:

• help pupils to grow in confidence in God’s love;
• continue to develop their sense of awe, wonder and reverence in the world around them;
• develop within children a reverence for God and all things of God;
• help children in their search for the meaning of life through the way in which God reveals himself in Christ, developing an understanding of the Gospel;
• give RE equal status to that given to all core subjects in the curriculum;
• put God, and therefore religious education, at the heart of the life of the school;
• teach RE in accordance with the teachings of the Catholic Church;
• provide opportunities for children to celebrate their faith through liturgy, sacrament and prayer;
• develop a respect for each other and all people, including those of different faith and cultural backgrounds;
• contribute to the child’s understanding of morality, choice and responsibility for their present, youth and adult life;
• foster in all the understanding of God’s Kingdom through work in our local and wider community;
• ensure the liturgical year is reflected in the life and activities of the school;
• develop an understanding of other world faiths;
• strengthen the relationship between home, parish and feeder schools;
• provide adequate resources in terms of both personnel and materials required to implement the policy;
• provide in-service training for teachers so that they have opportunities to deepen their own faith.

R.E Parent Newsletters:

Take a look at some of our fantastic RE learning: 

Year 5 looked at the symbolism in different pieces of artwork depicting the baptism of Jesus. They looked to see if the Holy Trinity were represented and looked at the accuracy of the artwork, linking to the scripture - Matthew 3:13-17

2022 - 2023

We learnt all about the important things a priest does during Mass and about the things he uses, including the chalice and the special plates for the bread.

We learnt an alter server helps the priest by getting everything ready before Mass and helping him during the service including carrying the special book of prayers and stories, passing the priest the water and wine and ringing the bell during the extra special parts.

We then learnt about the job of a reader.  The reader is usually taken from group of people who have come to Mass.

We walked to St Thomas More Parish Centre, where we had a tour of the church by Mr Comer.  We started by looking at the main part of the church and Mr Comer explained what the priest does and where.  We then got to walk around the alter to see what the priest can see from where he stands.

We then went into another room where we were able to see the things that the priest uses in Church, such as the chalice, the special plates and glasses and the candles.  We even saw the incense holder (which we learnt is only used in very special occasions).  We also saw the special clothes that he and the alter servers wear.  

Finally, we went in to the chapel where we saw a smaller alter and lots of art work and statues.