St. Mary’s Catholic Primary School
Policy For Religious Education
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St. Mary’s Catholic Primary School
Religious Education Policy
Headteacher: Mr S Breeze
Parish Priest: Fr P Brennan
RE Leader: Rebecca Brolly
Updated : June 2015
Date for review: April 2016
CONTENTS
1. Mission Statement
2. A curriculum statement/ Legal framework
3. Aims
4. The main areas of study
5. How RE should be taught
6. Teaching RE to Non – Catholic children
7. Teaching RE to Foundation Stage children
8. Teaching RE to KS1 children
9. Teaching RE to KS2 children
10. Resources
11. Inset/ Staff development
12. Attainment and differentiation
13. Liaison
14. Monitoring and evaluation
15. Equal Opportunities
16. SEND
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ROLE OF HEADTEACHER.
The head teacher is responsible for ensuring that the policy for Religious Education is
implemented throughout the school and within the classroom. To achieve this all planning is
handed to the head teacher at the beginning of each term.
ROLE OF THE CO-ORDINATOR
 To take the lead in policy development.
 Support colleagues where necessary.
 In consultation with Headteacher purchase and organise central resources for Religious
Education.
 Keep up to date with developments in Religious Education by attending relevant courses
organised by the Birmingham Diocese and other agencies and passing on information to
colleagues.
 To support colleagues in preparing for individual and school Masses.
CLASS TEACHER
The class teacher is responsible for the individual child’s experiences by : Upholding the Catholic Ethos of the school.
 Using the scheme of work in place in school.
 Planning for the teaching of Religious Education.
 Assessing and recording the children’s progress.
 Reporting to parents on children’s progress.
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1. St Mary’s Mission Statement
God is at the centre of our lives and as a school community we try to grow in love
and care by following the example of Jesus.The Gospel values of trust, honesty,
forgiveness, self-respect, self-discipline, loving and caring for one another must be
part of everyday life in our school. We recognise the importance of home, school and
church working in partnership.
2.A Curriculum Statement
2.1 RE is the process of developing each child’s relationship with Christ, according to the
truths and practices of the Catholic faith.
2.2 RE supports, extends and clarifies the faith of the children at home and in the parish. If
the children do not experience faith at home their only experience of what it is to be a
believer may come from school.
2.3 RE takes into account the age of pupils and their capacity to learn.
2.4 RE is vital for the child’s development in moving from an awareness of self to an
awareness of others and their needs, becoming an adult, who is a responsible and caring
member of society.
2.5 RE at St Mary’s is based on the diocesan curriculum strategy ‘Learning and Growing
as the Children of God’.
2.6 The Legal Framework
RE is an entitlement for all pupils (5-19) at school. RE must form part of the school’s basic
curriculum but it is not part of the National Curriculum.
RE should account for 10% of curriculum time (2hours for Foundation and KS1, 2 ½ hours
for KS2 per week). Mass celebration may be considered the equivalent of thirty minutes RE
3. Aims
 To work within the principles stated within the overall aims of the school.
 To support and encourage faith, when it is present and to facilitate its emergence
when it is not.
 To promote as the central & dominant feature of Religious Education, at FS, KS1
and KS2 an appreciation, knowledge and understanding of Catholic doctrine and
practice depending on the age of the children.
 To promote an appreciation and understanding of religious questions in general and
a sympathetic acquaintance with other religious beliefs and practices.
 To promote the moral and spiritual development of pupils, in imitation of Jesus
Christ.
 To promote and encourage among Catholic pupils active committed participation in
the life of the Church, and to promote among all, constructive involvement in the life
of the general community in a spirit of love and service.
4.The main areas of study.
The agreed syllabus from the Birmingham Archdiocese ‘Learning and Growing as the
Children of God’ is followed. This document covers the four main areas of study identified
by the Bishops’ Conference in 1996. These are;
Revelation: God’s self revelation
Church: Communion of life in Christ
Celebration: Mystery in worship and prayer
Life in Christ: The search for holiness and truth.
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Each year group has a number of units to study over the year. The units are
developmental, building on previous knowledge and experience and taking into account of
the children’s age and understanding. The topics covered by each year group are as
detailed on the curriculum overview.
5. How RE is taught
5.1 RE should be taught through the use of ‘Learning and Growing and the People of God’,
the curriculum strategy for RE of the Archdiocese of Birmingham.
In his introduction to the document, Vincent Nichols says, ’This document is the curriculum
strategy for the Religious Education in Catholic Primary schools in the Archdiocese of
Birmingham. It lays out clearly the steps to be taken in RE at each stage of every term in
the nursery and primary years. For schools it is essential guide and norm. For families and
parishes it makes clear what is being tackled in the RE classes. It provides, therefore, the
foundations for the improved partnership between school, home and parish, a partnership
that lies at the heart of Catholic Education.’
The scheme also incorporates units of work for the sacramental preparation in the primary
years.
5.2 There are many opportunities for incidental teaching from daily life situations at home
and at school give rise to many and varied teaching opportunities e.g. birth, death, illness,
family problems, sharing and working together in the class and on the playground, living
and working in a multi-faith society.
5.3 Work on RE topics should be displayed and routinely refreshed – children’s work/
posters/ religious artefacts in the classrooms and communal areas of the school.
5.4 Through religious practice, upholding church traditions of prayer and worship.
5.5 Through celebrations of Mass, feast days, Holy days and collective worship.
5.6 Through celebrations of appropriate liturgical seasons.
5.7 Through retreat days for individual classes or the whole school.
5.8 Through the use of visits and visitors in school to enhance the RE curriculum.
5.9 Through the participation in fundraising events for Christian charities such as CAFOD
and Mission Together.
6.Teaching RE to non-Catholic children.
6.1 Non- Catholic children take an active part in all religious celebrations.
6.2 Their religious beliefs and practices are respected and where possible discussed.
6.3 All pupils in classes preparing for the sacraments complete the required work; NonCatholics will be encouraged to support their classmates in the celebration of the
sacrament.
7.Teaching RE to Early Years
Children’s work in the early years is stated in section 4.
By the end of Early Years, pupils will have the opportunity to:
 Take part in charity fundraising events
 Take part in Masses with the rest of the school.
 Experience collective worship in different forms in the classroom and in the
school hall.
 Work on displays for their classroom and communal areas of the school
 Learn simple hymns and prayers.
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8 Teaching RE to KS1 children.
Children’s work in KS1 is stated in section 4
By the end of Key Stage 1 pupils will have the opportunity to:
 Attend Masses at both St. Mary’s school but more commonly in church.
 Take part in charity fundraising events.
 Read at Masses.
 Take part in offertory processions.
 Read and write bidding prayers.
 Take part in class assemblies presented to the whole school and parents.
 Work on RE displays.
 Work, care and worship together.
 Prepare and lead class liturgies.
 Spend time praying in the school Prayer Garden.
 Learn about Catholic customs from around the world
 Learn that some people have different beliefs and customs.
 Learn about their house team martyrs.
9 Teaching RE to KS2 children.
Children’s work in KS2 is stated in section 4
By the end of KS2 pupils will have the opportunity to:
 Prepare and lead collective worship
 Raise money for charity
 Take part in events in the wider community e.g. family Masses, Leavers
assembly.
 Take part in a retreat days- sacramental and whole school.
 Prepare for the Sacraments of Reconciliation, Eucharist and Confirmation.
 Prepare RE displays.
 Train to become an Altar server
 Be a ‘Special Friend’ to a child in Reception Class.
 Pray in the school Prayer Garden.
 Work, pray, care and worship together.
 Explore different Catholic customs from around the world.
 Find out about different world religions.
 Learn about a variety of Saints and other influential people within the Catholic
Faith.
 Learn about their house team martyrs.
A family life and sex education programme is run in Y5/Y6 using the Archdiocesan programme ‘All
that I am.’
10.Resources
Resources for RE are placed in a central store located in the hall. The majority of resources are in
labelled boxes. All books and videos/DVDs/CDs are stored on shelves. The RE Leader has an
annual budget to replenish and broaden the resources in RE.
11.INSET – staff development
11.1 Details of courses run by the Diocesan department for Religious Education and the
Birmingham Partnership are made available to those members of staff who will benefit from
attending.
11.2 Several members of staff have achieved the certificate in religious education. Any member of
staff who has expressed an interest in studying for this certificate would be encouraged to do so.
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11.3 The RE leader monitors RE teaching closely to ensure good quality RE teaching occurs in
the school and that non-Catholic staff fully understand the curriculum and teachings of the Church.
11.4 RE is part of the school’s annual allowance of in house INSET training days.
12. Differentiation and Attainment
Differentiation is provided in RE in a number of ways, according to a child’s particular needs and
development.
 Written / discussion work can take place in small groups or pairs rather than the
whole class
 Support with the work from the class teacher or support assistant.
 By differentiated tasks
 By differentiated resources
 By presentation of texts with different levels of difficulty.
 By outcome
 Emotional support if necessary
Attainment
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The new curriculum provides an attainment framework at the end of each unit,
allowing for assessment at average , below average and above average
expectations.
There is an assessment programme in place in the school which assesses in
detail a particular strand of the curriculum on a rolling four year programme.
A baseline assessment is undertaken for children in YR in September.
Tracking
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The RE leader is currently implementing a tracking system for RE throughout the
school.
13.Liaison
Liaison with the parish
 The head teacher and RE leader meet in the September of each year with the
parish priest to organise dates for Masses and sacraments for the coming year.
 The RE leader communicates with the Parish Priest about preparation for Mass,
the Sacraments and RE.
 On a Monday each week the children attend Mass in church, these are parish
Masses and the children read, sing, serve and bring forward the offertory gifts.
 Parents are invited to attend all school and special Masses, as well as meetings
about sacraments their child will receive.
 Classes in school take turns to display examples of their RE learning on display
boards in church.
 A monthly ‘Family Mass’ involving the parish and the school encourages more
families to attend Mass on a Sunday morning.
Liaison with parents
 Open evenings twice a year
 Regular celebration assemblies where we celebrate the children’s achievement.
 Class assemblies
 Weekly school Mass
 Parents meetings for the family life and sex education classes.
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Parents also receive:
 A curriculum overview of work covered by their child for each term of the school’s
year
 Access to the schools website
 An annual report on their child’s work, behaviour and progress.
 Details of Masses and assemblies
Liaison with other local Catholic schools
 We work in our own pyramid of 5 primary/1 Secondary school by having regular
meetings on a variety of issues and liaise frequently with the RE advisor from the
Dept for RE.
14.Monitoring and evaluation
Monitoring is a crucial issue for our school to improve the quality of teaching and learning. Our
monitoring cycle includes:
 Meetings between the Head teacher and RE leader to discuss RE issues.
 Meetings with the RE advisor
 Review on an annual basis of the Section 48 Self Evaluation Form
 Regular update and review the policy
 Meeting of the Ethos committee of the Governing Body
 Regular audits of resources
 Review of annual RE budget
 Regular Planning Scrutiny by the RE leader
 Regular RE INSET days
 Review of RE assessment in class assessment folders by RE leader*
*Assessment data gathered and analysed by RE leader to identify areas for
development
 Book scrutiny
 Liaison with neighbouring partnerships ensures debate and exchange of ideas on
good practice
 Pupils interviews
 Parent questionnaires
 Governor responsible for RE
 Annual reports to parents contain comments on RE
 Use of attainment targets for levelling RE
 Moderation of assessment carried out by staff
 Children’s work gathered to create a portfolio of children’s work from each
academic year.
17. Equal Opportunities
Equal opportunities will be provided in the context of the Equal Opportunities Policy. All
pupils will be encouraged to participate fully in Religious Education and to develop their
own spirituality, regardless of race, gender or academic ability. All members of the
school community should appreciate what we share, rather than what divides us. (See
school policies on Multicultural Education and Equal Opportunities)
18. SEND
Special needs provision will be provided in the context of the SEND policy. Pupils with
special needs will be given extra support in the classroom
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This policy was revised in June 2015
It was accepted by the Governors in July 2015
The policy is due for renewal in July 2016
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