RE

“A good school provides a rounded education for the whole person.

And a good Catholic school, over and above this, should help all its students to become saints….” Pope Benedict XVI, 2010

Religious Education lies at the heart of the curriculum and school life.

• We aim to teach the children and each other, by example, in the daily life of the school.
• We pray together, teaching both specific school prayers and how to pray spontaneously and peacefully.
• We gather together for assemblies and to celebrate the Liturgy on a number of occasions each term.
• Through R.E., assemblies and liturgies we teach concepts, knowledge of the scriptures, the church and moral attitudes.
• We encourage home, school and parish links.
• We welcome the visits of the parish priest of The Holy Family and clergy and their involvement in the life of the school.
• We work collaboratively with the parish of The Holy Family, Addlestone in preparations of the children in Year 3 for the Sacraments of Reconciliation and First Holy Communion.
• We promote the children’s awareness of the local and wider communities by encouraging them to participate in charitable activities and fund raising.
• We acknowledge that everyone is equal in the sight of God and follow a policy of equal opportunities.
• We promote the Catholic identity of the School through the Governor’s Admission Policy.

The RE Curriculum is delivered primarily through the Catholic Primary Religious Education Programme ‘Come and See’ (2012 updated 2017).

'Come and See' is an invitation to exploration and a promise of life for everyone. The invitation is open to all. In response to the question; ‘where do you live?’ which was asked by the disciples, Jesus invited them to; ‘Come and See.’ (John 1:39) The disciples went with Jesus ‘and spent the rest of that day with him.’

Central to the programme are three basic human questions and the three Christian beliefs that are the Church’s response in faith.

• Where do I come from? Life – Creation
• Who am I? Dignity – Incarnation
• Why am I here? Purpose – Redemption

In Come and See these big questions are considered in the light of the Scriptures and Tradition of the Church, as expressed in the documents of the Second Vatican Council and the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

Come and See is developed through three themes based on the above documents of the Second Vatican Council, which are gradually explored each time at greater depths. They are Church, Sacrament and Christian living.

‘It is necessary, therefore, that Religious Education in schools be regarded as an academic discipline with the same systematic demands and the same rigour as other disciplines. It must present the Christian message and the Christian event with the same seriousness and the same depth with which other disciplines present their knowledge. However it should not simply be regarded as one subject among many, but rather it should engage in interdisciplinary dialogue. Religious Education in schools underpins, activates, develops and completes the educational and catechetical activity of the whole school. (Religious Education Curriculum Directory 2012)

The Catechism of the Catholic Church addresses the human search for meaning, God’s initiative in Revelation who comes to meet us and our response of faith. This pattern guides the structure of the programme and informs the process of each topic, opened up through; Explore, Reveal and Respond.

Explore

The teacher helps the children to begin to look at and focus on the experience within their own lives – concerning themselves, their relationships and their world. In this way the children are led to a deeper understanding, clearer vision and the discovery of significance and value of the experiential events of everyday life.

Explore will take one week of Religious Education time to complete.

Reveal

Reveal is the heart of the process. The teacher and the children together discover the Christian understanding of the mystery of the Trinity; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. They explore the mystery of human life as revealed in the person, life and gospel of Jesus Christ Christians. It will involve learning about Scripture, the teaching of the Church, prayers, rites, psalms, hymns and other expressions of Christian faith and the lives of outstanding Christians.

Reveal will take two weeks of Religious Education time to complete.

Respond

Remember is the first part of this section. The children will respond by remembering and celebrating all that they have learnt.

Rejoice is the second part of the section. There will be the opportunity to plan and take part in a celebration.

Renew the teacher helps each child to make an individual response, to hold on to and make their own, what they have understood of the topic.

Respond will take one week of Religious Education time to complete.

Multifaith Programme

As part of the ‘Come and See’ R.E. programme all children will study for two weeks of the year, Judaism and one other World Religion.

This enables the children to have an understanding of what life is like for a child of another faith by the time they leave us.

For more information about the religious life of our school, please go to our Headteacher page, 'We Love Our Faith, We Live Our Faith'.

The Flame Newspaper

This is published every month by the Year 6 liturgy leaders working with Mr Tindall. It is sent to every family in the school and also made available in the church for all members of the parish to enjoy. The Flame features news about RE, collective worship and faith within school as well as news from around the world, focus on special feast days and much more. Some editions of The Flame are attached below.