At St Alphonsus’ Catholic Primary School we plan learning and teaching with a view to enabling each child to achieve their full potential and seek the highest level of personal achievement.  

Our Mission Statement 

At St Alphonsus’ Catholic Primary School we are the best that we can be by learning with each other, serving each other and loving each other, in a Christ-centred community. 

Our RE Intent – Why do we teach RE the way we do, and how does it meet the needs of our pupils?

High Five

  1. Through a theological, ambitious curriculum, pupils will be inquisitive and positive about RE curriculum and will achieve great things.
  2. Pupils are challenged in lessons in order to increase the proportion of pupils achieving outstanding progress, regardless of their varied starting points
  3. Pupils will know what they need to do in RE to make progress.
  4. Pupils will deepen their understanding of faith and be able to communicate their understanding effectively.
  5. Pupils will be able to engage with religious ideas and integrate them with their lives.

Beliefs / rationale / purpose 

We are a community of learners inspired by the Gospel Values of Jesus. This influences all aspects of school life and is underpinned by the three strands of our Mission Statement in that we are the best we can be by: learning with each other, serving each other and loving each other in a Christ-centred community. 

Everyone is valued and respected as unique, special and gifted individuals. Pupils are encouraged to succeed at all levels to develop confident, independent learners through a creative curriculum. We promote curiosity, in the belief that everyone can achieve great things. 

One way we encourage such curiosity is through Godly Play, a method based on the theory of children discovering God for themselves, using symbols and objects as well as words. It values process, openness and discovery and encourages children to make meaning for themselves. It invites listeners into stories and encourages them to connect the stories with personal experience. 

To support the teaching and learning of RE in the classroom, we follow a scheme of learning from Come and See, as recommended by Middlesbrough Diocese. 

Implementation of our RE Curriculum – What do we teach? What does it look like?

To support the teaching and learning of RE at St Alphonsus’, we follow the Come and See scheme of work, as recommended by Middlesbrough Diocese. This programme is followed throughout school from Nursery to Year 6. The programme provides:

  • Opportunities for celebration, prayer and reflection in implicit and explicit ways.
  • Children with the language of religious experience – a ‘literacy’ in religious activities, places, stories, symbols and rituals, people and objects.
  • A systematic presentation of CHristian events, appropriate to the age and stage of development of the pupils
  • Appropriate materials about other faiths.
  • The programme allows the pupils to make links with their own experience and with universal experience. It raises questions and provides material for reflection by the children.

Come and See

The process for delivering the topics in ‘Come and See’ has three stages – Explore, Reveal and Respond which enable the pupils with the development of knowledge, understanding, skills and the fostering of attitudes. The sequence is as follows:

Explore (1 week) This is the introduction to the topic where the children’s life experience is explored, the questions it raises are wondered at, shared, investigated and their significance reflected on. This session may include:

  • Exploring experiences through music, story, drama, dance or art
  • Investigation and storytelling
  • Consideration of the Big Question
  • Discussion
  • Reflection

Revelation
Reveal (usually 2 weeks) This is the heart of the programme where knowledge and understanding of the Catholic faith is revealed through the Word, in Scripture, Tradition, doctrine, prayers, rites and Christian living. The process of this delivery will include:

  • Meeting new knowledge of Religious Education
  • Reflecting on the wonder of the mystery
  • Research, collating information
  • Asking searching questions
  • Discussion
  • Making links between Christian understanding and the shared life experiences
  • Acknowledging and respecting differences
  • Being open to new perspectives.

Response
Respond (1 week) This is where the learning is assimilated, celebrated and responded to in daily life. This may be carried out through:

  • Creating a quiet, prayerful atmosphere for reflection
  • Reviewing work carried out throughout the topic
  • Sharing thoughts and feelings

Other Faiths and Religions

Judaism is usually studied in the Autumn term, however this can vary due to the needs of the school. The other religion to be studied is either Hinduism, Islam or Sikhism – the religion focus is carefully selected with consideration given to the most relevant and appropriate in light of each class and current local, national or world-wide events.

Be Still and Know- Pilot Scheme

This year, Years 1 and 3 are taking part in a pilot scheme for the ‘Be still and Know’ RE Curriculum.

Religious Education

Our Religious Education curriculum influences all aspects of school life and is underpinned by the three strands of our Mission Statement in that we are the best we can be by: learning with each other, serving each other and loving each other in a Christ-centred community.

Each new topic begins with a ‘big question’. The big question forms the basis of deep discussion, encouraging the children to think beyond their first response. The big question is displayed in each classroom throughout the theme and revisited regularly. During the ‘Respond’ part of each theme each child will complete their own ‘learning journey’. The learning journey revisits the big question and asks the children to identify some things they know now that they did not know before. Through the delivery of excellent, engaging lessons and with creativity and context at the forefront of teachers planning, children are equipped to provide a more meaningful response than they did at the beginning of the theme.

At St Alphonsus’ we also teach using the Godly Play Room, a method founded by Jerome Berryman and based on the theory of children discovering God for themselves through Scripture.

Before entering the Godly Play Room, children and adults are asked to get ready on the inside. In order to show that they are ready to enter the room, everyone removes their shoes and lines up at the door. This creates the idea of Godly Play taking place in a sacred place. During Godly Play, only two adults are allowed in the room with the children. This is to ensure that the children own the room. It is their space and it is their responsibility to look after it. Once in the room, the group are not to be interrupted either by people leaving or entering the room.

The academic benefits of Godly play are demonstrated within the RE curriculum work and across the school curriculum.

Impact of our RE Curriculum – What will be the outcomes we hope to achieve as a result of our RE curriculum?

RE at St. Alphonsus’ respects and promotes each child’s innate capacity for wonder, awe, reverence and spirituality. The curriculum leads our children to aspire not to have more, but to be more.