Come and See

Our Religious Education programme is called "Come and See" and is followed by all classes, throughout the school.  This is a comprehensive course for children aged 4 - 11 years.  Both the method and the content of this syllabus reflect the mind of the Church and give constant reminders that religious education and formation require close co-operation between home, school and parish. 

In accordance with the guidelines from the Bishops' Conference the children at St Richard’s receive 2.5 hours of Religious Education each week. This integrates the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the Catholic Levels of Attainment and the Religious Education Curriculum Directory.

Children explore the mystery of Faith through Scripture and Tradition. Links are made explicitly in planning documents to the resources and plans are adapted to meet the needs of the unique cohort using a selection of ritual objects, books, videos and posters etc in school. Lessons are very well resourced with both interactive stimuli, a variety of artefacts and making cross curricular links. There are three topics taught each term, as well as three World Faith units across the year. 

Our R.E. programme provides many opportunities for celebrating joyfully and prayerfully through music and in quiet times of reflection. This takes place in class, assemblies and whole school celebrations.

Our R.E. programme is appropriate to the age and developmental stage of each child. A whole school approach is taken with the overall themes as set out below:

• Domestic Church - Family
• Baptism/Confirmation - Belonging
• Advent/Christmas - Loving
• Local church - Community
• Eucharist - Relating
• Lent/Easter - Giving
• Pentecost - Serving
• Reconciliation - Inter-relating
• Universal Church - World

Each Year Group has its own title and focus within this theme. The class teacher ensures differentiation according to each child’s ability and that the scheme is accessible to all. For all children, the programme raises questions and provides material for reflecting on their own experiences. It will help them to explore the beliefs, values and way of life of the Catholic tradition and where appropriate of other faith traditions.

The content of each RE topic is structured so that there is cohesion and progression in what the children do and learn. In order to allow pupils to work according to their different abilities, for each level there are:

• Clearly stated aims
• Achievable learning outcomes
• A selection of experiences and activities for each of the learning intentions

As with other subjects, RE is addressed through both our long term planning sheets and medium term planning maps. The RE subject leader ensures that the staff have access to the ‘Come and See’ website and any other resources needed.