Curriculum Intent

Religious Education

At St Anthony’s we will;

• Ensure that everyone who enters our school is welcomed into a Catholic community where they feel safe, secure and valued.
• Nurture the faith of our children so that they may reach their full human and divine potential.
• Support all members of our school community to develop their knowledge and understanding of the Catholic Faith.
• Promote the Sacramental Life of our families and encourage parents to take an active role in supporting us to prepare their children for the Sacraments of First Reconciliation, The Eucharist and Confirmation. 
• Recognise that everyone is made in the image and likeness of God, and therefore be inclusive of others within our faith, regardless of their needs, background, faith or culture. 
• Actively promote cohesion between our families, Governors, our Parish and the wider community.

As a Catholic Primary School, our faith is at the heart of everything we do, it is not simply a characteristic of our belief, it is who we are and it is what we do. The culture of faith, safety and security runs through each and every person that makes our school a community and therefore becomes a part of each and every person who spends time with us, Catholic or not.

We believe that through our teaching of Religious Education we are equipping our children with an excellent knowledge and understanding of our faith which remains with them well after they leave us in year six so that they may reach their full human and divine potential. This is evident not only through the consistently good progress all of our children make in RE, but also through the way they are actively engaged in lessons, enthusiastic about their learning and are able to articulate their thoughts about their learning using the language of theologists, asking inquisitive questions of others in relation to their learning. Throughout our teaching and learning, not limited to RE lessons, we as a staff actively encourage and guide our children to be reflective spiritually, linking in ethics and theology across the curriculum. Through our rich and varied approaches to learning, our children demonstrate a love of learning in RE, becoming curious and interested learners who produce work of an outstanding quality.

We ensure that all of our children, regardless of their background, additional needs, culture, faith or ethnicity are able to meet their God given potential in RE by ensuring that our deeply committed teachers are well supported in teaching and learning, led by our Religious Education Curriculum Lead and supported by our Senior Leadership Team, Governors and wider parish community.

Throughout their time at St. Anthony’s, we take great pride in supporting our children and their parents, to develop a deeper knowledge, understanding and appreciation of the Sacraments. In Year 3 children Baptised in the Catholic faith are prepared for and receive the Sacraments of Reconciliation and The Eucharist. In Year 6 these children then go on to be prepared for and receive the Sacrament of Confirmation. All children in Year 3 and Year 6 no matter what their faith complete the preparation learning for the Sacraments promoting inclusivity within our faith, so they are more able to offer support and celebration of their friends receiving the Sacraments. 

As a result of attending a Catholic school where faith is prioritised through everything we do, our children leave us in Year 6 fully prepared for life in a multi faith society after years of receiving carefully crafted curriculum which encourages them to be inclusive, respectful, and tolerant of all faiths within and beyond our culturally diverse school.