St. Anthony’s Catholic Primary School

Religious Education Curriculum Statement

At St. Anthony’s School we want every child to be happy and enthusiastic learners of RE, and to be eager to achieve their very best in order to fulfil their God-given talents. We firmly believe that the recipe for success is high quality first teaching in RE, which is central to the life of our happy, caring and family orientated school.

Intent – What we are trying to achieve?

At St. Anthony’s we will-:

• Enable each child to develop a deeper understanding of the Catholic faith, promote respect for religious and moral values and tolerance of other cultures and religions.
• Foster the growth of each child’s potential through the development of respect for self and others.
• Promote the individual talents and abilities of pupils to ensure that each child
• fulfils his or her full potential.
• Promote an understanding and care of the environment in which each child finds him or herself.
• Promote a close and co-operative relationship between home, parish and school.

At St. Anthony’s we live by our Mission Statement:

“We walk in the footsteps of Christ and are held in the hand of God.”

• Our principal aim is that children leave St. Anthony’s School with a wide range of happy and rich memories in RE formed through interesting and exciting experiences driven through an engaging and comprehensive curriculum, which is the basis of a knowledge and understanding of the Catholic faith, enabling them to develop a living and personal faith in Jesus Christ and allowing them to know and love God.
• RE is the foundation of the entire education process and permeates all areas of the curriculum and school life.
• Children will meet the Diocesan Standards for Primary Religious Education, which will be taught by highly qualified staff who will engage children’s intellect, heart and imagination, inspiring enthusiasm and interest in RE.
• Children will develop an awareness of God’s presence in their lives and the lives of others, developing the spiritual life of each child through prayer and reflection.
• Children will develop a well-formed conscience allowing them to make sound moral judgements in the light of personal commitment to God.
• The whole school community will invest in a commitment to being witness to and teaching the Catholic Virtues of being-: grateful and generous, attentive and discerning, compassionate and loving, faith-filled and hopeful, eloquent and truthful, learned and wise, curious and active and intentional and prophetic. The teaching of these virtues will be embedded throughout the whole curriculum.
• Parents, family members, friends of whatever faith and parishioners will attend Masses and religious celebrations within the school and pupils will participate in parish activities outside of school time, promoting good links with the Parish of St Peter Apostle.
• The Parish Priest will be the Chaplain for the school and will visit at least weekly to celebrate Mass, a service or to visit the children in their classrooms supporting the teaching and learning of RE and vocation.
• Throughout their time at St. Anthony’s the Children, and their parents, will develop the knowledge, understanding and appreciation of the Sacraments. In Year 3 children Baptised in the Catholic faith will be prepared for and will receive the Sacraments of Reconciliation and Eucharist. In Year 6 they will 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 will complete the preparation learning for the Sacraments for inclusivity and so that they can fully support their friends receiving the Sacraments.
• RE will play a central role in the school’s work on spiritual, moral, vocational, social and cultural education.
• Children will be prepared for life in a multi faith society by fostering respect for and understanding of rich cultural diversity.
• Children in all year groups from Nursery to Year 6 will receive teaching on Relationships and Health Education using a programme of learning, which conforms to the teaching of the Catholic Church and follows Diocesan guidelines.
• RE is a core subject of the curriculum and all children will study RE for 2hours 15 mins per week in Key Stage 1 and 2 hours 30 mins per week in Key Stage 2.  
• Opportunities will exist for children of all ages to experience learning beyond the classroom.  This will allow them to enrich their knowledge by, for example, visiting different places of worship, local parish church, St Chad’s Cathedral, Alton Castle etc. including places of worship of other faiths e.g. Mosque (Coventry), Hindu Temple (Leamington Spa), Sikh Gurdwara (Leamington Spa), Jewish Synagogue (Solihull).
• Children will develop a deep understanding of the RE unit they are studying. They will increasingly use their prior knowledge to develop into religiously literate young people.
• In RE, children will develop the skills to make links and connections, engage and respond, analyse and evaluate using sources of evidence.
• Skills in other subjects will be applied in RE and children will be encouraged to investigate the faith with enthusiasm and rigour.
• Children will develop a real understanding and appreciation of the world, learning from a range of sources and experiences.