At Blessed Sacrament, the Gospel Values are the thread which runs through our whole curriculum. During Religious Education lessons, we deliver the Liverpool Archdiocesan  ‘Come & See’ Programme to Years 5-6, and the new ‘To Know You More Clearly’ to EYFS, Treehouse, KS1, Year 3 and Year 4, both of which are challenging, fun and dynamic programmes of study. Children’s life experiences are explored and knowledge of the Catholic faith is revealed. To Know You More Clearly will continue to be phased in for the remaining year groups next academic year.

Children take part in, and at times deliver, a daily act of Prayer and Liturgy. The faith of our children is also explored and developed through Sacramental Preparation, Church visits, services, fundraising opportunities and much more. We also welcome families to join in numerous celebrations throughout the Liturgical year.

RE Curriculum Statement

Intent:

We are a Catholic school with the Catholic Faith at the centre of our lives. We recognise and value every individual as special and unique in the image and likeness of God. Religious Education at Blessed Sacrament respects and promotes each child’s innate capacity for wonder, awe, reverence and spirituality. Our Religious Education curriculum leads our children to aspire not to have more, but to be more; children are taught about God’s love; they learn about their Christian responsibilities; children are provided with experiences of church, Catholic and Christian traditions, as well as being taught to be respectful and understanding of people and traditions from other faith backgrounds. Through Religious Education our children learn about their unique place within the home, school and parish community.

Central to our ethos are the opportunities for prayer and worship which lie at the heart of our faith. We will promote and encourage these at every level, together with the skills and attitudes necessary to live out the Christian message in the modern world.

Implementation:

As RE is a core subject it is taught for 10% of the curriculum, in line with the Bishops’ Conference recommendations.

Prayer and Liturgy is in addition to this.

Following the introduction of the new RED, our EYFS, KS1, Year 3, Year 4 and Treehouse children are currently following ‘To Know You More Clearly’.

We follow the ‘Come and See’ Religious Education Programme from Year 4 through to Year 6.

Both programmes provide: ·

●     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 event, message and way of life' in ways appropriate to the age and stage of development of the child.

●     that for its implementation and production it requires the adults involved to understand the underlying theological as well as educational principles.

●     appropriate materials about other faiths.

●     academic respectability as in other curricular areas – utilising appropriate stages from the National Curriculum.

We explore the religious dimensions of questions about life, dignity and purpose within the Catholic tradition. Links are made with the children's own experience and with universal experience. It will raise questions and provide material for reflection by the children on their own experiences. It will enable them to explore the beliefs, values and way of life of the Catholic tradition and where appropriate other faith traditions.

The Process - To Know You More Clearly

This model curriculum presents the expected outcomes in six curriculum branches that correspond to the six half-terms of a school year.

The six curriculum branches are:

●     Creation and Covenant

In this branch, pupils will encounter God who creates and calls a people.

●     Prophecy and Promise

In this branch, pupils will explore the Christian understanding of the teaching of the prophets as they point to the fulfilment of God’s promise in a messiah, Jesus Christ.

●     Galilee to Jerusalem

In this branch, pupils will experience the ministry of Jesus, the Word of God.

●     Desert to Garden

In this branch, pupils will study the season of Lent and its culmination in the events of Holy Week.

●     To the Ends of the Earth

 In this branch, pupils will study the events that flowed from the Resurrection and Ascension in the coming of the Holy Spirit and the work of the apostles and early Church.

●     Dialogue and Encounter.

In this branch, pupils will learn how Christians work together with people of different religious convictions and all people of goodwill towards the common good, respecting the dignity of all humanity. As they progress through school, pupils will study: Other Christian denominations, Judaism, Islam, Dharmic religions and pathways, and other religions and worldviews, including non-religious worldviews. 

Each branch will be revisited annually, allowing pupils to deepen their understanding of Catholic belief and practice. Branches are delivered through four knowledge ‘lenses’, which are closely linked to the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

●     Hear (Section 1 of Part 1 of the Catechism)

It is called ‘hear’ because it focuses on the Word of God which we hear.

●     Believe (Section 2 of Part 1 of the Catechism)

It is called ‘believe’ because it focuses on the content of the Church’s own profession of faith.

●     Celebrate (Parts 2 and 4 of the Catechism)

It is called ‘celebrate’ because it deals with the liturgy in which the Church celebrates the Paschal mystery of Christ.

●     Live (Part 3 of the Catechism)

It is called ‘live’ because it focuses on the impact of faith on how Christians live.  

To Know You More Clearly, 2023, Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales.

The Process - Come and See

This model curriculum presents the expected outcomes in topics. Three topics are taught per term. Other faiths are taught in the longest term. Each topic is broken down into the following components: 

Search – 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.  

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.  

Response – Respond (1 week) This is where the learning is assimilated, celebrated and responded to in daily life. This reflective work is collated in the class Respond scrapbooks which travel up through the school with each class.  

OTHER FAITHS and RELIGIONS: Judaism is usually studied in the Autumn term, however this can vary. 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.

Assessment:

Ongoing informal assessment against the Standard Indicators are used to inform planning and to identify areas for focus and support. Teachers make a judgement against a completed topic and record that judgement at the end of the last piece. Assessment is moderated internally and externally within cluster meetings.

Impact:

Through the complete and rigorous Religious Education at Blessed Sacrament, children are given the opportunity to develop and become brothers and sisters in Christ. They talk openly and deeply about their Faith and reflect this in their everyday life. They show this learning through deep questioning, reflective responses, respect for all and treating others as God would want them to. Children are happy and confident in their place in the community and have a clear understanding of their impact in it. John 10:10: ‘I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.’