Religious Education

Together, through our words and actions, our work and play, we point towards Christ each and every day.

At SJB we are passionate about developing the children’s excitement for, enjoyment of, and attainment in RE. In addition, as part of a Catholic school, all children are to be supported in developing a close relationship with God, knowing that they are always loved and that He is always with them. Each child has a uniqueness to be celebrated and developed.

High teacher expectations and challenging RE lessons stimulate deeper exploration of this key subject. Developing independence in and ownership of class prayer from an early age supports children to become their own architects in building their prayer relationship and thus their friendship with God.

Children at SJB become aware of their own responsibility as stewards and how they can each make a positive difference to the world and indeed have a responsibility to do so.  This awareness is strengthened by our focus on Catholic Social Teaching so that we can all become apostles of the Good News.

RE is a core subject and is taught as an academic subject, delivered for two hours and fifteen minutes for every class, every week.

The school uses the diocesan-recommended scheme of work, ‘God Matters’ for RE teaching, adapting it to the needs of the pupils and the school using the diocesan supplementary guidance. There are no significant changes to the Scheme of Work however, the questions we use to assess pupil understanding have been revised to ensure that we can gather improved evidence of what the pupils know and understand in RE, how they can apply what they learn, and what their understanding of their faith means for them. 

It is important that the children can relate scripture to their own lives. Children come to SJB at different stages in their faith journey. Family situations vary as do children’s spiritual experiences outside school. Some may already be engaged in the scripture while others may be hearing the gospel teachings for the first time. In RE lessons we aim to guide all children in:

• knowledge and understanding of Catholic faith and life;
• knowledge and understanding of the response of faith to the ultimate questions about human life, its origin, and purpose;
• the skills required to examine and reflect upon religious belief and practice.

From an early age, children become familiar with Old Testament scripture and the Gospel teachings of the New Testament. As they move up through the school, they are encouraged to question and relate these teachings to their own lives. They learn that Jesus is with us today and that His messages are as relevant today as ever.

The pupils enjoy talking about their faith and they use subject-specific vocabulary, build upon their prior knowledge, and make links across the topics that are explicitly taught. The older children in particular are becoming very reflective and can think ethically and morally and they use their scripture-based knowledge to debate on world matters, asking pertinent and at times provoking questions of their peers and adults.  Links are formed where possible with the wider community to provide enrichment opportunities to promote pupils’ learning e.g. CAFOD workshops.

To put our faith into practice, children become involved in various charity events throughout the year which raise money for communities in need, locally, nationally, and globally. We have close links with CAFOD which is involved in overseas development and our Mini Vinnies and  Eco-Council support Christ’s teachings relating to justice and equality. 

While it is our primary intention to show children how to develop their own spirituality and their relationship with God, we also explore the teachings and philosophies of other world faiths.  Children understand the need for respect and inclusion in all aspects of life and we always seek to find and celebrate similarities. 

All classes contribute to a Class Spiritual Journey Book in which their individual prayers and reflections are recorded. The younger pupils work alongside teachers to prepare their prayers and children are developing the capacity to evaluate the quality of class liturgical prayer, enabling them to identify how to improve for next time.