Religious Education
Come and See
Religious Education is at the core of our curriculum, allowing us to develop pupils’ religious literacy, knowledge and understanding of their faith. RE lessons at St Elizabeth’s are our most special lesson, you will notice how distinct they are from all of our other lessons.
We follow the ‘Come and See’ RE scheme of work. “Come and See” is the response Jesus gave the disciples when they asked, “Where do you live?” (John 1:39). Our RE curriculum is therefore based on the truth revealed by God about ourselves, our life together and our ultimate destiny with God.
At the heart of our RE curriculum are our ‘Big Questions’, which ultimately drive the learning of the topic. These questions remain open ended and challenging, providing children with opportunities to engage with the deepest questions of life (1 Peter 3:15), encouraging pupil collaboration, discussion and reflection. Throughout a range of topics, children are exposed to the mystery of God, the teachings of Jesus Christ and the Church, lives of Saints, the Sacraments and the relationship between faith and life. These are explicitly taught in RE, though we develop and encourage them through our Catholic Life and Collective Worship.
At St Elizabeth’s, we have a rigorous planning system for RE which incorporates opportunities for children to analyse and reflect on a range of religious stories and sources. We prioritise the teaching and learning of RE and ensure that Continued Professional Development is readily and regularly available for our teachers to develop their subject knowledge and ability to teach RE. Our RE Subject Leaders ensures that RE is given the 10% requirement of curriculum time each week as a minimum.
RE Outline
Our RE curriculum follows three themes, which are explored at different stages throughout the year: Church, Sacrament and Christian Living.
Church: These themes take place each term and each theme gradually builds on the pupils’ prior learning from the previous topic. Children will explore ‘Family’, ‘Local Community’ and ‘Universal Church’ within this topic.
Sacrament: We explore a Sacramental topic once per term. Children will learn about all seven Sacraments throughout their primary journey: Baptism, Reconciliation, Eucharist, Confirmation, Marriage, Holy Orders and the Sacrament of the Sick. We understand these as meeting points, where God Himself is present, waits for you, blesses you and leads you deeper into the community of the Church.
Christian Living: Children will learn about Advent (celebrating life), Lent and Easter (the cost of life) and Pentecost (feasts to celebrate).
Franciscan Values
At St Elizabeth’s, we are very proud of our Franciscan heritage. With the help of Sr. Dorothy Paul, we have introduced seven Franciscan Values from September 2020. Our Franciscan Values are:
- Joy
- Forgiveness
- Faith
- Respect
- Service
- Peace
- Stewardship
We will all strive to live out these values on a daily basis but each class has its own value to concentrate on promoting in school and in our local community. We hope that learning and appreciating these Franciscan Values will help our pupils in their RE, as well as their Catholic Life, to incorporate into their writing, helping them to make links and show an understanding of their beliefs.
