Religious Education

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

To fulfil the aims and objectives of Religious Education, St Bede’s Catholic Junior School has adopted the ‘COME AND SEE’ Programme prescribed by the Archdiocese of Liverpool.  The aim of this Programme is to explore the religious dimensions of questions about life, dignity and purpose within the Catholic tradition.  It helps the children to explore the beliefs, values and way of life of the Catholic tradition and aims to deepen and enrich the pupils’ understanding and living of their faith.  Come and See supports and enables the faith experience of all children because it starts with their real life experience and leads them to reflect upon and consider the Christian message in all its richness in that experience. 

• Two and a half hours are set aside for the teaching of R.E.  It is taught each day and each lesson lasts for 30 minutes;
• The Programme presents 9 topics in each year group on a 1-year cycle.  Each topic lasts for approximately 4 weeks;
• Each topic is developed through the programme specifically related to the year group and builds on prior learning.

• For each level there are clear learning objectives and learning outcomes.  These allow pupils to work according to their different abilities.
• The process for delivering ‘COME AND SEE’ has seven elements that enable the development of skills and the fostering of attitudes.

In the process the teacher helps the children to explore, reveal and respond. 

EXPLORE:

• look at and become aware of an aspect of life experience.      
• explore through practical tasks and activities.
• discover significance and value, and come to a 
• deeper understanding of it.

REVEAL:  

• make links with the Christian understanding of the life    experience through Scripture, Church practice and teaching, prayer and the lives and way of living of the Christian community.

RESPOND:

• remember their learning.
• celebrate in worship what has been explored and revealed
• look back and evaluate, and respond to in daily life.

Catholic schools are guided in all they do by an important and coherent vision of education.  This vision is based on the truth revealed by God about ourselves, our life together in community and our ultimate destiny with God. This gives rise to an educational endeavour centred on the person of Jesus Christ, who is our Way, Truth and Life.

In January 2000, a National Symposium on ‘Expectations of Religious Education in Catholic Schools’ was hosted by the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales. The Bishops issued a statement highlighting the following points:

What is Religious Education?

Religious education is about engaging with the deepest questions of life and finding reasons

for the hope which is within them (1 Peter 3:15).

• It is about the Christian vision of the human person.
• It is the core subject which is central to the life of the Catholic school.
• Religious education is the systematic study:

– of the mystery of God, as discovered through the Bible and particularly through the life and teachings of Jesus Christ,

–   the teachings of the Church,

–   the lives of the saints,

–   the relationship between faith and life.

With these underlying principles we embark upon a journey which leads the children to understand the relationship between life and faith so that they enjoy:

'Life, life in all its fullness' 

John  -  10:10