Our school is a Catholic Academy Trust School, part of the Bromley Catholic Schools Trust. The Trustees are the Catholic Diocese of Southwark.

Religious Education is an essential part of the curriculum.  It is developed by learning about our Catholic faith and religious experience, in lessons taught by experienced and committed teachers. Spiritual development is fostered through the Christian ethos in the school, by collective prayer and hymn singing in assemblies and by taking an active part in the Liturgy both in our Parish Church and within the school.

Religious education also actively promotes the values of truth, justice, respect for all and care of the environment. 

It places specific emphasis on:                                                                           

• Pupils valuing themselves and others
• The role of family and the community  in religious belief and activities
• The celebration of diversity in society through understanding similarities and differences

Pupil Voice: Pupil questionnaires responses and review 

Religious Education at Holy Innocents’ Catholic Primary School
Intent, implementation and impact

We will show God’s love through our faith and actions

We will ask God to help us through challenges we encounter

We will celebrate and respect the diversity within our community

(updated mission September 2023)

Intent

We are a Catholic School and are committed to the Catholic Faith, recognising and valuing every individual as special and unique in the image and likeness of God. Religious Education at Holy Innocents’ respects and promotes each child’s innate capacity for wonder, awe, reverence and spirituality. Our Religious Education curriculum follows ‘Come and See’ schemes of work and teaches children about God’s love and their Christian values. 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. The curriculum is designed to develop knowledge, understanding and skills that are transferable and progressive throughout their time at Holy Innocents and also to their future education and lives.

RSHE is part of the mission of Catholic schools to educate the whole person. It should be carried out as part of the holistic education which seeks to form as well as inform young people in preparation for adult life.  Life to the Full, will teach Relationships Education and Health Education within the context of a Christian understanding of human sexuality rooted in the wisdom and teaching of the Catholic Church.  Given that RHE (Relationships and Health Education) will be statutory subject for all schools from September 2021, we are embracing “the challenges of creating a happy and successful adult life” by giving pupils knowledge “that will enable them to make informed decisions about their wellbeing, health and relationships” (DFE Statutory Guidance).

Implementation

At Holy Innocents’ School, we follow the ‘Come and See’ RE Scheme, which has its basis in Catholic Doctrine taken from the Religious Education Curriculum Directory for Catholic Schools which in turn is based on the content of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. During the course of the year each class will explore six topics, one per half-term and alongside the times of preparation in the Liturgical Year, Advent and Lent.

Medium term plans are taken from the ‘Come and See’ programme of study with each class studying the topics prescribed for each half-term over the course of the year. Each year group has its own subscription to the Come & See website which provides a variety of appropriate activities and tasks for each topic. Each topic is broken down into sections with learning objectives, activities and expectations, as well as assessment tasks and criteria. Each teacher will attempt to use and adapt the plans and guidelines provided by the Come and See scheme according to the individual needs and abilities of their respective pupils, as well as using a variety of other resources to supplement and consolidate the teaching and learning of Religious Education.

It is important to remember that, when performing any form of assessment, each individual is at a different spiritual level and that interaction, especially through prayer is a highly personal and private relationship with God. We must therefore be aware that in order to assess any degree of awe or spirituality we are dependent upon the information that the child offers voluntarily when working across a range of curriculum areas. Assessment of pupils’ acquired knowledge and understanding of the Church, Scripture, the Sacraments and Catholic Traditions can be assessed in a more academic format by questioning, discussing and through what the children write in their books. Recording of learning is first and foremost through teachers’ ongoing observations and is assessed through discussion and questioning. Recording in a more formal sense in accordance with ‘Come and See’, which can take place both during the middle of a topic and towards the end of that topic according to scheme guidelines and teachers’ preference. At the end of each term, RE attainment is recorded on an assessment grid which is completed every term by the class teacher showing which age-related standards have been met within that topic. Samples of levelled and assessed work are given to the RE Subject Leaders each year.

Impact

By the time pupils leave Holy Innocents’, we aim for every child to be able to 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 on their impact in it.

Virtues to live by...

By exploring "Virtues to Live By” over a three week period (two per half term), we are developing our school community’s virtue literacy and deepening understanding and appreciation of the essential role the virtues play in the education of the whole person towards human flourishing. The virtues chosen are common across cultures and faiths, but are sourced from the Christian tradition.