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At Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School we follow the Archdiocese of Birmingham’s Curriculum Strategy for Religious Education in Catholic Schools called “Learning and Growing as people of God”. The strategy clearly lays out the steps to be taken in RE at each stage of the Primary Years. We then adapt this in order to make our lessons enjoyable and challenging for our children.
As part of the strategy the children learn about what it is to live as Christians today, how the Church is organised from global to parish level and also the opportunities which exist for them to participate in the life of the Church. Throughout the year the children also learn about the Liturgical Seasons and have opportunities to link learning to prayer and reflection.
There is a strong Sacramental focus in each year group. In Year 3 children are prepared to receive the Sacraments of Reconciliation and First Holy Communion and in Year 5 and 6 pupils continue on their journey of faith by preparing for Confirmation.
Our parish priest, Father Tony, regularly visits our school. He leads a number of Celebration Masses throughout the year and works closely with the children, guiding their journey of faith and being on hand to help them wherever he can. We also work closely with our Lay Chaplain from Cardinal Wiseman who leads a number of retreat days throughout the year.
The Christian values of our school permeate the whole curriculum. This is supported by our GIFT (Growing In Faith Together) Team. The team work closely with and receive regular training from the Lay Chaplain at our feeder school, Cardinal Wiseman. They then use new innovations learnt during training and implement them into school. The GIFT Team have enjoyed leading a number of prayer services providing opportunities for their peers to reflect. As part of Chaplaincy there has also been opportunity for the children to go on trips. They have visited St Chad’s Cathedral in Birmingham for a special mass and have also visited Cardinal Wiseman’s Chapel where they networked with other GIFT Teams in the Romero Academy.
We assess the children using the national and diocesan assessment once a year. Children have the opportunity at the start of each unit to share what they would like to learn and then assess what they feel they have learnt at the end.
Children have the opportunity to lead prayer and liturgies every week. Our Prayer and Liturgy Policy below details our clear expectations and progression.
