Religious Education

Religious Education is at the foundation and is a core subject of the Curriculum.

The Catholic nature of our school is central to our philosophy and informs every aspect of the life of the school. Our schools Mission Statement ‘Together in Christ’ reflects the values that all within our school family share.

Through the Holy Spirit we strive to provide opportunities for a balanced education through which our belief is integrated, so that children may develop to their full potential academically, spiritually, physically, emotionally, creatively and socially as God intended. We aim to educate children in the teachings and practices of the Church and provide them with opportunities to explore, discover and build on their own Christian faith in a community which is safe and supportive. We believe that it is important to encourage every child to develop a living faith that involves a relationship with God that is real and personal. Religious Education therefore not only involves teaching and learning in a lesson but is also something that is integrated into every aspect of our school life, shaping our curriculum and the way we interact with one another.

At St Francis' we teach, share and live the Gospel values of a Catholic Christian community. We recognise the value of all faiths and respect those who follow other paths. Each week we celebrate through prayer, song, readings and silence to deepen our understanding of God and to help one another grow spiritually. Children and adults worship together and each class takes on the responsibility of leading liturgies to which parents and friends are always welcome.

Fundamental to the religious life of the school is the example Jesus gave us in his loving relationships with others. All members of our school family will endeavour to treat each person, child and adult alike, with respect, and encourage the development of happy and harmonious relationships.

The RE scheme based on God Matters aims to include and meet the targets set out in the Curriculum Directory – Revelation, The Church, Celebration, Life in Christ – for FS, KS 1 and 2, and enable children to develop investigation, interpretation, communication, criticism, affective and social, and evaluation skills.

The Relationship & Sex programme the school follows is ‘Live Life to the Full'.

We aspire to teach the children to have respect for religious and moral values and to have tolerance of other races, religions and ways of life.