01772 862305  
bursar@ourlady-st-edwards.lancs.sch.uk 
Main Contact: Mrs N Kippax

Lightfoot Lane
Fulwood, Preston, PR2 3LP 

We are inspired by the teachings of Jesus Christ who is at the heart of all we do.

Religious Education

Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.

Mother Teresa

Our RE Curriculum

Intent
At Our Lady and St Edward’s, our intent for Religious Education is to provide an inspiring curriculum where we aim to develop a deep understanding of the Catholic religion so that pupils ‘may come to understand the richness of the Catholic faith, and thereby be drawn into a deeper communion with Christ in his Church.” (Religious Education Curriculum Directory). Through thought provoking lessons, we equip our children with the skills to let them explore, question and discuss different values and beliefs thereby developing the skills to make links and connections, engage and respond, analyse and evaluate using sources of evidence. RE provides pupils with knowledge and appreciation of the fullness of life witnessed through the Holy Sacraments drawing them closer to God. At Our Lady and St Edward’s, Religious Education is more than a class based subject, it is a lived out experience where pupils have the opportunity to lead and participate in all aspects of school worship, living out the Gospel values and sharing this with the wider community.  Parents, family members, friends and parishioners attend Masses and religious celebrations in school and Church promoting good links with the Parish. At Our Lady and St Edward’s, pupils are prepared for life in a multi-faith society by fostering respect for and understanding of rich cultural diversity. When children leave Our Lady and St Edward’s, our intention is that they have a strong understanding of themselves, emotionally and morally, helping them to be able to adapt and cope with the next stage of life, in order to ‘bring clarity to the relationship between faith and life, and between faith and culture’ (Religious Education Curriculum Directory).
Implementation
Religious Education at Our Lady and St Edward’s relates to 10 percent of the weekly timetable for each class. However, Religious Education is not a standalone subject. Teachers are able to integrate Religious Education into different lessons and parts of the school day. Religious Education also takes place through different assemblies each week where the children are able to explore Gospel values, hymns, key religious figures and Bible stories. During the year, pupils are able to explore different religions and take part in theme weeks where they are able to work on whole school topics.
The main teaching resource for Religious Education is, The Truth, The Way and The Life. The scheme is a starting point as teachers are encouraged to adapt the scheme ensuring all pupil’s needs are met and lessons are linked to their lives and the lives of the faith community. Teachers also ensure that when they teach Religious Education, they provide opportunities for the pupils to discuss, reflect and question what they have heard. Tasks in Religious Education will vary by class and by topic but can include writing tasks, construction, drama, art, music and discussions. Other areas of Religious Education are taught through Cafod topics so that pupils have an understanding of God’s Creation and their place in the world. Recently, we have further enhanced our curriculum by using resources created by Dr Margaret Carswell, these resources punctuate our curriculum at key liturgical points in the Church’s calendar, Advent to Christmas, Lent to Easter and Easter to Pentecost.
Religious Education is also taught through our community links where we welcome visitors, our priest and sister. Our clergy visit the school and take part in discussions with pupils, teach lessons, prepare reconciliation services and school masses.
Impact
Through Religious Education, we hope for our children to deepen their faith and that they are able to analyse, discuss, reflect and express their views and understanding so that they are well prepared for their next stage of their education. We expect pupil outcomes to reflect similar attainment achieved in other core subjects and for pupils to produce high quality work which they are proud of. We assess the pupils’ development and progress through their work and record this on our internal tracking system. We participate in internal and external moderation so that we can evaluate attainment using standards outlined in the Diocesan Assessment Framework. Internal moderation, includes discussion around attainment and progress. Teachers provide next steps marking to further challenge pupils’ understanding and pupils are expected to respond to marking. Parents are informed of their child’s progress in RE through Parents’ Evening and the end of year report. RE books are always available at Parents’ Evening. As well as showing attainment through their books, pupils demonstrate their learning through their class liturgies. Each term, parents are invited to share in the prayer life of the school as we celebrate learning through stories, poems, songs, prayers, drama and reflections.
We believe that pupil attainment is not the only outcome from Religious Education. We want the children to develop spiritually and morally with strong values which will enable them to grow as responsible, generous and loving members of the Global family united by Christ. ‘The outcome of excellent Religious Education is religiously literate and engaged young people who have the knowledge, understanding and skills – appropriate to their age and capacity – to reflect spiritually, and think ethically and theologically, and who are aware of the demands of religious commitment in everyday life’ (Religious Education Curriculum Directory).

 

Useful Documents

Latest News

First Holy Communion

First Holy Communion

On Saturday the 13th May some of our Year 3 children made the next step in their journeys of faith when they made their First Holy Communion. They have worked very hard preparing for this moment and we are very proud of them. Congratulations to all the children!  

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Easter Writing

Easter Writing

As we prepare to celebrate the Easter Triduum, our KS2 children have created some powerful and moving pieces of writing. Please take a look at a selection of pieces from Year 4, 5 and 6.  

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Season of Creation

Season of Creation

The theme of the Season of Creation 2022 is ‘Listen to the Voice of Creation’. The whole school have been engaged in learning about God’s creation. We have completed work in class and created displays in the hall.   

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