Curriculum statement
Religious Education
St Katherine’s Church of England Primary School
‘Love your neighbour as yourself’ - Mark 12:31
Curriculum statement
St. Katherine’s is a Church of England Primary School. Because of our vision to ‘love your neighbour as yourself’ (Gospel of Mark, Chapter 12, verse 31) we strive to ensure that all pupils develop a sense of identify and belonging, while enabling them to treat others with dignity and respect. While we are a Christian school, and Christianity is central to our teaching as a living and diverse faith, all pupils should be given the opportunity to be true to their faith with a deep respect for other religious teachings and world views.
Intent
At St. Katherine’s C of E Primary School, we are committed to meeting the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) curriculum and Primary National curriculum. We believe that it is important to teach Religious Education (RE), so that our pupils flourish and live life in all its fullness (John 10:10). children to be happy and to thrive in a constantly changing world. To do this, all pupils should be given opportunities to do the following:
Learn how to live our school vision of ‘love your neighbour as yourself’ (Mark 12:31) by developing a sense of identity and belonging which enables them to flourish individually, within their communities and in the wider world
To know about and understand Christianity as a diverse global faith through the exploration of core beliefs
To gain knowledge and understanding of a range of religions and world views, appreciating diversity, continuity and change within the religions and worldviews being studied while affirming their own faith or search for meaning
Ask and consider challenging questions about the ultimate meaning and purpose of life, what is right and wrong, the nature of reality and the being of God
To recognise the concept of religion and its continuing influence on Britain’s cultural heritage and in the lives of individuals and societies in different times, cultures and places
To explore their own religious, spiritual and philosophical ways living, believing and thinking.
To be prepared for the next stage of their education, enabling them to develop respect and sensitivity towards others, and in particular to those with different faiths and beliefs, and to combat prejudices and negative discrimination
Our curriculum is driven by both our educational aims as well as our Christian Values: Friendship, Trust, Thankfulness, Hope, Wisdom, Love, Courage and Koinonia. When these values are seen in our daily lives and within our community, we know will be guided in the right direction and follow the commandment from Jesus to ‘love your neighbour as yourself’ (Mark 12:31).
Implementation
We intend for our curriculum to serve the diverse needs of all our pupils, to reflect our local context and identified curriculum ‘drivers’:
Spirituality
Diversity
Environment
Possibilities
Our curriculum will be a broad and balanced one; one which opens doors to future success and promotes the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of all our pupils. Children will be offered experiences in all areas – linguistic, mathematical, scientific, technological, physical and creative as well as numerous opportunities to engage in extra-curricular activities. Our curriculum will consider the possibilities for learning, not just in structured lessons, but in the spaces in between, the wider school environment and in the behaviour and values of all those working in the school.
Our curriculum will deliver appropriate and ambitious possibilities and experiences to enable our pupils to become confident and responsible citizens. We will provide the necessary ‘cultural capital’ to give our children the vital background knowledge required to be thoughtful members of our community, and the wider world. Cultural capital is gained through exposure to a wide variety of texts; rich and varied subject specific, academic and literary vocabulary; wide general knowledge; possibilities of experiencing the arts (theatre, museums and music) and an understanding of British values
We will provide a coherent, structured and academic curriculum which leads to sustained mastery of a broad spectrum of subject topics, inspiring children to nurture a passion for learning and enabling them to become successful, independent and motivated thinkers and learners. At a basic level, children will acquire the fundamental foundations of every subject; then proceed to an advanced level where they learn to make appropriate decisions to apply them and finally, mastery will allow them to apply these fundamental foundations in an inventive way – knowledge precedes creativity.
Our curriculum will be designed and delivered to ensure that teaching, assessment and feedback all lead to long-term learning - mastery takes time and it is vital that teaching and learning take into account evidence from cognitive science which supports this. The content of our curriculum will be subject specific and make intra-curricula links to strengthen children’s grasp of all the threshold concepts.
Impact
The impact of our curriculum will be assessed using progression and destinations data – the latter being judged at the end of each milestone. Our goal is for the majority of pupils to have sustained mastery of subject content. We will carefully monitor pupils to ensure they are on track to reach the expectations of the curriculum and we will constantly reflect and review to adapt to the ever- changing needs of the children.
St Katherine’s recognises that pupils’ achievements are not just measured in academic results and qualifications but in how successfully children are developed as well-rounded citizens. At the end of the Primary stage of their journey to becoming a unique child, the impact of our curriculum can be measured by the extent to which our children have developed the knowledge and skills they need to excel and become an ambitious, creative and curious generation of the future.