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R.E. & Catholicity Area

Welcome to Holy Cross’ R.E. and Catholicity Area. We are very proud to be an ‘outstanding’ catholic school in which both children and adults are supported and encouraged, to develop their own faith and spirituality. We recognise that our children come from a range of backgrounds and abilities and as such, we are sensitive to each child’s life experiences and value their individual contribution to school life.

At Holy Cross, we truly believe that every child in our care is made in the image and likeness of God. Therefore, our aim in the teaching of Religious Education is to bring our children to a deep, living and active personal faith related to their own lives and experiences.

As teachers, we strive to ensure that the our whole curriculum, our moral values and our relationships stem from the Gospel Values, and pupils are continually reminded of God’s loving presence in all that we do.

“Pupils are proud of belonging to this vibrant, inclusive Catholic community. There is a clear sense that they are steeped in a strong faith tradition brought about by a clear fusion between school and parish.”

Quote taken from our Diocesan Inspection 2015

Teaching and Learning

As recommended by the Diocesan guidelines, the time given to the teaching of Religious Education at Holy Cross is 10% of the timetable, for timetabled or planned periods of time to an explicit consideration of RE in the classroom.

At Holy Cross, religious education is respected as a core subject and as such must be of a quality to engage and stimulate pupils’ intellect, heart and imagination. To ensure these areas are addressed, we follow the ‘God Matters’ scheme of work, which addresses the requirements of the RE Curriculum Directory for Catholic Education (2012). This strategy aims to provide a curriculum that will be enjoyable to study, and one that endeavours to secure the link between what the church teaches and the classroom by supporting teachers’ planning, delivery and assessment opportunities.

The ‘God Matters’ scheme is used throughout our school and is split up into different themes which are revisited and developed each year.

Examples of the units covered can be found below:

Creation

This unit allows pupils to learn about the creation story, developing their learning and exploring why we should look at God’ creation.

Prayer, Saints and Feasts

This unit explores our relationship with God and how we celebrate our saints.

Advent

This unit looks at how we prepare for Jesus’ birth.

Christmas

In this unit, we look specifically at the story of Christmas and what it means to us.

Sacraments

Pupil’s are able to develop an understanding of each of the seven sacraments within the Catholic Faith, in this unit.

Lent

In this unit, we look to develop pupil’s understanding of how we prepare for the death of Jesus.

Holy Week

This unit allows pupil’s to explore each of the stages of Holy Week. It also encourages them to empathise with Jesus’ and the disciples feelings throughout this time.

Easter

In this unit, our pupils are given the opportunity to explore the sacrifice that Jesus and God made at this time.

Revelation

With this unit, our aim is to develope the pupil’s knowledge of how we should follow God’s laws and how we are waiting for Jesus to come again.

Other Faiths

Community cohesion is central to our Christian faith and we value the rich and diverse community of Holy Cross. We are committed to developing an ethos of respect for other faiths and welcome the contribution made by those of other religious beliefs. Through our curriculum, the children learn about the beliefs and rituals of Judaism, Hinduism and Islam and we provide opportunities to recognize other religious festivals throughout the year. Our outward looking and inclusive philosophy fosters an understanding of the many blessings of the world around us.

Prayer Life

At Holy Cross, we help our pupils to develop a reverential attitude in their prayer life and to make prayer a natural part of their daily lives. Children are exposed to a variety of prayer experiences, both formal and informal, private and communal. Children are encouraged to take an active part in school Masses and whole school Collective Worship, including the preparation of readings and prayers.

As teachers, we encourage all our children to apply the skills that they learn in other literary subjects to their religious education, and maintain that they should investigate the faith with the same enthusiasm and rigour as other subject areas.

Useful Links

Holy Cross R.E. Other Faiths Scheme of Work

Holy Cross Relationships and Sex Education Programme

Cafod Collective Workshop Resources