Religious Education at St Peter’s

All that we do at St Peter’s is shaped by our commitment to our Faith.

 

Our Mission Statement is reflected in our Religious Education curriculum as the teaching of Religious Education is designed to meet the principles and goals as laid down in the School’s Mission Statement.

 

The Importance of the Role of Parents in Religious Education

St Peter’s Catholic Primary School recognises the central role parents have in the religious education of their children. The Catechism of the Catholic Church reminds us that

“Parents have the first responsibility for the education of their children. They bear witness to this responsibility first by creating a home where tenderness, forgiving, respect, fidelity and disinterested service are the rule.” (CCC 2223)

As the Statement of the Bishop’s Conference of England and Wales on Religious Education in Catholic Schools ‘2000’ states,

“The first educators in the faith are parents. It is they, above all others, who establish in their children the first sensitivity and responsiveness to the presence of God, to the practice of prayer and to the patterns of life in the community of faith, the parish. By foundations of a life-long faith and discipleship in their children are laid down.”

 

Our Catholic School

It is in the spirit of the above statement that our school works. We see St Peter’s School in the partnership with the home and the parish communities to which our children belong. As the General Directory for Catechesis affirms,

“This partnership between home and parish is enhanced by the role of the Catholic school in which the educational mission of the church finds a particular and important expression.”

This ‘educational mission’ is our central role.

 

Our Vision for RE

Religious Education takes pride of place in the school curriculum. It compliments and builds upon experiences children gain in other areas of their academic, social and spiritual development, inside and outside of school.

Through our Religious Education programme, we:

• Promote each child’s innate capacity for wonder, awe and reverence and inauguration for the spiritual.
• Deliver a curriculum in accordance with the rites and practices of the Catholic Church
• Foster a spirit of tolerance, respect and understanding of other cultures and traditions represented in the school and in the wider community.
• Encourage individual responsibility for one’s own Faith journey by promoting independence in learning.
• Show a systematic understanding of Christ, The Christian event, the message and the “Way of Life”.
• Provide a climate where Christ can reveal himself.
• Value the contribution each child makes to the spiritual community.
• Provide opportunities for affirmation and growth of faith.

 

 

 

Religious Education offers opportunities:

 

• celebration and worship
• prayer and reflection
• development of religious language and literacy – of people, places and objects – through stories, symbols and rituals
• a joyful learning journey, which marks out growth in learning and understanding of The Faith
• an experience and celebration of their success and that of others
• finding evidence of “Christ in our World” in their everyday experiences
• working together within a context of mutual support

 

How teachers embed learning

 

Faith formation is delivered in three specific ways:

1. R.E. lessons
2. School assemblies
3. Masses, celebrations and liturgies

 

The Religious Education Directory (RED) has recently been updated and across the diocese is being phased into schools, with all  year groups now following the new curriculum: To Know You More Clearly.

 

Prayer Booklet - click here