Religious Education

“…Religious Education is not one subject among many but the foundation of the entire educational process. The beliefs and values it communicates should inspire and unite every aspect of school life. It should provide the context for and substantially shape the school curriculum and offer living experience of the life and faith in its practical experience”.

(Statement by the Bishops of England and Wales – 1988)

As a Catholic Primary School, Sacred Heart RC Primary and Nursery School is committed to the Catholic faith. We acknowledge that our faith is the cornerstone to our curriculum and aim to provide our pupils with a broad, balanced curriculum which is underpinned by our Mission Statement, ‘Let the love of Christ show in all that we do.’ We recognise all children as individuals who are unique and built in the image of God. We believe that RE teaching should promote awe and wonder and stimulate children to ask ‘Big questions’ about the world in which they live. Our Religious Education curriculum leads our children to aspire not to have more, but to be more; children are taught about God’s love; they learn about their Christian responsibilities; children are provided with experiences of church, Catholic and Christian traditions, as well as being taught to be respectful and understanding of people and traditions from other faith backgrounds. Through Religious Education our children learn about their unique place within the home, school and parish community.

At Sacred Heart RC Primary and Nursery School we follow the ‘The Way, the Truth and the Life ’ Religious Education Programme in line with guidance from the Diocese of Salford. This programme is followed throughout school from Nursery through to Year 6.

This programme provides:

• Opportunities for celebration, prayer and reflection in implicit and explicit ways.
• children with the language of religious experience - a 'literacy' in religious activities, places, stories, symbols and rituals, people and objects.
• A 'systematic presentation of Christian event, message and way of life' in ways appropriate to the age and stage of development of the child.
• That for its implementation and production it requires the adults involved to understand the underlying theological as well as educational principles.
• Appropriate materials about other faiths.
• Academic respectability as in other curricular areas – utilising appropriate stages from the National Curriculum.

The programme explores the religious dimensions of questions about life, dignity and purpose within the Catholic tradition. Links are made with the children's own experience and with universal experience. It will raise questions and provide material for reflection by the children on their own experiences. It will enable them to explore the beliefs, values and way of life of the Catholic tradition and where appropriate other faith traditions.

Other Faiths and Religions

Other world faiths including Judaism, Hinduism, Islam and Sikhism are taught across the school as part of the RE curriculum. One week in the autumn term is spent on Judaism, a week in the spring term on Islam and we then alternate in the summer term between Sikhism / Hinduism – one year Sikhism, the next year Hinduism.  Each year group has a theme, for example Year 3 look at places of worship for each faith, Year 4 holy books etc so. Whole School Interfaith Weeks are also planned regularly – the religion focus is carefully selected with consideration given to the most relevant and appropriate in light of each class and current local, national or world-wide events. We visit places of worship during each Key Stage and invite visitors into school to enhance the pupils’ experiences, knowledge and understanding. Our After School Club also incorporate a calendar of religious celebrations into their offering of themed sessions, for example Chinese New Year with Tiger crafts (Year of the Tiger) and food tasting, Eid Celebrations with mendi patterns, eid card making and cultural dancing. All children are invited to attend these sessions.

Assessment

Ongoing informal assessment against the Standard Indicators and Formal Assessment Tasks are used to inform planning and to identify areas for focus and support. Assessment is moderated internally and externally within cluster meetings.

The 5 W’s Framework

Our approach to developing the children’s understanding of their Catholic Faith is rooted in the 5W's of the Salford Diocese Framework for Review, Evaluation and Celebration.

 Our 5Ws are:

Welcome – At Sacred Heart RC Primary and Nursery School we provide a warm and welcoming environment for all our children, families, staff, governors and visitors.

Word – We grow to understand our Catholic Faith through high quality lessons and experiences so that we know what the true meaning of a Catholic Life is.  We value the teachings of Jesus and we are faithful to His word.

Worship – Christ is at the heart of all we do. We pray and reflect together in many different ways to show our love and devotion to God and celebrate the spirituality of our community.

Welfare – The children and staff are caring and supportive, not just of one another, but of others in our society both close to home and across the World through our actions and by teaching them about love, forgiveness and kindness.

Witness – We strive to act like Jesus would wherever we go and with whoever we are with.  We do not just learn about our faith, we live out its principles in the way we treat each other and though other projects to ensure that we are acting out the Gospel values through our lives and becoming true missionary disciples.

These five areas cover all aspects of what it means to be a true follower of Christ. Through these, Sacred Heart RC Primary and Nursery School pupils are taught how to live a life rooted in Catholic values so that they go out into the word as beacons of Christ’s teachings.

As a Roman Catholic Primary School, we deliver a minimum of two hours of RE every week. We use The Way, the Truth and the Life (WTL) programme as the main resource to support the teaching of religious education. This is supplemented by other resources and by regular professional development on creative and engaging approaches to the teaching of religious education. The WTL programme has its own website that can be found here.

Please see the document below to view our curriculum map, outlining the units covered from Nursery to Year 6.

Worship/ RE

Sacred Heart is a Roman Catholic school where the 5Ws of Welcome/ Witness/ Worship/ Welfare and Word are embedded throughout the school ethos.

There are 5 acts of worship a week:

In each daily act of worship a range of prayers are said that reflect the Catholic Teachings. Collective worship is an integral part of the school day and should be is carefully planned like any other part of the curriculum and is educational in all aspects. There is always room for flexibility and immediate
response to school, local and national events. The classrooms provide an area in which Collective Worship can take place which is more intimate and personal to the children.

 There are many ways in which pupils can be involved in Collective Worship.  They feel included and have an opportunity to contribute if they wish to.  This contribution should make a difference to the value that pupils place on the time and content of Collective Worship.

Pupils can:-

• Lead the delivery of Collective Worship
• Write prayers
• Read prayers/stories/the Bible
• Give ideas for content
• Ask/answer questions
• Bringing artefacts for the focus table
• Choose the music and songs
• Take part in evaluation of Collective Worship
• Hold visual aids
• Create power points
• Be an assistant
• Manage technical equipment

Pupils are not to be withdrawn from Collective Worship for any reason other than it is the wish of their parents. Prayer like anything else in school should be taught and experienced. There are a range of resources available. Prayer is both a public and a private act. It should go beyond saying the morning, lunch and end of day school prayers.

RE:

Our school is a Roman Catholic School and provides positive Catholic teaching based on the Salford Diocesan Religious Education Syllabus. In Religious Education, assessments based on 'Come and See' will be carried out for each child in each topic across the EYFS, and from Year 1 to 6. The EYFS will follow the materials as identified in the Assessment CD which accompanies the scheme. In Years 1 – 6 the children will be assessed using the Lancaster Diocese materials (half-termly trackers).

Year 2 have been learning about preparations during Advent

Nursery have been finding out about Diwali

We honoured those who had died by making poppies and held a two minute silence during Remembrance Day

We celebrated Father O'Brien being a priest for 10 years

We have been thinking about our School Values. The pupils designed displays to reflect each of our values this year

Father O'Brien came to bless the school in this new academic year

Steve Burrows from The Laudato Si came and led a special assembly about 'Caring for our Common Home'. He then helped the Eco Team to make Bat and Bird (BOB Boxes) which they will sell to raise funds for CAFOD

Father O'Brien led the pupils in Key Stage 1 and Year 3 in a Lenten Liturgy

The pupils in Years 4-6 visited St Mary's RC Church for Ash Wednesday with other local schools-

The GIFT Team have been busy preparing the prayer journals for the other pupils, washing the stations of the cross from Sacred Heart RC Church and planning worship!

Father O'Brien led a special mass about Our Lady of Lourdes 

Class 1 assembly about being special and unique - Odd Socks

Parental comments:

"Very well put together. The kids looked like they had loads of fun. The singing was beautiful"

"Thank you for a great performance and the teachers for working hard with children. "- Jakub's Mum

"Absolutely amazing! Fantastic that the children are learning that everyone's different and there is nothing wrong with that!"

"Well presented and I was amazed how the children have learnt sign language and they sang so beautifully! Thanks to all the teachers for their hard work"- Greta's Mum

"Thank you for preparing our children. The performance was great. Good job!"

""Wonderful, love the singing"- Emily's Great Grandma

"Fantastic singing and sign language, So proud of you all!"- Lexi's Mum, Dad and Grandad

"I think year 1 have learnt about how everyone is special and different"

"Brilliant, enjoyed it, well done for such a thoughtful assembly"- Iman-Noor's Mum

"I love how there is always powerful statements made in every assembly. The children were fantastic. " Hassan's Mum

"Beautiful singing"

"Showing love for each other it helps to build confidence in themselves. Also this is how life is. Well done"- Safaa's family

"Wonderful assembly! A credit to Mr Whitaker. The song and singing moved me to tears. Beautiful"- Ellie- Grace's Mum

"Proud!"- Phillip's family

"Loved how the children learn sign language, it was really moving. Thank you."- Tia's Mum

The Reception Class led an assembly about Chinese New Year and also did a special Chinese Dance

"The children did a great performance for the Chinese New Year. I enjoyed it."

"It was wonderful and fun"- Annalyse's Mum

"Great effort from the children and teachers to learn about the Chinese New Year. Well done. "- Zak's Mum

"It was nice to see the whole class doing it together and what they learnt"- Calvin's Mum

"The assembly was brilliant, something different but fun!"- Olivia G's Mum and Grandma

"Very well planned and the children behaved as they should"

"Great, very well done"

"Really good at doing their Chinese New Year's Dance"- Olivia T's Mum

"Amazing performance from the whole of the reception class. Well done everybody"- Elsie's Mum

"Myself and Ella's Dad really enjoyed the assembly. All the children did amazing with their singing, moving and listening. Thank you very much for a wonderful performance"- Ella's Mum and Dad

'Dress as a Bible Character' Day winners

Year 2 led a special assembly about Chinese New Year

" Year 2 did very well in the play all they children worked hard. Taymullah said his line well."- Taymullah's Mum

"Year 2 play was good, they did well explaining about the Chinese New Year."

"Very nicely presented. I loved how they all knew their lines"

"Year 2 spoke loud and clear and sang wonderfully"- Madison's Mum

"Beautiful singing, all the kids did fab. Great listening and learning about other cultures."

"I think it was a very good assembly"

"I think it was great"- Jakub's Mum

"The children did fantastic with their lines"- Mrs Briggs

"Really fantastic to see the children learning about different cultures. I think these activities build confidence also".

"The children did fab and my girls were excited and asked lots of questions about China at home"- Millie and Grace's Mum

"I think Year 2 did extremely well, very confident and bright. They did brilliantly talking about Chinese New Year!"

"Really enjoyed the performance. Well done to the children and teachers."

Class 4 led a special assembly about Martin Luther King and the right of freedom

"Year 4 have done us all proud, very well behaved and clear voices. Overall the message they portrayed has been given clearly. Very well done. Managed fantastically"- Amina's Mum

"Year 4 did such a fantastic job with reading, from team work skills to theme singing. I can see the effort put in by Mrs Harling and the kids' confidence levels showed"- Yusuf's Mum

"It was really fantastic. We enjoyed it a lot. It's all your teachers' efforts. Thanks to building up confidence in children to organise such an assembly and teach them about history"- Eeshal's Mummy

"Today's assembly was very good. It teaches us a lesson to live all together without separation of nations, colour, rich and poor. Good. Well done".

"Assembly was amazing. It highlighted an important aspect of society, discrimination and equality."

"The children did very well. Well done Class 4"- Donna Whalley

"I thought it was very well thought out and had lots of information within it."- Caleb's auntie

"Very well organised and the children did brilliant"- Mrs Briggs

"Year 4 were brilliant. Well done! Hendrix has enjoyed learning about Martin Luther King Jr and all the wonderful things he did for people!"- Hendrix's Mum

"It was really lovely. All the children are great. Well done"- Lena's Mum

Year 3 Assembly about their Talents

"I think it was great and wonderful"- Keira

"I think it was a very good class assembly but it can improve maybe actions and voice  should improve but every other thing is great"- Yusuf

"I thought that it was a lovely show and there was some fantastic reading"- Princess

"Absolutely fabulous Year 3 play. The children all performed brilliantly as always- love it!"- Ethan's Mum

"I really liked their assembly and they did a really good job and learn new things every day. Well done everyone"- Subhan's Mum

"The reading was really well done and the play as a whole was excellent"- Lexani's Dad

"Fantastic performance. It is refreshing to see Jesus at the heart of an assembly"- Grace's Mum

The Feast of the Epiphany Mass with Father O'Brien

Mass with Father O'Brien

Years 4, 5 & 6 Mass with St Oswald's RC Primary School and St Mary's RC Primary School at St Mary's RC Church

Interfaith Exhibition

We asked our parents what they had enjoyed about the exhibition.

Our Parents said....

"The children were very knowledgeable talking about the different religions. It was obvious they had fun learning. The different range of activities the children had completed was really interesting"- M Brown

"Amazing work by everyone"- L Fraser

"It is nice that the children believe in religion. The Kids have lots of fun learning about different countries- J Berryman

"Everyone (students) are very knowledgeable about the religion. It is nice to see kids participate regardless of the religion they believe in. The kids are fabulous."- L Salazar 

"Learning about all the different work the school have been doing"- T Sharpe

"I learnt about new religions!"- Shameem

"Looking at all the hard work all the children have done. Very creative!"- R Coates

"Seeing how proud and passionate the children are about their work. Great to see the effort the children have gone to"- M Gibson

"Seeing my son's learning"- S Olszewska

"Everybody's art work. Very creative!"- W Trella

"Looking at what everyone has done. Very well done!"- L Dand

"We enjoyed learning about different religions. All the children have tried really hard"- Alisha and Clare (former pupils)

The pupils in Reception Class visited St Mary's RC Church to find out about Baptism

Zishan Abid (Headteacher at Raza Academy) came to talk to the children about the Muslim Faith

"It was an absolute please to visit your school for collective worship. The children were very well behaved and a credit to all the staff at Sacred Heart. Keep up the great work!" 

Zishan Abid   Headteacher at the Raza Academy

Ann Angel from 'Religious Education for Schools' came to speak to the pupils about the Jewish Faith. She then worked closely with two year groups to help them find out more

Year 1 and Year 4 went to visit the Raza Jamia Masjid Mosque - Monday 25th November 2019

Mass for Holy Souls with Father O'Brien

Father O'Brien came in to Year 5 to talk to the pupils about Marriage during their RE lesson