Religious Education 

“Have courage, the good seed will grow in the children's hearts”

Religious Education at Runnymede from pre-school to Year 5 follows the Liverpool Archdiocesan Scheme of Work for Religious Education 'To Know You More Clearly' which follows the Religious Education Directory.  It is built on 6 main topics, or branches that are taught annually, with content that progresses each year allowing our children to explore each topic in greater depth as they advance. 

'To Know You More Clearly' curriculum is structured around 6 branches, with one branch taught each half term.  These branches are:

*Creation and Covenant (Autumn 1)

*Prophecy and Promise (Autumn 2)

*From Galilee to Jerusalem (Spring 1)

*From Desert to Garden (Spring 2)

*To the Ends of the Earth (Summer 1)

*Dialogue and Encounter (Summer 2)

Each of these branches is explored through a 4 part framework:

*Hear

*Believe

*Celebrate

*Live

At the end of each branch, children will be able to demonstrate their learning in three key areas:

*Understand

*Discern

*Respond

Year 6 continue to follow the national scheme of work 'Come and See.’  They will cover 9 topics throughout the year and study other faiths such as Judaism and Islam.  Come and See offers opportunities for our children to explore, reveal and respond to church teachings and scripture at an age appropriate level.  It also aims to raise questions and provide materials for children to reflect on their own experiences.  It will help them to explore the beliefs and values and the way of life for Catholic traditions, and of other faith traditions, developing good attitudes and dispositions so that children are instilled with a love of learning.  Children will come and see the wonder and awe of all that is both within and beyond them.

Religious education recognises and enables a dialogue at many levels.

RE takes up 10% of the curriculum, but is not totally confined to lesson time. RE permeates the whole life and ethos of the school. 

The children will 'Explore' the topic in a way appropriate to their age range. Then they will come to the heart of the process, where they will 'Reveal' the Christian understanding of the mystery of God and human life as expressed in the person, life and gospel of Jesus Christ. The children will then 'Respond' to their new knowledge and understanding by celebrating together.

Sacramental Preparation and Baptism:

The Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King is no longer able to accommodate the children of Runnymede St Edward's in making their First Holy Communion at the Cathedral due to their commitments with other schools within the parish. Parents and Carers of children in Year 4 are advised to contact their own parish in order to join their sacramental preparation programme, as this is parish led programme. 

Collective Worship is an important aspect of Religious Education. Each day the children take part in a Collective Worship, whether it is in small groups in class, in year groups or in key stage groups. Collective Worship is an ideal opportunity to celebrate. Celebrations are an essential part of life for people of every age and faith. Collective Worships consist of varying elements such as gathering and greeting, listening, reflecting, responding through community praise, especially in song, prayer and of course the children’s own work and ideas.

At Runnymede we have key stage Collective Worships to celebrate key aspects of the academic and liturgucal year such as: Harvest Festival, All Saints, Advent and Christmas.  In the Spring Term we celebrate Lent, the Good Shepherd Collection for the Nugent Care Society and the joy of Easter Week. In the Summer Term, we celebrate the feast of Blessed Edmund Rice the founder of the Christian Brothers . Pupils who have received the Sacraments take part in a special school celebration near the Feast of SS Peter and Paul and Year 6 take part in a special leavers mass. Of course throughout the year we celebrate many Feasts and Holy days of the Catholic Church.

Additionally, our Edmund Rice Ambassadors meet regularly to discuss how we can be more active participants in his legacy and Year 6 take part in the Edmund Rice Charism Awards in the Spring and Summer Term. 

Passing on the faith to your child - What is the best way?  This leaflet from the Archdiocese of Liverpool is a beautifully simple reminder of how to nurture faith in your child.

Passing on the faith to your child - What is the best way?

Religious Education

Intent  

At Runnymede, St Edward’s Catholic Primary School, the foundation of our Religious Education Policy is based on our mission statement 'Have courage and the good seed will grow in the children's hearts'. We aim to inspire, challenge and support through faith and a love of God, through a broad curriculum based on the gospel. We recognise that the curriculum, in its content and delivery, reflects the fact that Jesus Christ is the foundation of the whole educational enterprise.
 
As a Catholic school, Runnymede St Edward aims to complement the Catholic home by cultivating the moral, intellectual, aesthetic and physical development of our children. We aim to foster a collaborative and co-operative environment which makes every member of our school feel welcome, valued and respected, regardless of race, creed, gender or disability.
 
Our teaching is not only evident in Religious lessons and in prayer and liturgy, but it underpins all we teach, across the curriculum.  It is evident every day in the classroom, in the attitudes and skills we attempt to foster in our children.  It permeates all areas of the curriculum.  We aim to develop, in a Catholic atmosphere, qualities of mind, body and spirit in order to prepare our children to face the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of adult life.
 
We acknowledge that to create distinctive Catholic School requires the full commitment of all who belong to the school community to trust and respect each others views and feelings. All are valued and encouraged to make Runnymede stimulating, enjoyable and satisfying place in which to work.
 
We aim to:
•    to respect and promote the child’s innate capacity for wonder, awe, reverence and imagination
•    to enable our children to take the initial steps of their faith journey
•    to increase the children’s knowledge and love of God
•    to teach the Catholic faith and develop commitment towards that faith
•    to encourage a loving and caring attitude towards family, friends, peers and teachers and all with whom they come into contact
•    to celebrate through worship and liturgy in a way appropriate to their age
•    to foster a respect for other religious and faith communities
 
Implementation
 
We use the religious education programmes 'To Know You More Clearly' (Pre-School- Year 5) and ‘Come and See’ (Year 6).  These are the programmes prescribed by the Archdiocese of Liverpool . We endeavour to be creative and use cooperative learning techniques to promote children’s progress.
 
In addition, these programmes enable us to promote key principles of Catholic Social Teaching and introduce a global aspect to our RE curriculum through the inclusion of CAFOD’s Universal Church topics. Teaching of other faiths is built into the programmes, so our pupils have the opportunity to learn about other faith communities and their beliefs and practices. 

 
Throughout the year, pupils will participate in Mass, feast days, holy days and Collective Worships.  Class led assemblies also take place throughout the year.  The prayer life of the school is integrated into the Religious Education curriculum e.g. through class based collective worship opportunities. ‘Reflect’ time is part of the Come and See programme and allows pupils to plan their own collective worship sessions and reflect on their learning from the previous weeks.
 
Impact
 
Through the teaching of RE we will promote the child’s innate capacity for wonder, awe, reverence and imagination and through this we will enable them to take the initial steps of their faith journey.  The children’s knowledge and love of God will be developed.  By teaching the Catholic faith developing a commitment towards that faith we can encourage a loving and caring attitude towards family, friends, peer and teachers an all with whom they come into contact.  In an age appropriate way, we can celebrate through worship and liturgy.  Through the teaching of other faiths and religions we can enable the children to foster a respect for other religions and faith communities.

Festivals and Celebrations

Celebrations are an essential part of life for people of every age and faith. The cycle of a year and the span of a lifetime are marked by rituals, when people gather to celebrate with their friends.

Rejoicing and celebrating help all of us to reach into the heart of life and to realise the deepest meaning of what is happening here. They keep before us what is important in life: its joys, difficulties, sorrows and successes. Celebration is an opportunity to experience joy and also to come to terms with sadness and difficulty in order to feel joy again. Our understanding is heightened so that we are able to get back to living with renewed vision and hope.

At Runnymede, as we explore the topics in 'Come and See', we have the opportunity to develop the knowledge and understanding of our Catholic faith. To read further please see the Religious Education section of the website.

Through the themes for each term, the children will become familiar with the seasons of the Christian Church. Through the topics, they are introduced to the traditions, customs and practices of seasons and special feasts. Making time to celebrate enable children to acknowledge the value of the experiences they have explored.

During the year, we at Runnymede have many opportunities to celebrate topics studied.  This could involve, singing, dancing, scripture readings, art work, dressing up, picnics a walk in the beautiful grounds or many other alternatives. A truly special time.

Outside the curriculum lessons we celebrate many aspects of our lives and the lives of others. We begin the year celebrating a new beginning and welcome new and old members of our school community. On the feast of St. Edward, October 13th, all are invited to attend a special mass in the Cathedral alongside St Edward's College, our feeder school.

Before the end of the first half term the whole school celebrates Harvest Festival. A time to thank God for all we have and a time to share with those who do not have as much. We collect tinned food, biscuits and crisps which we give to local food banks and the homeless. We partake in sponsored walks in our school grounds which is very enjoyable and donations go to a global charity such as CAFOD and/or charities selected.

Advent is a time of preparation. We celebrate the beginning with a Mass or a special Collective Worship. During Advent we strive to help others and our pupils are invited to bring gifts to the Nugent mass in the cathedral to help those who are less fortunate.  Christmas is celebrated with Nativity plays, Carol Services, Christmas concerts, Carol singing and of course lots of parties and fun.

The Spring Term begins with us celebrating the Epiphany, the arrival of the The Wise Men. Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, this is celebrated in school with a Mass or special Collective Worship. During Lent we celebrate again how lucky we are by collecting for the Nugent Care Society, the Good Shepherd. Children are asked to do extra jobs at home to raise money e.g. set the table for tea, help with the dishes or tidy their rooms. To celebrate Easter, the events of Holy week are reenacted with special Collective Worships, led by the children. We also have Easter bonnet parades and get to witness new life with arrival of our chicks!

The Summer Term is a time to celebrate so many things. Our Young Edwardians look forward to our annual May Day Procession where they are invited to bring seeds and plants and pray through Mary.  Additionally, May marks the feast day of the founder of the Christian Brothers, Blessed Edmund Rice and our children learn all about his life and partake in a special assembly about him. Year 4 children, who have received the Sacraments of Reconciliation  and First Holy Communion, lead a special celebration in school. Year 6 have a special Mass and Leavers Play to celebrate their life in Runnymede as they leave to move on to their Secondary schools. This term is also a time when we celebrate achievements, academic, sporting, musical and progress formally taking place at the Cathedral for the Runnymede Prize Giving.

Throughout the year many people help us celebrate, visitors to the school, parents, teachers, support staff and we have links with our local parishes, especially St Paul's and Timothy's.

Other Faiths

Runnymede is a Catholic school and we have an open attitude to all faiths. As Catholics we are committed to respecting people of other faiths and to recognise that God is in work in them. In the multi-faith society of today, Religious Education introduces children to the background and beliefs of people of other faiths so that prejudice and misunderstanding can be overcome from an early age.

Charity

At the centre of the ethos of our school is the desire to help others, by following the message of Blessed Edmund Rice and the Gospels. We at Runnymede do this in our charity/advocacy work. We try and support local and global charities by raising money and awareness, but also by our prayers and work in school.   We regularly support Mary's Meals, Nugent Care and CAFOD among other charities.

Through our Live Simply journey we have helped raise funds and awareness of the impact of charities such as CAFOD.

Our children often have desires to highlight and raise money for a charity that is of special interest for them. We try to help as much as we can.

RSHE

‘A Journey In Love’ is the RSE scheme (Relationship and Sex Education) that the Governors at Runnymede St Edward’s Catholic Primary School have adopted. It is the recommended programme of study for Catholic schools for Relationship and Sex Education, and has been written so that year on year the children build on their knowledge and awareness. It also supports the Religious Education, PSHE and Science curriculum taught within the school.

As children progress through school, they discover more and more about themselves and the wider world.  This thirst for learning new things in all aspects of life is fostered by the school, who attempt to create a safe, stimulating environment for learning; supporting all children in their development.  Our mission statement which drives the school, attempts to achieve this goal following the Gospel values of truth and respect, understanding our journey as children of God, both special and unique.

Central to our work within the school is learning about our faith, including understanding ourselves, our position in our community and how we develop as human beings – our spiritual, social, emotional and physical development.  This is how ‘A Journey in Love’ fits in to the school’s curriculum.  The scheme permeates through all levels of learning throughout the school.  It focuses on friendship, family, community, relationships and spirituality; a guide to the children’s development as young Catholics.

The content is age appropriate and is taught with sensitivity, taking into account the children’s level of maturity in regard to the delivery of the lessons.

As with all aspects of learning, children are naturally curious and many will have questions related to their lessons.  Opportunities to discuss questions form part of the lessons and, again, these are treated with care and understanding.

You have the right to withdraw your child from this aspect of the curriculum however, this is not to be confused with curriculum Science which is statutory.

If you require any further clarification regarding this aspect of the curriculum please contact:

Mrs P Minogue (RE Lead & Deputy Head), Miss K Peaston (Headteacher) or Miss J McNally (PHSE Lead) any enquiries can be made by emailing admin@runnymede-school.org.uk.  If would like to see more than just a sample of this scheme of work, please come into school and we will gladly accommodate your request. 

 ‘A Journey in Love’

‘A Journey in Love’ has as its foundational premise the belief that we are made in the image and likeness of God and, as a consequence, gender and sexuality are God’s gift, reflect God’s beauty and share in the divine creativity.

In order that children may grow and develop healthily and holistically towards an understanding of their gender and its implications for successful relationships, they must be at ease with themselves and grow in self- knowledge.

An aspect of the mystery of love is treated in each year group; children and young people are encouraged to marvel at the wonder and beauty of God’s creative love. This is reflected in each stage of a person’s growth in the Primary years through a series of suggested, progressive and developmental tasks, activities and reflections which focus on physical, social, emotional, intellectual and spiritual development:

R: God loves each of us in our uniqueness
Y1: We meet God’s love in our family
Y2: We meet God’s love in the community
Y3: How we live in love
Y4: God loves us in our differences
Y5: God loves me in my changing and development
Y6: The wonder of God’s love in creating new life

‘Love is the light – and in the end, the only light – that can always illuminate a world grown dim and give us the courage needed to keep living and working. Love is possible, and we are able to practise it because we are created in the image of God.’

Deus Caritas Est 39