Religious Education (RE)
Intent
As a Catholic school, we believe everyone is called to follow Christ and care for the world around us. Our mission is to guide our children, ensuring they are “Learning and loving on our journey with Jesus.”
At St Gabriel’s, we believe Religious Education to be ‘the core of the core curriculum’ and we know that Religious Education is central to the educative mission of the Church. We are aware that evangelisation and catechesis are happening in our school for some pupils, we are clear that the specific contribution Religious Education makes to the Catholic Life of the school is primarily educational and will be planned, taught, assessed and monitored with the same rigour as other curriculum subjects. We acknowledge and concur with the Bishops’ view of the importance of high quality religious education: “Excellence in religious education, then, will be characterised by a clarity of succinct religious learning objectives and of key content, by appropriate methodologies, rigour, richness of resources, achievement of identified outcomes and accurate methods of assessment. Classroom RE will be a challenging educational engagement between the pupil, the teacher and the authentic subject material.” We understand Religious Education to be the systematic study of the teaching of the Church and the mystery of Christ.
Through our curriculum, we support pupils in growing in their faith by loving God and others, learning about Him, and celebrating His creation.
In school, children learn that they are part of a global community built on Gospel values. Inspired by the Gospels and Laudato Si’, they begin to understand their responsibility to care for the world and for each other. We provide opportunities to learn about the life and mission of Christ through scripture and real-life experiences. Pupils are encouraged to follow Christ’s example of compassion, justice, love, and forgiveness in their own lives.
We also teach children to respect and appreciate different faiths and cultures. By exploring the diversity of our communities, we encourage curiosity, tolerance, and respect, helping pupils understand the wider world.
We aim to help children place scripture at the centre of their prayer and worship and respond to the challenges of modern life through the Gospel. We support our children in their role as followers of Christ and empower them to grow in their knowledge and understanding of their faith.
Implementation
Religious Education is central to life in our Catholic school and is part of everything we do. At least 10% of curriculum time is dedicated to RE in all key stages. We follow the Come and See, Be Still and Know and Lighting the Path programmes, which meet the requirements set by the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales.
Through high-quality teaching, pupils are encouraged to think deeply about their faith and reflect on their own beliefs, relating everything back to their own lives. They learn how to apply the teachings of Jesus and the Church in their daily lives. Opportunities for discussion, prayer, and liturgy help children grow in their spirituality. We place strong importance on helping pupils understand their role in building the Kingdom of God and caring for our world.
Lighting the Path
The Lighting the Path curriculum follows the requirements stated in the Religious Education Directory. It aims to use the pedagogy of story to inspire, provoke and challenge children in their thinking. Within the Bible are stories, histories, poems, prophecies, gospels and letters, which weave together a story of humanity’s search for God. Children engage with this great narrative not as a static text but through learning how it is lived out in the beliefs and actions of the global Catholic community.
The curriculum has six branches, which follow the liturgical cycle of the church’s year, enabling the children to make links with wider aspects to the catholic life of the school. The spiral structure enables children to build up layers of knowledge, deepening them year on year, through a growing understanding of scripture. Knowledge steps ensure progression and allow children to reflect on what their learning means for them.
The six branches are:
- Branch 1: Creation and covenant
- Branch 2: Prophecy and promise
- Branch 3: Galilee to Jerusalem
- Branch 4: Desert to garden
- Branch 5: To the Ends of the Earth
- Branch 6: Dialogue and encounter
The RED sets out the areas of study children will ‘look’ at in six knowledge lenses. Four lenses look at the study of Catholicism (hear, believe, celebrate, live), and two explore different religious and areligious worldviews (dialogue and encounter).
The three ways of knowing, ‘understand’, ‘discern’ and ‘respond’, set out the different skills children should acquire as they study RE. They describe the holistic way that understanding grows in RE, as a dynamic assimilation of knowledge, critical thinking and self-development.
Other Faiths and Religions
The curriculum also includes dedicated opportunities to study other faiths, recognising the importance of fostering respect, understanding, and awareness of religious diversity. Judaism is typically explored in the Autumn term. In addition, pupils study one other world faith—either Hinduism, Islam, or Sikhism. Throughout the year, we also recognise and mark key celebrations from other faiths, helping children to understand when they take place across the year and to reflect on and appreciate their meaning for those who celebrate them.
This aspect of the curriculum supports pupils in developing a respectful understanding of different beliefs and traditions, helping them to appreciate diversity within both their local community and wider society. In doing so, it also contributes to the promotion of fundamental British Values, particularly mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs.
Be Still and Know
This pilot scheme has been developed in line with the requirements of the Religious Education Directory (RED) to support schools in delivering a coherent, high-quality RE curriculum rooted in the teachings of the Catholic Church. It provides a consistent framework for planning and teaching across schools, ensuring clear progression, appropriate challenge, and shared expectations. It also supports teachers of all experience levels with structured resources, while strengthening links to the Diocese of Middlesbrough through learning connected to its communities, traditions, and artefacts, helping children develop a stronger sense of belonging.
Each unit follows the four key elements of the RED: Hear, Believe, Celebrate, and Live. Children engage with Scripture (Hear), explore Catholic beliefs (Believe), consider the sacraments (Celebrate), and reflect on how faith is lived in daily life (Live), helping them understand the ongoing relevance of the Word of God.
A range of task types is included to support all learners and assessment: Recorded Work, Self-expression, Living our Faith, and Time with God. These ensure children can demonstrate their learning in different ways, engage fully, and experience success in Religious Education.
Come and See
The delivery of topics in Come and See supports pupils in developing knowledge, understanding, skills, and appropriate attitudes through a learning journey that begins with their own experiences, deepens through exploration of the Catholic faith, and is ultimately reflected in how they respond in their daily lives.
Pupils first consider their own experiences and the questions these raise, using a range of engaging approaches such as discussion, storytelling, art, drama, and reflection. They then move on to deepening their understanding of the Catholic faith through Scripture, Tradition, prayer, and Christian teaching. During this stage, pupils are encouraged to explore new knowledge, make connections with their own lives, ask questions, and develop an appreciation of different perspectives. Finally, they reflect on and respond to their learning by reviewing key ideas, sharing their thoughts and feelings, and considering how their learning can be lived out in a thoughtful and prayerful way.
Impact
The impact of Religious Education is a high priority in our school and is central to our mission and values. We are committed to ensuring that all pupils grow in knowledge, understanding, and the ability to reflect deeply, make thoughtful choices, and live out strong moral values.Children are well prepared for the next stage of their religious education as confident and enthusiastic learners. They are happy, well-rounded individuals with a deep-rooted relationship with God and a strong understanding of their Catholic faith. Pupils see themselves as ambassadors for Christ, ready to share Gospel values through compassion, justice, love, and forgiveness, and to help build the Kingdom of God in their relationships with others. They also understand that they are part of the global family of God and recognise how they can play their part within this wider community united by Christ.
