Rooted in a firm understanding of the love of God, our aim is that each child who leaves our schools will be a caring, confident and accomplished member of the community; with a desire to continue to flourish.
In order to do this we strive to live, love and learn together with our eyes focused on Jesus.
| At the Federation of Our Lady Queen of Martyrs and St Joseph’s Catholic Primary Schools, our intent is for all our children…
· to recognise that they are uniquely made in the image of God, who is worthy of praise, loved by Him and called by Him to carry out a specific purpose that he has not committed to another. · to develop spirituality and equip them to be thoughtful, caring and active citizens within school and the wider community. · to enable them to grow in their religious literacy and understanding in a way that is coherent with current educational principles. · to recognise the mystery of God’s self-revelation of love through Jesus Christ. · to explore the mystery of faith through Scripture and Tradition · to explore and articulate their own faith as well as and other principal religious traditions represented in the United Kingdom. · to develop understanding of the ways in which beliefs influence people in their behaviour, practices and in their communities. · to recognise the right of people to hold diverse beliefs and values and to develop positive attitudes of respect towards other people. · to benefit from opportunities to enhance their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development
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Our faith is the core of all that we do, and we implement this in many ways.
- Our curriculum, ethos and school statement to live by promote the mission of Jesus the Servant King in our children, teaching them to be thoughtful, compassionate, understanding, and considerate young people committed to lives of service-living, loving and learning together.
- We teach the virtues of respect, courtesy, faith, simplicity, hope, patience, honesty, gratitude, charity, forgiveness, resilience, perseverance, kindness and service through our programme of whole school Liturgical Prayer
- Our Respectful Relationships policy is underpinned by our Restorative Approach to healing conflict and moving forward peacefully together.
- We acknowledge the Diocesan requirement that 10 % of teaching time be devoted
- Connections are made between the words of Jesus and how we act, care for and serve others in our own lives. The Religious Education we teach is in line with our Diocesan guidelines and we use the ‘Come and See,” scheme of work as our spine, enhancing it with creative and engaging ways of exploring our learning such as drama. art and music.
- Three of our four classes are mixed age and so in Year A, children follow the Reception, Year 2, Year 4 and Year 6 topics from the diocesan Come and See programme . In Year B, Year 1, Year 2, Year 3 and Year 5 topics are studied.
Topics studied in Year A in Autumn
- Class 1 – MYSELF – God knows and loves each one -HANNUKAH -other faiths Judaism- WELCOME – Baptism: a welcome to God’s family – BIRTHDAY – Looking forward to Jesus’ birthday
- Class 2 – BEGINNINGS – God is present in every beginning -SHABBAT -Other Faiths Judaism- SIGNS AND SYMBOLS – Signs and symbols in Baptism – PREPARATIONS – Advent: preparing to celebrate Christmas
- Class 3 – PEOPLE – The family of God in Scripture -TORAH-Other Faiths Judaism -CALLED The Holy Spirit is given in Confirmation – GIFT – God’s gift of love and friendship in Jesus
- Class 4 -SOURCES-The Bible the special book for the Church- UNITY-Eucharist enables people to live in communion DEATH AND NEW LIFE -celebrating Jesus’ death and resurrection.
Topics studied in Year A in Spring
Topics studied in Year A in Summer
Topics studied in Year B in Autumn
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- Class 3 HOMES -God’s dream for every family PROMISES-Promises made at Baptism VISITORS – Advent waiting for the coming of Jesus Other Faiths -JUDAISM The Torah
- Class 4 OURSELVES-Created in the likeness and image of God LIFE CHOICES – Marriage commitment and service HOPE Advent waiting in joyful hope for Jesus the promised one Other Faiths JUDAISM -Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur
Topics studied in Year B in Spring
- Class 1-SPECIAL PEOPLE-People in the parish family MEALS-Mass- Jesus’ special meal CHANGE- Lent a time for change
- Class 2-BOOKS -The books used in Church -THANKSGIVING -Mass a special time to say thank you to God for everything especially Jesus OPPORTUNITIES-Lent- an opportunity to start anew in order to celebrate Jesus’ new life.
- Class 3 -JOURNEYS -Christian family journey with Jesus-LISTENING AND SHARING -Jesus gives himself to us in a special way GIVING ALL Lent a time to remember Jesus’ total giving
- Class 4 MISSION-Continuing Jesus’ mission in the diocese( ecumenism) MEMORIAL SACRIFICE-The Eucharist is the living memorial of Jesus’ sacrifice SACRIFICE-Lent a time of aligning with the sacrifice already made by Jesus
Topics studied in Year B in Summer
- Class 1 HOLIDAYS AND HOLY Days Pentecost -feast of the Holy Spirit BEING SORRY -God helps us to choose well the Sacrament of Reconciliation NEIGHBOURS-Neighbours share God’s world- ISLAM -Muhammad preaches kindness
- Class 2-SPREAD THE WORD-Pentecost -a time to spread the Good News-RULES-Reasons for rules in the Christian family -sacrament of Reconciliation-TREASURES-God’s treasure the world -Other Faiths ISLAM-Prayer and the Family
- Class 3 ENERGY-Gifts of the Holy Spirit CHOICES -the importance of examination of conscience -Sacrament of Reconciliation SPECIAL PLACES-Holy places for Jesus and the Christian -ISLAM- The Mosque
- Class 4 -TRANSFORMATION-Celebration of the Spirit’s transforming power FREEDOM AND RESPONSIBILITY-Commandments enable Christians to be free and responsible- STEWARDSHIP-The Church is called to the stewardship of creation -ISLAM-Eid and Ramadan
As Silver Rights Respecting Schools, Articles 14 and 30 which deal with freedom of religion are understood and known by the children. There are regular planned Rights Respecting Assemblies throughout the year to encourage fairness and equality and challenge injustice.
Fairness and equality also underpins our work as a Fairtrade School. We are a FairAchiever School and we promote the work of the Fairtrade Foundation in our school events.
The impact of our Religious Education is that …
- our children will be empowered to use their God -given talents, skills and capacity to love and be loved so that they can make a difference to the lives of those around them as they move onto the next stage of their journey.
- our children will have fully rounded characters with a clear understanding of virtues such as respect, courtesy, honesty, trust and awe and wonder which prepares them for living in the community demonstrating independence, resilience and fairness. We measure this not just by the work our children produce, but in the behaviours we see each and every day on the playground, around school, and in the many roles we give them. The impact of this intention is seen in the daily interaction of all members of our community, including staff and children.
- our children will be motivated by a strong personal sense of morality. They will make decisions for the right reasons and in the best interests of their community and as members of God’s family. They will be able to decide what is right and what is wrong, and will be resilient to the influence of others. They will go out into the world and make a difference in their own life and to others.
