Religious Education@SMP
Intent and implementation
We are a Catholic school and we are committed to the Catholic faith, recognising and valuing every individual as special and unique, created in the image and likeness of God.
This mission sits alongside our Lifesong ethos and our curriculum cornerstones which are inextricably linked through everything we teach. We follow the ‘Come and See’ scheme of work with timetabled prayer and liturgy and daily lessons.
The religious education curriculum taught at St Matthew’s respects and promotes each child’s capacity for wonder, awe, reverence and spirituality.
Our RE curriculum is designed to inspire our children to sing their Lifesong through the words they say and the things they do. Children are taught about God’s unconditional love, and their own Christian responsibilities that arise from being part of God’s family.
From the beginning of their time at St. Matthew’s, children are provided with experiences of church, Catholic and Christian traditions, as well as being taught to be respectful and understanding of people from other faith backgrounds. Through RE, our children learn about their unique place within the home, school and parish community.
Curriculum organisation
We follow the Come and See programme scheme of work. Owing to our class structure/organisation, when pupils reach Year 3, they begin a 3-year cycle. This means that pupils in Year 3,4 and 5 will cover all of the Come and See content but not always in the recommended order. We ensure, through a spaced learning approach, that pupils get the opportunity to revisit content through carefully planned spaced learning opportunities.
What do our pupils say about RE?
Make it Stick - Knowledge Retrieval
At the beginning of every lesson, pupils are given opportunities to revisit prior learning either from within the topic they are currently learning about, or from previous topics. This gives pupils the regular opportunities that they need to cement their understanding of key religious themes. Opposite , you can see just a few examples of where it is recorded in books.
Pupils' Work
Here’s just a few examples of the high quality and creative work done by St. Matthew’s pupils in RE lessons this year.
Trip to St. Mary's Cathedral - Local Church
In January 2023, as part of their learning about ‘Local Church’, our Year 3,4 and 5 visited St. Mary’s Cathedral in Newcastle. We were lucky enough to spend some time some diocesan officers (including our very own school governor Mrs. Cameron!) asking questions about how the diocese is organised and how it is an extension of God’s work. We also stayed for Mass and presented the priest with our school Lifesong prayer.
Relationships, Health and Sex Education
For information about the Life to the Full programme delivered in school, please visit our Relationships and Health Education page.
