INTENT

“In a Catholic school, all pupils are invited to encounter Our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ as the living person at the heart of their study in
a way that respects their individual religious identity.”

Preface, To Know You More Clearly, 2023

As a Catholic school, our faith is at the centre of every day life. We welcome each child as an individual made in the image and likeness of God and invite them to live out our Mission Statement, “Love Life, Love Learning”. Through their learning in R.E., children will:

 ✝️ develop a good knowledge and understanding of the Catholic faith, offering them the opportunity to   deepen their personal faith in Jesus Christ.

✝️  develop a secure knowledge of Scripture and the thinking skills to apply God’s Word to modern life.

✝️  build a deeper understanding of other faiths and promote respect and tolerance for the beliefs of others.

✝️  use the principles of Catholic Social Teaching to encourage children to become responsible and caring global citizens.

✝️ explore our school values which encourage each child to make moral choices.

IMPLEMENTATION

Our school is part of the Diocese of Portsmouth and R.E. is a core subject. This means that it receives 10% of our curriculum time- approximately 2.5 hours per week teaching time, spread over two or three sessions. In addition, the children participate in a daily act of worship which includes whole school, key stage and class prayer time. Approximately once every half term, there will be a whole school Mass which may take place in school or in St. Saviour’s Catholic Church, which shares our site.

We are currently following the “God Matters” programme of study. At St. Saviour’s, we have mixed year group classes and so teachers alternate the curriculum they deliver each year, adapting the outcomes to meet the needs of the children in the light of the year group profiles provided by the Diocese. The “God Matters” programme of study is centred around the following school-wide themes:

IMPACT

Children at St. Saviour’s have the opportunity to grow in faith and become responsible global citizens, who show consideration for the needs of others. They participate actively in lessons, making links between their new learning, things they have already experienced and the modern world around them. They respond to ‘Big Questions’, confidently expressing their own point of view and listening respectfully to the views of others. They show their learning through their questioning, reflective responses and respectful treatment of those around them. They look for and participate in opportunities to reach out to those in need, leaving our school ready to take their place in the wider world.

“Christ has no body but yours,

No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which He looks
Compassion on this world,
Yours are the feet with which He walks to do good,
Yours are the hands, with which He blesses all the world.
Yours are the hands, yours are the feet,
Yours are the eyes, you are His body.
Christ has no body now but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
compassion on this world.
Christ has no body now on earth but yours.”

— St. Teresa of Ávila (attributed)

The structure of worship time, however, is always the same:

We gather- a moment of quiet or music may be used to create a reverent atmosphere.

We hear- Scripture is at the heart of every worship and is shared in an age-appropriate form.

We respond- explaining or discussing the Scripture and its relevance to us today.

We send- we leave worship thinking about what we will do or change as a result of what we have heard.