Religious Education
What is Religious Education all about?
Religious Education in Catholic schools is about teaching and learning what the Catholic Church believes and teaches. It enables students to understand and appreciate the ways the Catholic Church celebrates lives and prays and teaches them how to respond freely to God according to their gift of faith.
You can get a feeling of the flavour that Religious Education brings to our school in the short ‘taster’ below of our End of Year Learning Celebration.
Why study Religious Education?
Catholic schools exist because of their Special Character, and Religious Education isintegral the Special Character of Catholic schools. It is the learning area that develops students’ knowledge, skills and attitudes in keeping with the gospel values of Jesus Christ. This isbasis of the philosophy of Catholic education that aims to shape the way of students will live their lives. It is in Religious Education that students learn what is means to be Catholic and how they can take their place as members of the Catholic Church. At the heart of Religious Education is the fostering of the spiritual lives of students and the development of their relationship with God.
How is the Religious Education Curriculum structured?
The main body of knowledge in Religious Education is spread across the six learning strands. Each strand has a set of Achievement Aims from which a set of Achievement Objectives has been developed for each level. Within the separate strands the content at each level has a particular focus although much of the content is inter-related across all the strands. The strands are:
- God
- Jesus Christ
- The Holy Spirit
- Church
- Community of Disciples
- Sacrament
- Communion of Saints
Interwoven throughout the six strands are four cross strands themes which provide contexts for learning:
- Scripture/Tradition
- Prayer/Liturgy
- Doctrine
- Christian Living
The Religious Education curriculum has been developed into a programme with a series of lessons on the focus at each level. The lessons have a set of learning outcomes, suggested learning experiences and assessment examples.
The strands are supplemented with these modules which are used at appropriate times:
The strands are supplemented with these modules which are used at appropriate times:
- Prayer and Sacramental Celebrations
- The Liturgical Year
- Myself and Others
