Religious Education

“We are made for goodness. We are made for love. We are made for friendliness. We are made for togetherness.” 

 

Archbishop Desmond Tutu 

 

At BSCA Primary we are theologians! We want our children to love Religious Education. We want them to have no limits to what their ambitions are and grow up wanting to be teachers, social workers, anthropologists and so on.  

 

Our religious education curriculum embodies our vision:  

At BSCA, we desire to be a caring community where all are welcomed and empowered to believe all things are possible. Strengthening each other, removing barriers and growing in faith and wisdom.  

We will be a school that strives to transform lives through serving one another each day; encouraging aspiration and driving ambition.  

Living this through our values, we create a place where all can achieve life in its fullness 

 

Our children BELIEVE they are theologians who STRIVE to know more and remember more. They CARE for each other and the world. They ACHIEVE a wisdom that they may go forth into the world and experience life in all its fullness - at the end of their time in primary school they are theologians ready to continue their learning journey in key stage 3 and beyond; knowing that they full of potential, deeply loved and valued. 

 

By living our vision and values we achieve our Trust vision: through our religious education curriculum our children will have: 

Life in all its fullness. 

 

Our religious education curriculum has been carefully crafted so that our children develop their religious education capital. We want our children to remember their religious education lessons in our school and to have amazing memories to look back on.  

 

Curriculum Intent 

 

At Bolton St Catherine’s Academy, Religious Education (RE) is central to our distinctive Christian vision and our commitment to nurturing the whole child—spiritually, morally, socially and culturally. We believe that every pupil is uniquely valued, and our RE curriculum celebrates the diversity of our school community and the wider world. 

 

Through RE, we aim to enable all pupils to flourish by exploring life’s big questions and developing a deep understanding of Christianity and other world faiths and worldviews. 

 

Our intent is that pupils will: 

• Develop a rich understanding of Christianity as a living faith that shapes lives and communities across the world.
• Appreciate and respect the diversity of religious and non-religious worldviews, recognising shared human values.
• Reflect on their own beliefs,valuesand experiences in light of what they learn. 
• Be equipped with the knowledge and skills to engage thoughtfully and respectfully in dialogue about belief, meaning and purpose.
• Feel included, valued and represented in the stories,voicesand perspectives they encounter in RE. 

 

We embrace the Windows, Mirrors and Doors approach throughout our RE teaching: 

• Windowsopen pupils to the world, enabling them to look out and explore the faith, life and experiences of others. 
• Mirrorshelp pupils to look inward and reflect on their own beliefs, identity and sense of belonging. 
• Doorsinspire pupils to step out and live out what they have learned, applying their understanding to make a positive difference in the world. 

 

The religious education curriculum promotes curiosity and a lifelong love of learning. It is ambitious and empowers our children to become independent and resilient – like all our curriculum areas. We promote the use of a knowledge-rich curriculum to serve the key principles of cognitive science. Research has shown that those who are rich in knowledge gain new knowledge quicker and more effectively. We therefore place the acquisition of knowledge at the heart of the learning process. 

 

We want to prepare them for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life. We want them to take social action- getting involved in making our school environment better with extracurricular activities like Ethos Group- working with our School Chaplain to implement change in our school contributing to collective worship and more. 

 

Our aim is for all children to access challenging curriculum content that covers a range of religious education concepts. We seek to achieve this using high-quality curriculum materials and knowledge organisers, that lay out specific, detailed, coherent knowledge and pedagogical practices that seek to ensure that knowledge is not just encountered but fixed in the long-term memory. We know that learning has not taken place if there has not been a change to long term memory. 

 

The children’s religious education learning starts in the early years with opportunities to build the children’s knowledge and vocabulary of religions. In our Nursery a year of celebrations is mapped out on the long term plan. The children explore a variety of celebrations across a range of religions. 

 

We enrich their time in our school with memorable, unforgettable experiences and provide opportunities which may normally be out of reach – these piques their interests and passions. We have strong links with our local churches- Christ Church Harwood, New Life Antioch, The Bridge Pentecostal Church and King’s Church support our collective worship with regular termly services and half termly after school Messy Church sessions which our children can attend with their families.  

 

Curriculum Implementation 

 

We follow the RE Today curriculum, which provides a rich, inclusive and progressive programme of study in line with the Locally Agreed Syllabus and the Church of England Statement of Entitlement for Religious Education. 

 

Our curriculum is carefully sequenced to ensure progression in knowledge, understanding and skills for all learners, including those with SEND and those from different faith and belief backgrounds. Every child is encouraged to contribute, question and reflect in a safe, respectful and inclusive environment. 

 

Learning experiences include: 

• Enquiry-based lessons that promote curiosity,reflectionand critical thinking. 
• Creative opportunities to express understanding through art, drama,discussionand writing. 
• Visits to places of worship andencounterswith people of faith. 
• Cross-curricular links with PSHE, History,Englishand other subjects. 

 

Teachers have access to high-quality RE Today resources and professional development, ensuring RE is engaging, theologically accurate and inclusive of all learners. 

 

The RE curriculum is carefully built and the learning opportunities for each year group designed to ensure progression and repetition in terms of embedding key learning, knowledge and skills. We believe that our pupils need to be actively involved in making sense of their learning and therefore an enquiry approach has been implemented, encouraging higher-order thinking and allowing our children to explore. Within each year group, religious education strands are revisited in a progressive manner using a spiral curriculum. 

  

Tier 3 subject specific RE vocabulary is identified for each learning challenge. We encourage our children ‘To speak like theologians’ in all lessons and display key vocabulary in our classrooms using dual coding and place it on our knowledge organisers.  

  

The medium-term plans are used to set out the learning objectives for each lesson, identifying engaging activities and resources which will be used to achieve them. 

  

We teach RE through an enquiry question. The knowledge linked to each enquiry is connected, cumulative and coherent. This helps to ensure sufficient time is allocated to RE and that RE subject matter can be revisited frequently. Our teachers link prior knowledge to new learning in order to deepen understanding. We believe that by having a curriculum crafted this way, we improve the potential for our children to retain what they have been taught, to alter their long-term memory and therefore make maximum progress. 

  

Curriculum Impact 

 

Through our RE curriculum, pupils at BSCA develop secure knowledge and understanding of a range of religious and non-religious worldviews. They are confident to express their own ideas, listen carefully to others, and show respect for diversity and difference. 

 

The impact of RE is seen in pupils who: 

• Demonstratecuriosity, compassion and a sense of justice. 
• Recognise the influence of faith on individuals,cultureand society. 
• Are spiritually reflective and morally grounded in their decision-making.
• Feel seen, valued and included in their learning.
• Leave our school as thoughtful,open-mindedand respectful young people who are ready to contribute positively to our diverse world. 

 

Our inclusive use of the Windows, Mirrors and Doors approach ensures that RE is personal, meaningful and transformative—helping pupils not only to understand the world but to find their unique and valued place within it. 

 

Yearly Overview

	Autumn 1	Autumn 2	Spring 1	Spring 2	Summer 1	Summer 2
Year 1	Creation Who do Christians say made the world?	Incarnation Why does Christmas matter to Christians?	Judaism Who is Jewish and how do they live?	God What do Christians believe God is like?	People of God What does it mean to belong to a faith community?	Gospel How should we care for others and the world and why does it matter?
Year 2	Gospel What is the good news Christians believe Jesus brings? Part 1	Incarnation What is the good news Christians believe Jesus brings? Part 1	Islam Who is Muslim and how do they live? Part 1	Salvation Why does Easter matter to Christians?	Islam Who is Muslim and how do they live? Part 2	People of God What makes some places special to believers?
Year 3	People of God What is it like to follow God?	Incarnation/God What is the Trinity and why is it important for Christians?	Islam How do festivals and family life show what matters to a Muslim?	Judaism How do festivals and family life show what matters to Jews?	Creation and Fall What do Christians learn from the Creation story?	Gospel How and why do people try to make the world a better place?
Year 4	Gospel What kind of world did Jesus want?	Kingdom of God When Jesus left what was the impact of Pentecost?	Hinduism What do Hindus believe God is like?	Salvation Why do Christians call the day Jesus died ‘Good Friday’?	Hinduism What does it mean to be a Hindu in Britain today?	Creation and Fall How and why do people mark the significant events of life?
Year 5	Creation and Fall What does it mean if Christians believe God is holy and loving?	Islam What does it mean to be a Muslim in Britain today?	Judaism Why is the Torah important to Jewish people?	Creation and Fall Creation and science: conflicting or complementary?	People of God How can following God bring freedom and justice?	Gospel What matters most to Humanists and Christians?
Year 6	People of God Christians and how to live: What would Jesus do?	Incarnation Why do Christians believe Jesus was the Messiah?	Hinduism Why do Hindus try to be good?	Salvation What difference does resurrection make to Christians?	Kingdom of God For Christians what kind of king was Jesus?	People of God Why do some people believe in God and some people not?