RE

RE at St Thomas

The teaching of RE pervades all of school life at St Thomas. Firstly, there are discrete RE lessons, during which we follow the Religion’s Education Directory for years EYFS to 2 and 5 and 6, and “Come and See” religious education programme in years 4 and 5 as promoted by the Diocese (Arundel and Brighton).

As well as these lessons, Gospel Values are at the heart of our School and its ethos. They drive our Mission Statement and children learn more about their faith and themselves through worship times, prayer and reflection. We encourage all of our children to develop skills to be thoughtful and responsible and to live our Golden Rule: to treat others as you would like to be treated.

Our objectives in the teaching of RE are:

1. To provide a structured and balanced programme of Religious Education that helps to develop the knowledge and understanding of the mystery of the Trinity, of the Church and the central beliefs, which form the Catholic Faith.

2. To encourage the children to appreciate, through their own experience of life, a love and sense of wonder and awe of the Gospels, Revelation and Tradition.

3. To promote enriching opportunities for prayer and worship, and to help the children to understand and appreciate the value of the Sacraments on their journey through life.

4. To promote the growth of sound personal relationships, including an awareness of the nature and importance of human sexuality, as part of God’s plan for them and an appreciation of the values of the family.

5. To foster appropriate attitudes by showing regard and respect for the views of others, a tolerance and some knowledge, of the beliefs and traditions of other faiths.

6. To appreciate that living as a Christian involves a commitment to peace, justice, care and concern.

Our school recognises that we live in a diverse society – multi-cultural and multi-faith – and we seek to reflect and celebrate that diversity.  We try to develop the child’s understanding of the self and to encourage attitudes of openness and sensitivity towards people whose religious beliefs and customs may be different to their own.  We look to invite visiting speakers, look for suitable resources concerning the variety of celebrations and festivals, and seek opportunities in topics, music etc. to widen our children’s awareness of other Faiths and cultures.

Collective Worship
The school gathers for whole school, Key Stage or class Collective worship each day, as follows:

Weekly Worship times:

Wednesday’s whole School Worship reflects on the Gospel of the preceding weekend. The Celebration worships at the end of the week reflect on the week and the application of the themes from the Wednesday worship. They are also opportunities for the children’s learning and behaviour to be celebrated and rewarded with certificates of achievement.

Worship Team

As part of the School Council, children from Year 6 apply to be a part of the “Worship Team”.  These children help to plan and lead Worship and have a voice in the development of the prayer and spiritual life of the school. They also run our very popular Prayer Club!

Links

• • STOC Religious Education Curriculum Planning
  • RED To Know You More Clearly
  • More about RE at St Thomas

Intent

At St Thomas of Canterbury School we guide our children to grow in the love of God and build relationships that will enable them to make a positive contribution to the school and society. We have developed an exciting, challenging and creative R.E. curriculum that produces confident and successful learners who are the best that they can be. Rediscover challenges and opportunities for Going Deeper with their learning enables every child to develop their own talents and be lifelong learners. Our teaching and learning environment encourages everyone to enjoy, to achieve, to be inclusive, to be healthy, and to stay safe.

We embed a strong partnership between home and school, helping our children to become responsible citizens and good role models. Above all, our Golden Rule of ‘treating others as we would like to be treated’ is paramount further embedded by our Golden Threads of Love, Forgiveness, Honesty, Thankfulness, Wonder, Kindness, Friendship, Hope, Respect and Tolerance. Our S=P+A+C+E for Me and S=P+A+C+E for EVERYONE ethos is especially important within RE further exploring our Golden Rule and Threads.

We encourage all children to appreciate, through their own experience of life, a love and sense of wonder and awe of the Gospels. We provide daily opportunities for prayer and worship so children can understand and appreciate the value of the Sacraments on their journey through life. We teach our children to show respect and tolerance for the views, beliefs and traditions of other faiths.

The Catholic Education Service has produced guidance on the parental right to withdraw a child from RE and Collective Worship. This can be found here – Guidance on the right of withdrawal from RE and collective worship

Implementation

At St. Thomas of Canterbury we follow the Religious Education Directory (RED) in years EYFS to 2 and years 5 and 6 and ‘Come and See’ programme in years 3 and 4.

By September 2026 RED will be fully in place across the whole school.

Each topic is explored through: UNDERSTAND, DISCERN and RESPOND

UNDERSTAND:

Aim In this way of knowing, we are aiming to help pupils to be able to understand deeply the meaning of sacred texts, religious beliefs, sacred rites, and the lives of individuals and communities who are shaped by these texts, beliefs, and rites.

DISCERN:

In this way of knowing, we are aiming to help pupils to be able to judge wisely in response to different interpretations of the meaning, significance, and implications of texts, beliefs, rites, and ways of life so that they can arrive at justified conclusions about what is true, what is good, and what is beautiful.

RESPOND:

In this way of knowing, you we aiming to help pupils reflect personally and with integrity on what they have learned and consider the implications for action these may have for their own lives and the world in which they live.

Children are given quality time to evaluate their work using learning reflections both independently and collaboratively. Next steps are also encouraged to enhance a deeper knowledge and understanding of RE and the importance of exploring people’s beliefs and cultures.

Impact

At St. Thomas of Canterbury we know that every child is unique and at a different stage of their faith journey. We know that this may not always take place in an R.E. lesson, but will occur in other aspects of school life. We want all of our children to experience, understand, celebrate and live their faith in ways suited to their age and development. Above all, we want to promote to everyone the Gospel values of care, commitment, acceptance and respect and for all to recognise that God loves us unconditionally.