Ofsted RE Report 26.1.18
Religious Education Statement
At Our Lady Immaculate Catholic Primary School, we teach our Catholic faith through the “Come and See” Catholic Religious Education Programme.
At the heart of the programme is the mystery of God’s self revelation of love through Jesus Christ. “Come and See’” gives the pupils the opportunity to explore the mystery of faith through Scripture and our Religious Tradition.
Central to the programme are these three questions:
- Where do I come from? Life – Creation
- Who am I? Dignity – Incarnation
- Why am I here? Purpose – Redemption
“Come and See” helps our pupils to explore the beliefs, values and way of life that our Catholic faith asks of us.
It supports the faith experience of all children because it starts with their real life experience and leads them to reflect upon the meaning of church, sacraments and the person Jesus in their lives.
Pupils are encouraged to develop their faith by regular prayer in class, Collective Worship, Reflection, celebration of Masses and other religious and liturgical celebrations throughout the year. They are also encouraged to reflect upon social and moral issues, which affect our immediate and global communities.
We believe that the aim of religious education is to contribute to the development of the children as individuals and valued members of society. Our principal task is to help children to know, understand and appreciate the spiritual and religious dimension of life as expressed in the Catholic faith tradition and important aspects of other traditions.
We endeavour to do this by giving pupils opportunities to develop spiritually, morally, intellectually, emotionally and physically, towards their full and unique potential, in the sight of God.
This can be identified in all our work in school but most of all in the relationships which exist within the school. We value others for themselves, not only for what they have or what they can do for us. We value relationships as fundamental to the development and fulfilment of ourselves and others and to the good of the community. This can be seen in policies such as Behaviour, equal opportunities, SEN, gifted and talented and inclusion. It can also be seen in the work done in R.E. health education, SEAL and assemblies.
As a Catholic Community we hold that our faith and catholic values, which we hold dear, should have an affect on all aspects of school life, not just curriculum, but also personal relationships, manners, social development etc. It should also affect the conduct of wider school activities: celebrations, anniversaries, festivals, problems and complaints. In this way we wish to promote an awareness of the spiritual significance of all aspects of daily life including the gifts, talents and personalities of both children and staff.
Come and See Topics
Domestic Church Family
Baptism/Confirmation/Belonging
Advent/Christmas/Loving
Local Church Community
Eucharist Relating
Lent/Easter/Giving
Pentecost/Serving
Reconciliation/Inter-relating
Universal Church World
Assessment
Assessment in Come and See is related to the skills, concepts and attitudes to be developed through the exploration of themes and the learning outcomes of each topic.
“The main purpose of assessment is to ensure effective learning, to celebrate growth and achievement and enable further progress.” NBRIA
Informal assessments can be made informally throughout the year, where teachers will observe pupils undertaking a range of tasks, engage in pupil/teacher dialogue, scrutinise pupil’s work and observe pupil’s interactions with others as well as their contribution to the wider life of the school and our parish community. Progress is recorded in order to plan for next steps for learning using the appropriate driver words.
Attainment Target 1 Driver words-Learning about:
- Recognise
- Describe
- Give reasons
- Show understanding
- Identify and explain
Attainment Target 2-Learning from
- Talk about
- Ask
- Make links
- Engage and respond
- Explain
Formal assessments occur termly throughout the year and are moderated within school. Each theme is formally assessed twice throughout Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2. An activity will be undertaken which enables pupils to show how they have met the Learning Outcome.
Come and See Overview of Topics PDF
A summary grid for Journey In Love
OLI summary grid for Religious Education and Journey In Love
The Oratory
Our school has a small chapel which we call the Oratory. All members of our community are most welcome to come and use the Oratory for prayer and reflection.
Mass is said frequently and is attended by staff, children and visitors to our school.
The Oratory is also a special place which is used to prepare children for sacramental preparation, worship and supports the spiritual development of staff and children.
The presence of the Blessed Sacrament is in the Tabernacle and we educate the children and give them a sense of reverence and respect.
At times of celebration, thanksgiving, stress, loss, bereavement… children and staff share their prayers and intentions within our school community through our Prayer Intentions Book which is kept in the Oratory.
Sacramental Preparation and Parish Links
Preparation for the Sacrament of Reconciliation and Eucharist are in integral part of “Come and See”. Work begun in the Reception class is deepened and developed throughout our school.
We also support our parents with a family Baptism Programme which is a partnership between our home, school and parish families. This programme has also been very successful.
We work very closely with Father Richard and our sister schools.
Ann Shepherd is our Parish Worker who supports our parish of St Sylvester, our children and their families. She is often to be seen in and around school.
Godly Play
Mrs Shepherd our Parish Catechist, has been working with the Chaplaincy Group. Our first session was to unpick the message of the Parable of the Mustard Seed through Godly Play.
The term “gospel” means “good news.” It is a term used in reference to the message of Jesus. Throughout the Bible, Jesus taught his disciples and the crowds by using parables.
Matthew 13:31-32
He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.”
We all sat quietly as she unravelled the parable and we watched and asked questions so we could better understand the meaning.
We then represented our thoughts and feelings through art. Some us drew, others used collage to show our new understanding of the meaning.
Together we can make a difference!
“The materials produced by The Wednesday Word are already used extensively
throughout the dioceses in England and Wales – bringing remarkable graces to many.”
Cardinal Vincent Nichols. President, Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales.
http://www.liverpoolcatholic.org.uk/