Religious Education

To provide a religious education which creates “religiously literate young people who have the knowledge, understanding and skills – appropriate to their age and capacity – to think spiritually, ethically and theologically, and who are aware of the demands of religious commitment in everyday life.”

Throughout their time in secondary education our young people will study the foundations of theology, the application of theological teachings to the modern world and a diversity of other world views. More specifically, in lower year groups students develop an understanding of sacraments, festivals and traditions. In upper year groups they engage with sources of wisdom and authority to develop a deeper appreciation of Catholic teachings. To support the development of their religious literacy our students also compare and contrast this knowledge with that of Judaism, other Christians denominations and humanism. When moving into sixth form, students study ethical theory, philosophical concepts and the impact of Christianity on modern society.

Curriculum Intention:

1. To present engagingly a comprehensive content which is the basis of knowledge and understanding of the Catholic faith;
2. To enable students continually to deepen their religious and theological understanding and be able to communicate this effectively;
3. To present an authentic vision of the Church’s moral and social teaching so that students can make a critique of the underlying trends in contemporary culture and society;
4. To raise students’ awareness of the faith and traditions of other religious communities in order to respect and understand them.
5. To develop the critical faculties of students so that they can relate their Catholic faith to daily life;
6. To stimulate students’ imagination and provoke a desire for personal meaning as revealed in the truth of the Catholic faith;
7. To enable students to relate the knowledge gained through Religious Education to their understanding of other subjects in the curriculum;
8. To bring clarity to the relationship between faith and life, and between faith and culture.
9. To challenge worldviews which promote racism, ignorance and religious hatred.
10. To teach diversity of opinion in world views
11. To enable our students to engage with the rich diversity in Britain.
12. To challenge the concept of moral relativism and offer students alternative approaches to moral decision making.
13. To develop a sense of collective responsibility for our earth’s resources.
14. To support the spiritual, moral, cultural and social skills of our students

Curriculum Design

St.Aidan’s RE Progression Map

St. Aidan’s RE Curriculum Learning journey with assessment schedule 2024-2025

Course Information

GCSE Course Information RE

For more information about our sixth form course provision please follow the link below:

Courses « St. Anthony’s & St. Aidan’s Catholic Sixth Form (aaasixthform.com)

Implementation:

In RE, the curriculum will be implemented through the study of Foundational Catholic Theology, Applied Catholic Theology and the Study of World Faiths. We have chosen these areas of study to comply with expectations in the Bishop’s Conference and to give our students a full understanding of the breadth and depth of Catholic belief. To ensure our students leave our academy with a well-rounded, critical understanding of religion we also study Judaism and Islam. Judaism allows students to make links with the heritage of Christianity and to compare, Islam is an opportunity for comparison but perhaps most importantly it allows students to challenge misconceptions.

The three areas will be assessed through

AO1

Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of religion and belief*, including:

• beliefs, practices and sources of authority
• influence on individuals, communities and societies
• similarities and differences within and/or between religions and beliefs

 AO2

Analyse and evaluate aspects of religion and belief*, including their significance and influence

* The term ‘belief’ includes religious and worldviews as appropriate to the subject content requirements.

Within the assessments there are four areas of assessment:

Definition of a key term

• AO1 (Describe) Demonstrate knowledge and understanding by describing a belief, teaching, practice, event etc.
• AO1 (Explain/Compare) Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of a topic by giving a full explanation including supporting the statements made with reasoning and/or evidence e.g. Explain how or why
• AO2 (Evaluate) Discuss this statement showing that you have considered more than one point of view (you must refer to religion and belief in your answer). Evaluation of a view from more than one perspective

Impact:

St Aidan’s Catholic Academy considers the greatest impact of the curriculum to be high rates of student progress.

Progress in:

1. Development of the skills to critically analyse theological, ethical and spiritual knowledge to arrive at a personal position in religious matters that are consistent and respectful of the positions of others, so contributing to their growth and to a more complete understanding of reality.
2. A deep acquisition of knowledge and understanding of the Catholic faith and it’s core teachings.
3. Development of all students to be capable of living the fullness of Christian life.
4. Development of the skills require for students to successfully live in a multi-faith society, where they share core values which promote respect for the rights and dignity of every human person.
5. The understanding of their personal duty to support the collective responsibility for social cohesion.