Religious Education Curriculum
As a Catholic School, we devote 10% of curriculum time to the teaching of Religious Education; this is separate from times of prayer and collective worship, liturgies and class prayer, which happen in addition to the taught curriculum.
Coverage of RE taught across the curriculum:
EYFS - At least 10% of teaching time
Year 1 to 2 - 2 hours 25 minutes
Year 3 to 6 - 2 hours 35 minutes
The Religious Education Curriculum is at the heart of St John Fisher RC Primary School.
At St John Fisher RC Primary School, Religious Education is the core of the core subjects of the curriculum and all children will study R.E. for 2 hours 25 minutes per week in Key Stage 1 and 2 hours 35 minutes per week in Key Stage 2. EYFS ensure 10% of their focus teaching time and continuous provision is dedicated to R.E.
In addition to R.E. lessons, pupils also participate and lead in Mass, feast days, Holy days, liturgical reflections, collective worship & daily dedicated prayer and liturgy time, which involves religious actions and worship, including the celebration of the sacraments.
We follow the ‘Come and See’ Religion Education scheme. This is one of the recommended schemes from the Diocese of Southwark and fulfils the requirements of the Bishop's Conference and the Curriculum Directory for Religious Education, which sets forth the expectations for what should be covered by Religious Education teaching in Catholic Schools in England and Wales.
'Come and See' was developed to respond to the needs of children today in their faith journey, to enable them to grow in their religious literacy and understanding. At the heart of the programme is the mystery of God’s self-revelation of love through Jesus Christ. 'Come and See' gives pupils the opportunity to explore the mystery of faith through Scripture and Tradition. There are nine topics within each year group that complement the liturgical year and explore:
Community of faith- Church
Celebration in ritual- Sacraments
Way of life- Christian living
These topics are taught according to the End of Year Progress Descriptors for Religious Education, which comply with the recent RED and inform the planning and assessment of the development of skills required to understand, discern and reflect.
Teachers ensure that learning is suitably pitched in order that R.E. is interesting, enjoyable and challenging. Links are made with pupils’ own experiences, universal experiences and with the experiences of other world views.
Throughout a pupil’s school journey, they will each have the opportunity to regularly explore different faiths, religions and world views as part of our RE curriculum, in particular, Judaism, Islam and Hinduism.
Parents' Right to Withdraw
Under Section 71 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998, parents and carers have the legal right to withdraw their child from all or part of Religious Education (RE) lessons and collective worship.
At St John Fisher RC Primary School, our RE curriculum is designed to be inclusive, objective, and respectful of all faiths, worldviews, and non-religious belief systems. It plays a vital role in fostering empathy, mutual respect, and cultural understanding, helping children navigate the diverse world they are growing up in.
While we fully respect the legal rights of parents, we strongly encourage active participation from all pupils. Withdrawing a child from RE can sometimes present practical and social challenges for the pupil, including feeling separated from their peers during shared discussion time and missing out on broader discussions around values, ethics, and community cohesion.
If you are considering withdrawing your child from RE lessons, we kindly ask that you contact the Headteacher to arrange an informal discussion. This allows us to share our curriculum materials, address any specific concerns, and explore how we can support your child's education while fully respecting your family's beliefs.
The priests of our parish regularly visit the school and are a link with the wider community of the St John Fisher Church. We regularly hold masses /services at school and at St John Fisher Church. Our school chaplains are actively involved in these.
Continuing our learning about other faiths at home and at school
“RE lessons are absolutely the best because they are often very creative which allows me to explore and expand my knowledge in different ways. I always feel I achieve more when I am creative”.
Year 6 (Elizabeth)
"We light a candle at the start of our RE lessons and sometimes we draw pictures about what we learnt."
Year 1 (Joe)
"I like our RE lessons because we think about God and Jesus. We put some of our work and photographs in the Big Book."
Year 2 (Caterina)
“I like St. Catherine’s garden because it's nice, calming and relaxing. We sang the Hail Mary song with the school when it was the Crowning of Mary. We can pray in there.”
Year 1 (Gabriel and Quinn)