Religious Education


At St Edmund's Catholic Primary School we offer a curriculum intended to embrace not only the statutory requirements of the National Curriculum, but one, which also promotes the spiritual, cultural, moral and physical development of our pupils.

We endeavour to fulfil our role as a Catholic School partly by following the Diocesan Religious Education syllabus 'Here I Am'. More than this though, our Religious Education plays a central and vital part in all that we do. We try to live out our faith in our daily lives.

Fundamental questions - such as 'Who am I?' 'Where do I come from?' and ' Why am I here?' are asked by many people and our pupils and staff explore these questions in the light of the Catholic faith as expressed for our times by the Second Vatican Council and supported by documents of the universal and local church.

Several important themes are explored through the study of a small number of topics and through the seven-fold process of Recognise, Reflect, Relate, Rejoice, Remember, Renew and Respect - children are able to celebrate and integrate what has been discovered through exploration and discussion, and discover the gifts of creation. Their awareness of the on-going action of God in the life of creation and in the lives of individuals also deepens.

Examples of learning objectives:


Topic: 'Myself'

Early Years
'To learn about the importance of their names.'
'To learn that God knows and loves each person.'

Year One
'Discuss how they can use their senses.'
'That senses are a gift from God.'

Year Two
'The skills they have.'
'That skills are God's gift.'

Years Three and Four
'To recognise the different emotions the experience.'
'To understand about God's unchanging love for each person throughout life.'

Years Five and Six
'To discuss human gifts and qualities the y have or would like to develop.'
'That Christians believe that each person is created in the image and likeness of God.

Other Faiths:


Importantly too, opportunities are given to explore other faiths and world religions. Catholics are called to show respect for other religions and our pupils increasingly recognise that God is at work in them. In the multi-faith society of today, Religious Education introduces children to the rituals and beliefs of people of other faiths so that prejudice and misunderstanding can be overcome at an early age.