Religious Education

Religious Education Lead - Mr Loynd

Programme of Study

As a voluntary aided Catholic primary school, Religious Education at St Mary's sits at the heart of our school life and curriculum, fully aligned with our Mission Statement.

The Religious Education Curriculum taught at Saint Mary’s follows the guidance outlined in the Religious Education Directory for Catholic Schools, Colleges and Academies in England and Wales 2023, "To know You more clearly", a document produced by the Bishops of England and Wales. We currently deliver a rich and high-quality Religious Education curriculum through a combination of schemes, including Lighting the Path, the Diocese of Salford Pilot scheme and Caritas in Action.

EYFS and Key Stage 1 classes at Saint Mary’s are currently taught Religious Education through the “Source to Summit:  Lighting the Path” Catholic Primary Religious Education Programme, produced by Oxford University Press.  

In the academic year 2025-26, Key Stage Two classes will be following the advice of the Diocese of Salford and teaching Religious Education through the Diocesan Pilot programme.  Years 3 and 4 will be following the Year 3 Pilot, whilst Years 5 and 6 will follow the Year 5 Pilot.  This is an interim measure for this year only.   

We are excited to be preparing for a full transition of all classes to the Lighting the Path programme, with the intention of fully embedding it into our teaching and learning by September 2026, when their programme for Key Stage 2 classes has been released.

Structure

Both Lighting the Path and the Diocese of Salford Pilot Programme follow the structure of the recommended model curriculum as outlined in the Religious Education Directory.  The school year is divided into six branches of learning, each lasting one half-term and having it's own core theme.  The six branches are:

Autumn 1

Branch 1:  Creation and Covenant

Children will meet the God who creates and calls a people.  They will explore the belief that all comes from God, the Creation accounts in Genesis and the call of God and his covenant with his people through Abraham, Moses and the narrative of the Old Testament.

Autumn 2

Branch 2:  Prophecy and Promise

Children will explore the teachings of the prophets as they point towards the fulfillment of God's promise of a messiah, Jesus Christ.  They will explore how we wait for the coming of the Messiah in Advent and how this speaks to Christians today as we wait for Christ.  Children will learn about the nativity of Jesus and the mystery of the incarnation.

Spring 1

Branch 3:  Galilee to Jerusalem

Children will experience the ministry of Jesus, the Word of God.  They will learn about the life of Jesus and will see how he reveals the Kingdom of God through parables, encounters, miracles and teachings.  They will learn about the call of the disciples and what it means to be a follower of Jesus.

Spring 2

Branch 4:  Desert to Garden

Children will study the season of Lent and will learn how it builds up to the events of Holy Week.  They will learn that the events of Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday are at the heart of the Catholic Church's Liturgy and life.  They will discover the journey from the desert of Lent to the Garden of resurrection, from darkness to light and from death to life.

Summer 1

Branch 5:  To the ends of the Earth

Children will learn about the events surrounding the Resurrection, Ascension and the Coming of the Holy Spirit.  They will become familiar with the work of the apostles and the early Church.  They will also learn about the Catholic Church today and how we can trace our liturgies and structures back to those of the early Church.

Summer 2

Branch 6:  Dialogue and Encounter

Children will learn how Christians work together with people who have different religious beliefs, and how all people of goodwill work together towards the common good, respecting all humanity.

Caritas in Action

Caritas in Action is a scheme built around Catholic Social Teaching and is championed by Bishop John Arnold, the Bishop of Salford. It is intended to guide our young people to know, understand and above all, to live out their Faith through actions based on the Social Teachings of the Church.  It is a call to everyone in the Church to join the journey towards a better world, where human dignity flourishes and the destruction of our environment is challenged and remedied. 

Caritas in Action is taught at St Mary's on several specially assigned days over the school year.  The themes that we study are:

Theme 1:  Dignity of the Human Person

Theme 2:  Family and Community

Theme 3:  Solidarity and the Common Good

Theme 4:  Rights and Responsibilities

Theme 5:  Option for the poor and vulnerable

Theme 6:  The Dignity of Work

Theme 7:  Stewardship

We further seek opportunities across all areas of learning to reinforce the values and teachings of our Catholic faith.

If you would like to know more please download the Religious Education Directory.

Online Learning Resources

Religious Education Career Pathways

What sorts of career paths are open to me? Career paths in RE and the skills you acquire through its study are wide-ranging. They include: Charity Fundraiser, Charity Officer, School Chaplain, Primary School Teacher, High School Teacher, Youth Worker, Community Development Worker, Higher Education Lecturer, Newspaper Journalist, Mediator, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Officer, Roman Catholic Priest, Nun.