Religious Education

 Religious Education Directory

At St John's, we are following the Religious Education Directory (RED) Model Curriculum in ‘To know you more clearly’. The RED fulfils the requirements of the Bishop's Conference which sets forth the expectations for what should be covered by Religious Education teaching in Catholic Schools in England and Wales. Children are assessed in RE through the Expected end of age-phase outcomes which can be found in Section 2.3 of the RED. This also helps teachers to ensure that learning is suitably pitched in order that RE is as interesting, enjoyable and challenging as any other curriculum subject.

The new RED is a transformative Religious Education programme designed to deepen students’ spiritual growth by nurturing a rich understanding of Catholic beliefs and values.

Moving beyond a traditional curriculum, it invites students to explore their faith with curiosity, reflection, and personal engagement. Through the planning and delivery of creative and immersive lessons, reflective practices, and active participation, the curriculum creates an environment where children are encouraged to encounter their faith in a meaningful and personal way. More than just delivering knowledge, the curriculum helps foster a lasting relationship with God.

At the heart of every Branch is Scripture, which serves as the foundation for building knowledge, understanding, practical skills, empathy, and a sense of awe and wonder throughout the curriculum.

As part of following the RED, children are taught about other world religions so that they develop an appreciation for faith in a wider sense and are appreciative and respectful of the religious beliefs, practices and observances of others thus enabling them to be responsible and constructive members of the multi-cultural, multi-faith society in which they live.

Click here to view our Religious Education policy 

Click here to view our Religious Education curriculum overview 

 

Structure of the RED

The model curriculum divides the school year into six half-term “Branches”, each explored through four “Knowledge Lenses”, and learned via three “Ways of Knowing”:

The Six Branches

The Curriculum branches are the way this programme of study presents its model curriculum.

The model curriculum presents the expected outcomes in six curriculum branches that correspond to the six half-terms of a school year.  The curriculum is rooted in the narrative of salvation history and leads pupils on a journey in each year that gives a sequence to the learning. As the children revisit each branch in each year of school they come to a deeper understanding of its significance for Catholic belief and practice, which allows them to make links between the four knowledge lenses within the context of the narrative of salvation history.

1. Creation & Covenant
2. Prophecy & Promise
3. From Galilee to Jerusalem
4. From Desert to Garden
5. To the Ends of the Earth
6. Dialogue & Encounter (includes other faiths and worldviews)

Knowledge Lenses

The knowledge lenses indicate what should be known by the end if each age phase. They are referred to as lenses since they are what we are looking at. 

• Hear: God’s revelation via Scripture
• Believe: Understanding the Creed (Trinity, Incarnation, etc.)
• Celebrate: Liturgy, sacraments, and prayer
• Live: How belief shapes moral and social action
• (For Dialogue & Encounter): Respectful engagement with other religions

Ways of Knowing

The ways of knowing describe the skills that pupils develop as they progress though the religious education curriculum. These are:

• Understand: Gaining deep comprehension of texts and practices
• Discern: Evaluating meaning, truth, beauty, and implications
• Respond: Reflecting and responding personally and contextually

World Faiths

The order that pupils learn about other world religions is based on the model provided by Pope St Paul VI in his encyclical Ecclesiam Suam.

The concentric circles show that we begin by deepening an understanding of Christianity, then encountering Abrahamic faiths, Dharmic faiths then other religious and non-religious worldviews. 

This branch is about more than food and festivals, instead it aims to encourage pupils to think about sharing a common humanity and working towards shared goals. 

The focus is how we exchange ideas and work with all people to promote the common good. For example, in Year 1, Dialogue begins by understanding that the Cross is the symbol of Christianity and invites them to look for the Cross in their local parish community, then Christian communities in a place outside their local community. It might be in a different geographical location or a nearby Anglican Church. Encounter in Year 1 invites pupils to learn about Judaism;  aspects of modern Jewish life in Britain, including specific vocabulary about the Jewish belief in one God and the Torah as a special text. 

 Religious Corridor Displays - Catholic Social Teaching

Catholic Social Teaching