St James the Great R.C (V.A) Primary & Nursery School

Prospectus

The School Curriculum

Religious Education

"The Catholic school finds its true justification in the mission of the church: it is based on an educational philosophy in which faith, culture and life are brought into harmony."

The ethos of the Catholic school is inseparable from its curriculum. God is revealed to the children in the whole curriculum and in their everyday experiences in the school. We see Religious Education as being more than a curriculum subject; it is something which affects every area of school life, from the way we treat each other to the way we do our work.

We also recognise that parents have the major responsibility for their children's Religious Education. Our aim is to help parents in fulfilling the promises they made when their children were baptised. We do this in a number of ways:

1.   By teaching children about their religion. Every class has a religious education scheme of work planned for them each term based on the Here JAm Religious Education Scheme. This teaching usually follows the church's year and uses Scripture, stories and everyday situations. These lessons teach the children about their religion but they cannot give children faith or belief - this comes from their parents.

2.   We use celebrations and prayer. Every class has a religious celebration at least once a term. This may be a class Mass, class Assembly or another form of celebration such as a Prayer Service. These are all prepared by the children. Parents are welcome to come and share in the celebration.

    We also attend Mass together on Holy Days, special feast days and on special occasions in the life of the school.

    We have a weekly programme of Assemblies, where the children learn to share their faith and celebrate together through a varied range of formats. Each class has its own class prayer which is said daily.

3.   We work closely with our parishes and parents. We recognise that the most successful way of developing a child's religious understanding and faith is for the home, school and parish to work closely together. This co-operation is greatly assisted by our two year 'School Parish Cycle' and by each class having a priest assigned to it as chaplain.

The school supports the parents and parish in preparing the children for First Holy Communion and the Sacrament of Reconciliation (First Confession).