At St. Leonard’s we follow the ‘Come and See’ Religious Education Scheme of Work in line with guidance from the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle. This programme is followed throughout school from Reception to Year 6.
This programme provides:
- opportunities for celebration, prayer and reflection in implicit and explicit ways.
- children with the language of religious experience – a ‘literacy’ in religious activities, places, stories, symbols and rituals, people and objects.
- a ‘systematic presentation of Christian event, message and way of life’ in ways appropriate to the age and stage of development of the child.
- that for its implementation and production it requires the adults involved to understand the underlying theological as well as educational principles.
- appropriate materials about other faiths.
- academic respectability as in other curricular areas – utilising appropriate stages from the National Curriculum.
‘Come and See’ is an invitation to exploration and a promise of life for everyone. The invitation is open to all. In response to the question; ‘where do you live?’ which was asked by the disciples, Jesus invited them to; ‘Come and See.’ (John 1:39) The disciples went with Jesus ‘and spent the rest of that day with him.’
Central to the programme are three basic human questions and the three Christian beliefs that are the Church’s response in faith.
Where do I come from? Life – Creation
Who am I? Dignity – Incarnation
Why am I here? Purpose – Redemption
In Come and See these big questions are considered in the light of the Scriptures and Tradition of the Church, as expressed in the documents of the Second Vatican Council and the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Come and See is developed through three themes based on the above documents of the Second Vatican Council, which are gradually explored each time at greater depths. They are Church, Sacrament and Christian living. The Catechism of the Catholic Church addresses the human search for meaning, God’s initiative in Revelation who comes to meet us and our response of faith.
The process for delivering the topics in ‘Come and See’ has three stages – Explore, Reveal and Respond which enable the pupils with the development of knowledge, understanding, skills and the fostering of attitudes. 10% of teaching time is dedicated to the teaching of RE.
Explore (1 week) – The teacher helps the children to begin to look at and focus on the experience within their own lives – concerning themselves, their relationships and their world. In this way the children are led to a deeper understanding, clearer vision and the discovery of significance and value of the experiential events of everyday life.
Reveal (usually 2 weeks) – Reveal is the heart of the process. The teacher and the children together discover the Christian understanding of the mystery of the Trinity; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. They explore the mystery of human life as revealed in the person, life and gospel of Jesus Christ Christians. It will involve learning about Scripture, the teaching of the Church, prayers, rites, psalms, hymns and other expressions of Christian faith and the lives of outstanding Christians.
Respond (1 week) – Remember is the first part of this section. The children will respond by remembering and celebrating all that they have learnt.
Rejoice is the second part of the section. There will be the opportunity to plan and take part in a celebration.
Renew the teacher helps each child to make an individual response, to hold on to and make their own, what they have understood of the topic.
Other Faiths
As part of the ‘Come and See’ R.E. programme all children will study for two weeks of the year, Judaism and Islam.
This enables the children to have an understanding of what life is like for a child of another faith by the time they leave us.
Assessment
Ongoing informal assessment against the Age-Related Standards are used to inform planning and to identify areas for focus and support. Assessment is moderated internally and externally within coordinator meetings.
