St John the Evangelist Religious Education Policy. St John the Evangelist RC Primary School Religious Education Policy

Transcription

1 St John the Evangelist Religious Education Policy St John the Evangelist RC Primary School Religious Education Policy Our Mission Statement was created as part of a joint initiative between our staff, parents, children, governors and members of our parish between September and October We feel that it best defines the way we are. It calls everyone to share our joy in the teachings of Jesus and the way we apply this to our school and parish community. Our Religious Education Policy is central to everything we do in our school. We believe that Religious Education can be integrated into every aspect of our curriculum and forms the ethical base for everything we do. To aid us with our Mission Statement we embrace the 5 active ethics recently developed by the Salford Diocese which asks us to live out the 5 W s of Welcome, Welfare, Word, Worship and Witness. To fulfil our Mission Statement we have the following overarching aims for our school; To warmly Welcome everyone to our school as Jesus welcomes us to the family of God. To love value and respect the Welfare of each other as Jesus intended and reach out to those who need us everywhere to help make God s world a better place to live in. To place the Word of God at the centre of all that we do and ensure that the fairness and justice exampled by and spoken of by Jesus plays an important part in the way we live our lives. To Worship the Lord Our God joyfully with all our hearts. Be Witnesses of a loving God who is at the heart of all we do, by creating a warm, happy and learning school where role modelling and inspirational examples for following God are frequently made explicit to children. Status Current Approval Curriculum Committee Maintenance Curriculum Committee Responsibility Mrs Jackson Date May 2012 Date of Next Review Nov 2015 Page 1 of 16

2 At the heart of Catholic education is the Christian vision of the human person. This vision is expressed and explored in religious education. At St John s we believe that religious education is never simply one subject among many, but the foundation of the entire educational process. 1 We believe Religious Education is, then, the core subject in our Catholic school. Religious education contributes to evangelisation and catechesis but its specific contribution to the Catholic Life of the school is primarily educational and so Religious Education will be planned, taught, assessed and monitored with the same rigour as other curriculum subjects. We understand Religious Education to be the systematic study of the mystery of God and of Jesus Christ, of the Church, and of the central beliefs which Catholics hold. 2 The outcome of Religious Education is religiously literate young people who have the knowledge, understanding and skills appropriate to their age and capacity to think spiritually, ethically and theologically, and who are aware of the demands of religious commitment in everyday life. Curriculum Aims: to promote knowledge and understanding of Catholic faith and life to promote knowledge and understanding of the response of faith to the ultimate questions about human life, its origin and purpose to promote the skills required to engage in examination of and reflection upon religious belief and practice To promote the Five Ws as the ethical basis for all that we do. Curriculum time allocation: In line with Bishops Conference recommendations, 10% of curriculum time is allocated to Religious Education. This does not include Collective Worship. This equates to 2 hours 15 minutes in Key Stage 1 and 2 hours 30 minutes in Key Stage 2. Programme of Study: To fulfil the above aims and to address the 4 areas of study outlined in the Curriculum Directory Revelation, Church, Celebration and Life in Christ In September 2015 we embraced he Come and See Religious Education Scheme to fulfil this need. Why The Come and See Programme? The programme is easy to use, teacher friendly and has been trialled in school with great success. It is based in the theological foundation of the Catholic Catechism and the Revised RE Curriculum Directory written by the Bishops of England. It also, crucially contains the Catholic Attainment Levels. The programme addresses the search for meaning and therefore fits in with our integrated curriculum The Learning Challlenge, especially in its 1 Religious Education in Catholic Schools, para. 4, Catholic Bishops Conference, Religious Education Curriculum Directory for Catholic Schools, p. 10, Catholic Bishops Conference, 1996 Page 2 of 16

3 posing of Big Questions. It is therefore, in common with our whole curriculum approach, designed to arouse children s curiosity. This pattern guides the structure and informs the process of each topic opened through the approaches of Explore, Reveal and Respond. In addition to the above many of our teachers went to see it taught in a variety of schools and we liked the fact that it engaged children and posed questions. The Come and See Programme is a thematic approach which has common themes across the year groups. Central to the programme are three basic human questions and the three Christian beliefs that are the Churches response in faith. Where do I come from? Life Creation Who am I? Dignity Incarnation Why am I here? Purpose - Redemption These three big questions are considered in the light of the Second Vatican Council through the four constitutions agreed by the cardinals at the time which are as follows; Revelation. God Speaks Finding meaning In Life. God reveals himself to us through Jesus and through the Gospels and calls us to respond. The way we respond is how we live our lives and how we interpret the Word of God. Church. Christ the Light of Nations Community of Faith By way of our Faith we are gathered into a community or family of God. We worship together and draw strength and support from each other. The church draws its life from the Word and the Body of Christ and in turn nourishes each one of us. In this way the church becomes Christ s Body creating unity between all of us. Christian Living. Joy and hope- Way of Life We celebrate the church year together which in turn follows the life of Christ. We learn that the dignity of the human person is found in discovering that we are made in the image of God. Therefore everyone has the potential to reflect the image of God to everyone else. Sacraments. Liturgy Celebration In Symbol and Ritual It is through the Liturgy and particularly through the sacraments that the work of our redemption is complete. It is through the Liturgy that we are able to share in the life of Christ in our lives and live this out in action. This is summarised in the following model. Page 3 of 16

4 Revelation God Speaks Christian Living Life and Creation Joy and Hope Church Dignity and Incarnation Christ s Light to The World Liturgy Purpose and Redemption Celebration Each theme builds on the understanding of the previous theme. In the Autumn each class explores themes within Life and Creation. In the Spring each class explores themes within Dignity and Incarnation. In he Summer each class explores themes within Purpose and Redemption. Methodology: A variety of teaching and learning strategies will be used to deliver the learning objectives set out in Come and See and these will be adapted appropriately to the needs and learning styles of pupils. Teachers are asked to make teaching lively and interesting through embracing the following approaches; Thinking outside the classroom Try to include visits and people visiting the classroom Try to include action - Reaching out into the community Include role play. Include music and drama Include art Give thought to inspire writing to enable the pupils to delve deeper into the word. Use Art Use Modelling Use digital technology Assessment, Monitoring, Recording and Reporting Assessment of standards is carried out according to Diocesan guidelines using the criteria in the Levels of Attainment booklet agreed by the Bishops Conference. Teachers will deliver an end of unit assessment (at the end of every half term). Teachers will keep a class record of assessed work and records of pupils progress. An in - house moderation meeting is held every term. Monitoring of teaching and learning: Work scrutiny, learning walks, and pupil meetings will be carried out each term. Lesson observations carried out by RE Coordinator, each member of staff once throughout the year. Page 4 of 16

5 Progress and achievement in Religious Education is reported to parents/carers in a written report at the end of each academic year. The Place of the Five W s In Our School. The Five W s are the basis for all Section 48 Inspections in all Salford Roman Catholic Schools. They provide the ethical base for our whole school approach and inform everything we do. All teachers and Support Staff have had training in the Five W s and they are asked to support the promotion of the values contained within them and make them as explicit as possible to the children. The Five W s form the ethical basis for all our policies and as an advisory for all our work. Criteria For Exemplar Work in Religious Education and Guidance on Marking Does the work strive to be imaginative, creative and engaging? Does the work should strive to help children to think deeply? Is the work relevant and does it relate to their own lives as much as possible? Is the work sufficiently open ended to allow more able children to explore and express their knowledge of the learning objective in greater depth? Is the work clearly related to the successful realisation of assessment criteria and learning objectives? Does the work provide opportunity for the children to mark each others work according to success criteria which is made known to them (as in literacy)? Is there evidence of Read and Respond Time? Is the work clearly related to the successful realisation of assessment criteria and learning objective? Is there plenty of content and is it varied and relevant to the Come and See Scheme? Does the content reflect the fact that work is consistent and reflects the correct amount of curriculum time given to it? Does teachers marking inspire and challenge children to reflect further and is there evidence that children are providing high quality feedback? Is the work related to other aspects of the curriculum to help give it relevance and purpose (Cross Curricular)? Does the work promote exploration of SMSC and seek to deepen the spirituality of the children and BIG QUESTIONS? Is the work related as much as possible to the Learning Objective which as often as Page 5 of 16 possible is the title of the activity. Does pupils work provide opportunity to be related to the specific teachings and traditions of the catholic faith? Does the work provide opportunity for the children to mark each others work according to success criteria which is made known to them (as in literacy)? Is the content of the work as full as it is for other core subjects? Is the work differentiated so as to aid children at all levels to be able to access the work. Is the work highly presented taking note of the schools policy for DUMTUMS? (Date-Underline / Miss a Line / Title /Underline /Miss a line / Start) and are other aspects of presentation adhered to such as; no felt tip colouring in, all drawings in pencil, all circles drawn with an outline circle, all straight lines drawn with a ruler and pencil.

6 Sacramental Programme The programme is organised by the Year Three teacher and actively supported by The RE coordinator, head teacher, parents, parish priest and parishioners. Teachers of the school are asked to share in the development of the Sacramental children by asking children of their own classes to write prayers for them and to explore the recurrent themes of the sacraments which arise in The Come and See Scheme. Parents attend evening meetings facilitated by the school to enable them to support their children s preparation for the sacraments. It is important that the celebration of the sacraments become as much of a whole school event as possible and for older children to re-visit their own sacraments. The sacraments at St John s are to be embraced by all children and children within the sacrament class who are not making their sacraments are to be made as inclusive as possible. Statements to Live By; supporting the RE Curriculum This resource has been introduced at St John s (February 2012) to support the RE Curriculum. It is rooted in nine guiding principles which support the distinctive nature of Catholic schools. The statements make the Catholic values of the school explicit, promote a positive and caring Christian ethos that is understood and communicated to everyone, promote emotional literacy and contribute towards community cohesion and the common good. They ensure that children and young people are given opportunities to: Hear the Christian story and encounter the person of Jesus Understand their uniqueness as made in the image and likeness of God Experience a sense of belonging within a range of communities, including the local Page 6 of 16 Eucharistic community Know, appreciate and understand the importance of social justice Know that our limitations are also opportunities for growth Understand the connection between knowledge and living Know that everything has the opportunity to reveal God s presence to us, ie to see the divine in the ordinary Forgive and be forgiven, to reconcile and be reconciled Experience fun, humour, imagination, creativity, play and excitement in life Every week a different statement such as I try to be just and fair is displayed in every classroom and around the school, and introduced and explained to the children, through an assembly planned by different teachers each week. Children are encouraged to think about the statement at the beginning of the school day, it is reinforced throughout the day, explored in collective worship and circle times (written specifically for each statement) and reflected upon before going home. Teachers hold a reflection session for children to think about the statement in the context of their week. The statements will be shared with

7 parents and the the wider community. Each statement is also linked to the Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning (SEAL) curriculum. Teachers are asked to plan their Statements To Live By Assembly within the following format; Sign of the Cross School Prayer Revealing of the Statement Teachers own source material or use of children in class. Gospel Reading (Inter changeable with the above). The Gospel should be greeted with the Opportunity for meditative prayer Alleluia Chorus Hymn Sign of the Cross A representative from each class takes a copy of the Statement back to class. Hymn music can be found on the Teacher Drive within the school network. Teachers should make every effort to provide a meaningful and prayerful atmosphere. Copies of the Statement should be displayed in every class, outside the Chapel, over the altar outside of the staffroom, in the school entrance, in the central area and in the hall. The Golden Book and the Statements To Live By The Statements to Live By are linked to the Golden Book. Identified statements are promoted throughout the school during which time teachers are asked to identify individual children who are being good role models for them. The parents of these children are contacted and told that their children are to be rewarded in the Friday Family Assembly and given a citation as to why they are in the Golden Book and for this they are to receive a certificate. The parents are asked to keep this secret so as to create a Wow moment for the children. Parents should be contacted no later than Tuesday lunchtime so as to give parents as much time as possible to take time off work. Golden Book Assemblies are held fortnightly. The Role of Caritas In Our School. The School has purchased for each teacher the Caritas Education Programme. This resource promotes learning about Catholic Social Teaching. Each teacher is asked to deliver a topic within the programme either as an integrated subject or as a series of blocked lessons. Caritas seeks to be a call to action and for this reason needs to focus on activities outside of the classroom which arise in our community. Each class deals with the following Caritas topics on a half termly basis; The Dignity of the Human Person Option for The Poor and Vulnerable Solidarity and the Common Good The Dignity of Work and Stewardship Rights and Responsibilities Family and Community These topics are easily relatable to our Statements to Live By and teachers are encouraged to do this. Teachers have received training in this programme. Teachers are asked to have regard to the Long Term Plan for Caritas, Statements to Live By, PSHE, British Values, and Page 7 of 16

8 Emotional Development that exists in the school. To be found on the Teacher Drive in the RE Folder. Teachers are asked to have regard to the catholic tradition of looking after the poor and needy. Catholic Schools were the first educational provision made in this country and catholic education systems were set up specifically for this purpose. The teachers have a matrix for identifying children facing challenging situations in their learning for different reasons. The school carries out detailed analysis of their learning and the development of their next steps. Our SEND Co-ordinator is highly trained for this purpose and teachers should liaise with her closely. Rainbows For Children Suffering From Bereavement and Loss. This is for children who are suffering from bereavement or loss this could be because of a deceased parent or relative or because of a disruption in their family life. All Staff in the school and many governors have been trained as school councillors within this programme. There are 10 qualified counsellors acting in this capacity within the school. Staff are asked to discuss children who may be in need with Mrs Jackson, the Rainbows Co-ordinator. Seeds and Gardeners The school is rightly proud that it believes that it was the initiator of this initiative now often emulated by other faith schools. Staff are asked to recognise the prominent part that this plays in the Catholic Stewardship of our younger children. The Seeds and Gardeners is a relationship between our Reception Children (Seeds) and our Year 6 Children (Gardeners). The role of the Year 6 is to mentor and guide our Reception Children in their spiritual, physical and moral growth. Within this the Year 6 children are to be valued and asked to take pride in their responsibility and importance in the life of their seeds. This is made real within the school by the Year 6 children helping our Reception children to organise and gather material for their Records of Achievement, attend Liturgy together and to share learning experiences together. For more details please see our Prayer and Worship Policy. Our parents are very supportive of this initiative. Additional learning Major liturgical feasts and other celebrations (Easter, Christmas, Harvest) are marked with particular events such as assemblies, drama and liturgical presentation to maximise the learning potential. The children have the initiative of the School Learning Log in which Religious Education further learning at home should be created as much as possible. Please refer to the Prayer and worship policy that links with this policy. Other Faiths Please refer to the World Religion policy that links with this policy. Policy Review. This policy will be monitored, evaluated and reviewed by The RE Coordinator, the RE governor and Head teacher and will be updated annually. Page 8 of 16

9 Management of the subject. The RE Corodinator has responsibility for leading, managing and supporting the delivery of and training in Religious Education. Links with The Parish of St Brendan, St John and St Columba. The school is proud of its links with the parish. Many members of staff and governors are active members of St John s Church. Our parish is made of thee churches and three primary Catholic Schools, St John the Evangelist, St Brendan s and St Columba s. At the beginning of the sacrament programme we share the Initiation of the children together. Staff are asked to help promote unity between the three churches which many of our children attend to celebrate Mass. In recent years the number of our children attending Mass has increased. Staff are asked to motivate and encourage this as much as possible but in such away as not to make children who do not attend church feel excluded. The school works closely with the Saint Vincent De Paul Group who supports many of our needy families and we in turn support their fund raising efforts. The school also takes responsibility for training altar servers and motivates them to value this service to God very highly. The parish priest is the Rev Father Canon Michael Cooke who is very supportive to our school and often provides valuable advice and support to the leadership team and celebrates valuable liturgy and Mass both in the school and in the church. Curate priests of the school Rev Fr Shaun O Brien is a regular visitor to our school and visits classes whilst Rev Fr Francis Parkinson has provided training for our school on the Five W s. Staff are asked to see utilise our priests as a valuable resource for making the faith of our school real and relevant. Page 9 of 16

10 Prayer and Worship Policy: St John the Evangelist RC Aim: Primary School To communicate to children the nearness and presence of God To deepen the spiritual and moral experience of each child and enable teachers and children to grow spiritually together. To aid children to realise a prayerful caring for others Teachers are asked to be concerned with the quality of prayer rather than just the provision of it. Within our school the children experience the full range of prayer from collective prayer to individual prayer and reflection. Children are to be encouraged as much as possible to be involved in the formulation and planning of prayerful experience. Teachers are asked to use experiences and needs which the children of their class can relate to and to pick the correct moment and time for ensuring its quality. The school recognises the special place in our hearts for traditional prayers and a list of prayers said on a regular basis is in our School Handbook. As part of the above all teachers are asked to develop in classrooms the right conditions for quality prayer and are further asked to have a permanent display or prayer corner that can be used as a source for the inspiration of prayer.the prayer corner is to be maintained in good order and should feature the bible and the schools Mission Statement. Collective Worship Each week there are various opportunities for collective worship. A prayerful experience should consist of the following elements: A Gathering A calling of the children together with a focus or some visual / audio stimulation with an opening discussion to bring out the reason for prayer and worship. The Word A reading from the bible or from another source appropriate to the age of the Child to provide something to meditate on. A Symbolic Action To give a concrete experience of the focus for prayer, this could be an object, an example of a child who has recently displayed a value, a person from the parish, the lighting of a candle, a donation to charity, a meaningful silence. Page 10 of 16

11 A Mission Something the children can take away from the session, something they are asked to do or to involve someone else. Whilst it is advisable for prayer and worship sessions to be made up of all of the above it would also be advisable to focus on mainly one element. All Staff have been given a copy of example prayer and worship plans provided by the Diocese. Collective worship is timetabled as follows. Monday Whole School Assembly. Dealing with themes related to the Liturgical season. Children are frequently involved in reading their own prayers. Here the Bible is always on display and the theme of its role as a mentor and guide in Spiritual development is explored. The main aim of this assembly is to create a sense of togetherness, common vision and values for our Catholic School. The main vehicle for this is to make explicit our Statements to Live By. These our common Christ centred values which we ask children and staff to share together. Each week a new value is revealed and explored by a different teacher according to a set programme devised by the RE co-ordinator. Teachers are asked to further explore the Statement of the week with their classes in collective worship and circle time. At the end of each week there is a Golden Book assembly within which children are celebrated and rewarded for their ability to live up to the Statement of the Week. During this assembly their parents are secretly invited to celebrate their child s achievement with us. Tuesday Short prayer and meditation sessions are held in class. Each class has a specific area set aside to aid children to reflect on their prayers. Wednesday Class based worship, as above with a concentration on elements of circle time related to the Statements to Live By. Resources are available on the Teacher Drive for teachers to explore this further with their classes. Thursday Whole School Hymn Singing. To give children corporate experience of singing as a form of prayer. Friday Golden Book Assemblies happen fortnightly with a general invitation to parents to share the celebration of our Statements to Live By. In other weeks Mr Carroll leads a prayerful assembly to reflect and internalise the Word of God made known in the Bible and give out awards for our children in their sporting and other out of school activities. These awards are an important part of our prayer life in that they often celebrate the development and growth of our children s talents and the very reason for why we have been created and Page 11 of 16

12 nourished by God s love. These assemblies are very popular with our parents and many parents attend them. Masses and Liturgies At frequent times the school community joins together to share a special Mass, Liturgy or reflection together. At these times the regular collective act of worship may be substituted. Such services include; Seeds and Gardeners Liturgy in which the Year 6 children (Gardeners) are paired for the first time with their Seeds (Reception children) and the Gardeners present the their Seeds with their empty Records of Achievement (further details below) CAFOD assembly The Rosary (Friday dinner time in the month of October; parents invited) Community Mass with the Parish of St. John's (Advent) Hanging prayers (in artistic ways) on the Christmas Tree (A regular feature of advent assemblies). KS 2 Visits to a weekly Mass in the parish church during Advent so that the children can share mass with the parish community of St. John s. Advent Reconciliation Mass followed by individual Reconciliation for Years 4, 5 and 6. Christmas Presentation To Parents (in the evening) Christmas Meditation (staff read around of the Christmas Story) Whole School Celebration of the Epiphany Lenten Community Masses with the parish of St. John's (Voluntary 8.00 am each Friday) Lenten Class reconciliation liturgies (parents invited) During Lent A service of Reconciliation (whole school) followed by the opportunity for individual confession for children in KS 2. Weekly stations of the cross during Lent (voluntary at dinner time) Celebration of Our Lady (In May) Weekly celebration of the Rosary during May and October(weekly voluntary at dinner time) Ash Wednesday and at least 2 whole school Masses said in Lent (parents invited) Mass for Ascension Thursday (parents invited) Page 12 of 16

13 Mass to celebrate the Feast of All Saints and All Souls and an opportunity for the children to recognise members of their own families who are with Jesus in heaven. Mass for Corpus Christi (parents invited) A reflection and 2 minutes silence on Poppy Day and a visit to the memorial Mass for St. Peter and St Paul (parents invited) Mass to celebrate our Year 6 leavers moving on linked to our Seeds and Gardeners initiative (parents invited). During this service the Seeds (Reception Class) present the Gardeners (Year 6) with their completed records of achievement. Year 6 leavers assembly (parents invited) Class Masses half termly for our children to celebrate the word of God in the intimacy of their classrooms. Moral Development Prayer and collective worship is a good place to develop good moral growth. Children are taught that everyone is a unique special creation of God and that for this reason all people regardless of colour, creed or culture are worthy of God s love and consequently our love and respect. Following on from this the children are taught that they should not judge and that reconciliation and forgiveness are a very important part of our faith. A fundamental belief of our Roman Catholic faith is that all children have the right to choose how they wish to be, it is therefore up to all staff at the school to ensure that we teach our children the knowledge, values and attitudes consistent with our Roman Catholic beliefs to help them to make the best choices. To aid the children to do this we must constantly work towards creating an atmosphere which encourages trust and confidence for children to be able to ask questions and enquire. The Seeds and Gardeners relationship of Year 6 with Reception has a unique and special value in our school community. This encourages all the children of the school to share in the growth processes involved in spiritual and moral development. This initiative pairs the Year Six and Reception children together in such a way as to give the Year 6 children trust in having responsibility and to enable the reception children to feel cared for and nourished by older children who they look to for guidance All teachers at St. John's are asked to develop full relationships with their children and use their creative talents to encourage good spiritual and moral development. How teachers talk to children, even over incidents of bad behaviour, is highly important in that a child should know that the teacher s fundamental concern is the care and the development of the whole person. It is highly important that in dealing with inappropriate behaviour children are dealt with in accordance with the event itself and not left to feel under valued because they are a continual nuisance or unworthy of respect because of the event. It is the action that is inappropriate not the child. Reconciliation between teacher and child is at the heart of how we witness our faith to children. Children are fully incorporated in the process of rule development for classrooms and school and that rule development is very closely linked Page 13 of 16

14 with the School Mission Statement. This is specifically dealt with as a whole school theme at the beginning of each school year and revised after each holiday. In the school there will be a permanent display of children s own written prayers. St. John the Evangelist RC Primary School Multicultural Policy This policy is inspired by the following words of the Pope; " every culture is an effort to ponder the mystery of the world and in particular of the human person: it is a way of giving an expression to the transcendent dimension of human life." Over and above "all differences which distinguish individuals and peoples, there is a fundamental commonality. For different cultures are but different ways of facing the question of the meaning of personal existence." (Pope John Paul II, Message for World Migration Day, Nov 1997, quoting Address to 50th General Assembly of the United Nations. The Importance of Multicultural Education At St. John s we believe multicultural education is important for the following reasons: To prepare children for life in a multicultural society To promote children's understanding that the UK is a multicultural society and to present accurate information about diversity and the need for tolerance and understanding To equip children with skills to challenge bias To promote understanding that all human beings are equal, but discrimination exists in the world To teach children not to fear differences and to challenge ignorance To promote respect for different cultures and religions, enhancing mutual tolerance and empathy We also embrace the important need that within our school, which is so predominantly white and Roman Catholic, our children need to be aware that the world at large is very Page 14 of 16

15 different. In this way we seek to give our children experience of other cultures and faiths as much as possible. Teachers are asked not to include multicultural aspects as an alternative to teaching Religious Education as part of the 10% Religious Education time made available. This 10% time is specifically devoted to teaching Come and See. Teachers are nonetheless asked to integrate multicultural perspectives within the main curriculum as much as possible especially within the PSHE programme, Statements to Live by, and in exploring aspects of Citizenship and British Values. The Curriculum, Teaching and Learning Multicultural education is generally not taught as a separate subject, it is an integral part of each curriculum area and school life. However each Key Stage 2 class is asked to do a short block study on one of the world religions (see below). As each curriculum area policy is reviewed, the Co-ordinator will seek opportunities to develop multicultural education and to identify it within the scheme of work. R.E. lessons give particular opportunities to raise awareness and values of other cultures and religions, and to broaden children's existing attitudes and understanding. Racism will always be challenged (see Racism Policy). In daily teaching and learning, staff will strive to positively reflect the multicultural society in which we live. The school follows the guidance as set out in the Come and See RE programme and uses the resources provided by the Diocese of Salford World Religion Programme. Each Key Stage 2 class has a block study each year for Judaism. Other world religions are integrated within our medium to long term plans. Added to this each class collectively explore CAFOD themes which stimulates and encourages the understanding of diversity of culture through the awareness of other people and other life experiences in far away places. The school also has a small percentage of children from other faith backgrounds Such children are given opportunity to make other children aware of their faith background and there are opportunities for them to engender respect for their faith through presentations made at assemblies. Parents and Community Parents and members of the community from all cultures are equally welcome and valued. St. John s actively seeks to foster parents' support for multicultural education. This is promoted through activities such as class assemblies, educational visits and in the development of topics which explore and enlighten diversity. Ethos and Atmosphere St. John s promotion of respect for different cultures and religion is part of the whole school Christian ethos. The school exhibits signs, displays and artefacts that celebrate our cultural awareness. Page 15 of 16

16 APPENDIX 1 The Role of the Co-ordinator for Religious Education The Religious Education Co-ordinator will be responsible for: Working with senior leaders on monitoring teaching and learning, planning and standards through lesson observations and work scrutinies according to school practice. Organising and maintaining the school portfolio of pupils work. Organising in-house moderation of standards meetings. Self evaluation to identify strengths and areas for development. Ensuring the curriculum offered is appropriate, suitable and relevant to pupils needs and interests. Attending appropriate training and keeping up to date with current thinking, policy and developments and feeding back to staff. Organising and leading in-house staff training and development. Identifying training needs of staff to ensure their suitability to teach effective Religious Education. Supporting and advising colleagues in the delivery of Religious Education. Liaising with the Headteacher, Governors, parents, the Office for Education & Schools on matters relating to Religious Education. Auditing, managing and developing resources within a given budget. Page 16 of 16