R.E Coordinator's Welcome
Welcome to our page for Holy Name RC Primary School. My name is Miss Hackman and I am the RE co-ordinator for our school.
Our Mission Statement is the cornerstone of everything we do at Holy Name RC Primary School. Through our bespoke Religious Education Curriculum, we aim for our pupils to gain a deep understanding of their innate gifts, talents and skills. Every child deserves to flourish, physically, socially, emotionally, mentally and academically. We want to enable them to, ‘Be who God created them to be’.
At Holy Name, we WELCOME all visitors safely at our office. Telling them that they are entering a friendly, happy place where children follow the ways of Jesus by loving, valuing and respecting each other. We welcome everyone into our school life at Holy Name.
At Holy Name, we WORSHIP God through our class prayers, Masses, music, assemblies, class prayer and worship services, through our actions and through the way we live and treat each other.
At Holy Name, the WORD of God is placed at the centre of all that we do, following diocesan guidelines and an enhanced curriculum that allows pupils to celebrate the word of God in an interesting and fun way.
At Holy Name, we WITNESS a loving, caring God in the way we live, the way we treat each other and, in the way, we reach out to others.
At Holy Name, the WELFARE of pupils is paramount in the way we care for and support each other, how pupils feel safe and how each pupil is encouraged to develop spiritually, academically and physically.
We teach RE to give our children the best opportunities to learn and develop their knowledge and understanding of the Catholic faith and to keep Jesus at the heart of all they do. RE is key to learn about the Church, why we go to Mass and how we can learn from the Gospels. Our links with our parish priest is pertinent in the teaching of RE and in understanding the importance of the church.
At Holy Name, we see each individual child as a child of God. We want to enable every child and adult to 'have life to the full'; cultivating an attitude of respect for each other among the whole community. We all have a responsibility at Holy Name to follow Jesus and help and support each other in our community. We try to be fair, we care about each other and always try to help, including those less fortunate than us and those outside of our community.
Our Religious Education curriculum has been specifically tailored to meet the unique multi-faith context of our school through welcoming, worshipping witnessing, whilst thinking about the welfare of all staff and pupils and ensuring the Word is taught and mastered throughout teaching and Gospel assemblies. The curriculum is designed to be broad and balanced, providing all pupils with the opportunity to master their learning and deepen their knowledge showing a greater understanding of how to answer the big questions in Religion, which helps them to transform our society, putting their faith into action and being like Jesus in all that they do.
Our Religious Curriculum develops links with the Diocesan Hope in the Future and how all the children can grow just like the mustard seeds in the Parable of the Sower. We recognise how to inspire children to celebrate their gifts and talents alongside their uniqueness in all they do, which will help them to put their own faiths into action. We are developing links with the parish community and ways in which we can work together to develop our faith with a multi-modal approach.
As a school we are working on keeping in line with Bishop John Arnold’s Laudato Si project. Children are offered a range of activities to complete in order to help reduce the pollution and to save the planet. Our links with Forest School where children plant vegetables and take part in the recycling scheme are all key parts of the curriculum.
As a Catholic school we are deeply committed to developing the faith of all children with Jesus Christ as our inspiration and guiding light with the school having children from all around the world with a multi-faith background we teach and develop the knowledge of other faiths with children. Our curriculum is being developed to enhance delivery and teaching of different faiths and for children to have a richer vocabulary. The children have a great understanding of other faiths and world religions. Throughout the year children have opportunities to celebrate key celebrations and activities through learning days, assemblies and a range of scriptures.
As a school our Praise and Worship sessions are a beautiful way of deepening our faith and spending time with our Lord. The hymns of worship and praise are extremely powerful with an enhanced spiritual feeling of the Holy Spirit descending on us all to help us to be who and what we want to be. The outpouring of praise and thanksgiving alongside the time of reflection allows time to deepen and enhance our faith as a school.
Our RE lessons deliver the ‘Come and See’ scheme of work for RE, which develops and enhances the knowledge and understanding our children have of scripture and how they can learn to be more like Jesus in all that they do. Lessons offer opportunities for children to reflect, discuss and worship on the scripture, and music. In addition to this, teachers extend their planning to reflect the events of the liturgical calendar, global events and the life of the Catholic Church.
Each year group from EYFS to Year 6 have their own list of focus topics to cover throughout the academic year all linked by a central theme. The topics will coincide with the church calendar however, the depth in which the topic is explored is dependent upon the respective age of the child.
Each topic is split into 3 sections-
Explore-Children learn through shared experiences and make connections between their life experiences and their friends.
Reveal-At the heart of the programme is the mystery of God’s self-revelation of love through Jesus Christ. Come and See gives pupils the opportunity to explore the mystery of faith through Scripture and Tradition.
Respond-Children remember and celebrate what they have learnt and apply their knowledge individually.
At the heart of the programme is the mystery of God’s self-revelation of love through Jesus Christ. Come and See gives pupils the opportunity to explore the mystery of faith through Scripture and Tradition. It also allows children to search, to explore, to discover, and to respond; this is part of what it is to be human. Children learn through shared experience and make connections between life’s experiences and the gospel teachings.
As well as covering the delivery of Catholic Education, ‘Come and See’ also contains the resources and units required for us to regularly teach children about other world religions, in order 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.
At Holy Name we want to help our children to respond to Pope Francis’ call to holiness. As such, the Saints play an important role in motivating our pupils. They inspire us to lead joyful lives; they serve as role models; they teach us that holiness means being who you are; and they pray for us from heaven, giving us the strength to be who God created us to be.
Our school is inspired through our school saints of St Don Bosco, St Joseph, St Martin and St Therese as role models of how we can be more like them in all we do. On entry to Holy Name each child is dedicated to a carefully chosen Saint. Each child keeps their Saint as they progress throughout the school and it forms their identity during their time with us.
As part of our transition and settling back into school each class revisits the school saints and why they are so special. As they progress through the school, pupils learn more about their Class Saint and increasingly make links between Gospel stories, the lives of the Saints and how they should live their own lives. Our House Saints are:
- Don Bosco
- Joseph
- Martin
- Therese
How can I support my child’s learning in Religious Education?
Take them to Church! Parents are the primary educators of our faith. Children who regularly attend Mass have a secure knowledge of the scripture that forms the basis of our curriculum. They hear the Bible stories from a young age and begin to absorb the messages. At school, we can then build on this to deepen their knowledge and understanding, make links and consider how to live out their beliefs in a complex world.
Pastoral Team
Holy Name School has a dedicated Pastoral team which promotes the Catholic Ethos of our school. The Pastoral team has a high profile in our school. Each one of the team has to apply for this important role. At the beginning of the school year our Pastoral team are commissioned by our Parish Priest during our Welcome Mass and the ceremony is attended by the whole school.
We have a dedicated Pastoral team who play a vital role in enhancing the Religious Life of our school. Our Pastoral team are easily identified in school by their special star badges. The children have a great understanding of how Hope in the Future is a pertinent part of our school life and how we all work to be Missionary Disciples and how we can be like Jesus in all that we do.
The Pastoral Team make links with the Diocesan Hope in the Future and bring in reflections, prayers and Gospel readings. They are a part of planning and delivering our assembly on Hope in the Future and building the awareness of St Francis and the San Damiano cross.
As members of The Pastoral Team, we have a very important job to spread the Word of God throughout our school and the school community. It is our mission to interpret scripture so that children can better understand stories from the Bible and relate them to their own lives.
As members of the Pastoral Team we are called to lead our school by following in the footsteps of Jesus. Every day we live by the gospel values and show others how they can do the same. Being a member of the Pastoral Team is a challenging but very rewarding task.
The aims of the Holy Name Gift Team are:
- To help the school to grow as a community of faith
- To encourage the pupils to live their faith in daily living
- To support Liturgy, prayer and the spiritual life of the school
- To involve pupils in fundraising for charities
- To continue to develop strong links with the Parish
- To support the school in its Mission Statement
Our Pastoral team are a very dedicated team who have a vital role in enhancing the Religious Life of our school. Their roles include delivering class Prayer and Worship, leading prayers and reflections in assemblies and Liturgical events, supporting charities and fundraising events. They are good role models for all the pupils in our school.
We are very proud of our Pupil Chaplains.
The Pastoral team have a very high profile in school leading the prayers in our own classrooms, helping deliver whole school liturgy, Praise and collective worship, welcoming visitors and new pupils to our school and organising liturgical events.
We work hard to promote our Catholic faith in school and to encourage children to be like Jesus in all that they do and to grow in their faith every day and to think about how to reflect and give thanks for all they have and all that they do in their lives both in school and at home.
Our Gift team are led by Miss McIver and are supported by all the staff here at Holy Name but if you have any questions or would like to know more about us please contact the office.
Charitable Acts:
Our Pastoral team are great ambassadors for leading the drive and focus in fundraising opportunities. They support the work of Caritas and CAFOD to raise money and food for those who are less fortunate.
During the year they plan and deliver opportunities to help our School to complete charitable acts such as:
- Harvest food drive – creating posters and promoting the food drive in assemblies and in class. All the Pastoral team created posters to help each class to know what foods could be brought in.