Every child is a unique creation of God. At St Peter and St Paul, we actively encourage each child to reach their full potential by developing the Catholic faith, where each child feels cherished for their unique personal worth. We want to inspire and nurture every child within a happy, secure and stimulating, inclusive environment.

‘Religious education is more than just one subject in the curriculum. In Catholic schools, it is the core of the “core curriculum”’. Pope St. John Paul II, 1988

The Way, The Truth and The Life is a programme for children from EYFS up to Year 6. Each year group’s resources contain scripture from the Old and New Testaments, explanations of the sacraments and the Mass and give extensive coverage of Bible stories, big questions and real-life experiences.

This scheme is:

• Written by teachers for teachers
• Based on the Catechism of the Catholic Church
• Covers requirements of the Religious Education Curriculum Directory
• Rolling programme of greatly improved New Editions

Here are some examples of the wonderful, colourful and meaningful work our children have produced within our RE curriculum.

Teachers also use wide and varied resources and units to regularly teach children about other world religions, in order for children to 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.

Studying other faiths allows children to “think and speak respectfully of other religions and their followers, and to learn.” Pope Francis 2013.

The Religious Education Directory (RED 2023) makes the aims of Religious Education explicit:

• To engage in a systematic study of the mystery of God, of the life and teaching of Jesus Christ, the teachings of the Church, the central beliefs that Catholics hold, the basis for them and the relationship between faith and life
• To enable pupils continually to deepen their religious and theological understanding and be able to communicate this effectively
• To present an authentic vision of the Church’s moral and social teaching to provide pupils with a sure guide for living and the tools to critically engage with contemporary culture and society
• To give pupils an understanding of the religions and worldviews present in the world today and the skills to engage in respectful and fruitful dialogue with those whose worldviews differ from their own
• To develop the critical faculties of pupils so to bring clarity to the relationship between faith and life, and between faith and culture
• To stimulate pupils’ imagination and provoke a desire for personal meaning as revealed in the truth of the Catholic faith
• To enable pupils to relate the knowledge gained through religious education to their understanding of other subjects in the curriculum