“In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”
Proverbs 3:6
At St. Clare’s, our approach to teaching religious education is designed to help children grow in faith, build a relationship with God, and navigate their spiritual journeys. We recognize and value the diverse faiths and beliefs within our community, ensuring that all voices are heard and respected. Through our Catholic scheme of work, we foster an inclusive environment where every child’s beliefs are acknowledged, allowing them to explore and deepen their understanding of faith in a way that enriches our entire school community.
Intent
The foundation of our Religious Education Policy is based on our mission statement. We aim to foster, develop and sustain faith, hope and a love of God through a broad curriculum based on the gospel. We recognise that the curriculum, in its content and delivery, reflects the fact that Jesus Christ is the foundation of the whole educational enterprise.
As a Catholic school, St Clare’s aims to complement the Catholic home by cultivating the moral, intellectual, aesthetic and physical development of our children. We aim to foster a collaborative and co-operative environment which makes every member of our school feel welcome, valued and respected, regardless of race, creed, gender or disability.
Our teaching is not only evident in Religious lessons and in prayer and liturgy, but it underpins all we teach, across the curriculum. It is evident every day in the classroom, in the attitudes and skills we attempt to foster in our children. It permeates all areas of the curriculum. We aim to develop, in a Catholic atmosphere, qualities of mind, body and spirit in order to prepare our children to face the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of adult life.
We acknowledge that to create distinctive Catholic School requires the full commitment of all who belong to the school community to trust and respect each others views and feelings. All are valued and encouraged to make St Clare’s a stimulating, enjoyable and satisfying place in which to work.
We aim to:
- to respect and promote the child’s innate capacity for wonder, awe, reverence and imagination
- to enable our children to take the initial steps of their faith journey
- to increase the children’s knowledge and love of God
- to teach the Catholic faith and develop commitment towards that faith
- to encourage a loving and caring attitude towards family, friends, peers and teachers and all with whom they come into contact
- to celebrate through worship and liturgy in a way appropriate to their age
- to foster a respect for other religious and faith communities
Implementation
We use the ‘To Know You More Clearly’ in Nursery to Year 4 and ‘Come and See’ in Year 5 and 6 Catholic Primary Religious Education Programmes which integrates the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the Catholic Levels of Attainment and the new Religious Education Curriculum Directory. It is the programme prescribed by the Archdiocese of Liverpool and the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales. We endeavour to be creative and use cooperative learning techniques to promote children’s progress.
In addition, To Know You More Clearly and Come and See allows us to promote key principles of Catholic Social Teaching and introduce a global aspect to our RE curriculum through the inclusion of CAFOD’s Universal Church topics. Teaching of other faiths is built into the programme, so our pupils have the opportunity to learn about other faith communities and their beliefs and practices. Years 5 and 6 will study Judaism and Sikhism for one week during the year. Years 1 – 4 study other Faiths as part of the dialogue and encounter branch of the ‘To Know You More Clearly’ curriculum
Throughout the year provision is also made for Fr Aiden, our parish priest to attend school and celebrate with the children. Class led assemblies and Prayer and Liturgy also take place throughout the year. The prayer life of the school is integrated into the Religious Education curriculum e.g. through class based Celebration of the Word opportunities. ‘Reflect’ time is part of the Come and See programme and allows pupils to plan their own collective worship sessions and reflect on their learning from the previous weeks.
Impact
Through the teaching of RE we will promote the child’s innate capacity for wonder, awe, reverence and imagination and through this we will enable them to take the initial steps of their faith journey. The children’s knowledge and love of God will be developed. By teaching the Catholic faith developing a commitment towards that faith we can encourage a loving and caring attitude towards family, friends, peer and teachers an all with whom they come into contact. In an age appropriate way, we can celebrate through worship and liturgy. Through the teaching of other faiths and religions we can enable the children to foster a respect for other religions and faith communities.
*For more information please see the ‘Religious Education and Catholic Life’ page in the ‘Key Information’ section on the home page.
To Know You More Clearly
The new Religious Education curriculum, set by the Bishops of England and Wales, is rooted in Scripture and shaped by the four key lenses : Hear, Believe, Celebrate and Live. From EYFS to Year 4 children have already begun exploring the Catholic faith through this approach, which encourages them to listen to the Word of God, grow in belief, celebrate through prayer and liturgy and live out the Gospel in their daily lives.
Branches
There are six branches in ‘To know You more clearly’ – one per half term. The branches are:
1. Creation and Covenant
2. Prophecy and Promise
3. From Galilee to Jerusalem
4. From Desert to Garden
5. To the Ends of the Earth
6. Dialogue and Encounter
Each branch follows the following steps:
- Hear
- Believe
- Celebrate
- Live
The RE (Come and See) curriculum Years 5 and 6
Key Elements of Come and See
Each topic is split into 3 sections-
Explore (1 week)
Children learn through shared experiences and make connections between their life experiences and their friends.
Reveal (2 weeks)
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 (1 week)
Children remember and celebrate what they have learnt and apply their knowledge individually.
Children are taught in creative and engaging ways; role play, hot seating, drama, art, music and ICT reflection; the children learn and live through experiencing living faith.
St Clare, our Patron
Here is the wonderful letter we received from Asylum Link, thanking us for all our Harvest food donations.
Our Remembrance display
Religious Education Chatter
Expectations – Celebration of the Word
18-12-2025
Y6 planned their worship to celebrate all their learning during our Advent topic. They chose to do this at the crib scene.
Planning Celebration of the Word
16-12-2025
During our Faith Ambassador meeting this week, Key Stage 2 pupils worked together to plan a Celebration of the Word. They used sources from CAFOD and wrote their own prayer.
Advent trail
12-12-2025
Thank you to the Y6 children who took a lead part in the Advent trail. They had a wonderful time teaching the younger children about the Nativity and guiding them in their worship.
Advent Trail – Nursery and Year 6
09-12-2025
This morning Nursery and Year 6 children took part in a wonderful Advent Trail around the school grounds. Along the way we sang hymns and listened to scripture readings. We ended the trail in Forest School, where we were greeted by Mary, Joseph, Baby Jesus, Angel Gabriel, the Wise Men and the Shepherds.
Advent – waiting in hopeful expectation
01-12-2025
Y6 have filled their Advent calendar with prayers, acts of service and devotions. We will patiently take turns each day as we wait in hope during this season.
Fellowship
01-12-2025
Today Y6 explored how to live in fellowship with one another. They created paper doll chains and discussed what it means to live and work together following Jesus’ example.
Voting on artwork from around the world of when Jesus was born
26-11-2025
Today we looked at artwork from many different countries showing when Jesus was born. We spoke about what we liked about each and then moved onto a P4C activity to make our votes. The winning artwork was Egypt and is now up on our class display.
Jubilee Celebration Day Y6
24-11-2025
Y6 really enjoyed celebrating everything they have achieved this jubilee year. We remembered our pilgrimages of hope; wore our house colours to reflect the jubilee badge and created bunting and postcards. We even finished the day off with yummy cupcakes!
Jubilee Year Celebration day
21-11-2025
Today we marked the end of the church’s Jubilee Year with a day of celebration and reflection. We started the day reviewing what we had done all year to promote the Jubilee’s message of Hope. The whole school was decorated with balloons and streamers in the Jubilee colours and we all wrote postcards with messages of Hope to share with our families. Our lovely cook even made cupcakes for us to take home. We ended the day with a Celebration of the Word, with our Faith ambassadors taking a leading role.What a day!
In RE, nursery learned about Angel Gabriel visiting Mary to share the special news about baby Jesus. They then created their own beautiful angels using art and craft materials! ✨👼🎨
21-11-2025
Sikh people care for our world
12-11-2025
In Y6 we learned that Sikh people are called to serve the planet by not wasting resources. We made links to the Catholic Social Teaching Value of stewardship of God’s creation. We put posters up around school to encourage members of our school community to not waste water, electricity and food.
Year 5 Remembrance celebration
11-11-2025
Year 5 led a thoughtful celebration of the word about Remembrance, sharing reflections, poems, and prayers to honour those who have served. We were also joined by our friend of the school, Pipe Major James Axon, who performed beautifully on the yard, creating a moving and memorable tribute for everyone
Doing an act of service for others
08-11-2025
Y6 have been learning about Sikhism this week. They discovered that Sikh people do acts of service called Sewa. Y6 chose to do a litter pick, inspired by our eco councillors, to serve our school community. We reflected on how our act of service made us feel and the people we served through our actions.
Vocation and commitment
06-11-2025
Today Y6 planned and delivered their own prayer and liturgy to celebrate their learning in our most recent RE topic.
Baptism role play in Reception Class
24-10-2025
We leant that we join God’s family through the Sacrament of Baptism.
Our Harvest collection
24-10-2025
Our families did us proud during our harvest festival week this year. They donated items of food which have been collected by our local foodbank @ImagineIfTrust, supporting our local community
Creation and Covenant
22-10-2025
As we complete our first branch of our new RE curriculum, we reflected on all we have learned about Abraham and his covenant with God.
Year 3 took part in a wonderful Harvest trail across different areas of our school site.
22-10-2025
Harvest Trail
20-10-2025
Year 5 took part in a wonderful Harvest trail across different areas of our school site.
Mission
20-10-2025
Year 5 have been learning that we all have a mission, no matter how big or small. They created a mission which they can carry out at school. One group’s mission was to help some year 3 children play tennis.
Harvest Trail
20-10-2025
Thank you Year 6 for taking Nursery on a wonderful Harvest trail around our school. It was a lovely morning, we enjoyed singings songs, listening to stories and planting bulbs along the way!
Nursery Class – Looking after God’s World
20-10-2025
Nursery class have been thinking about how we can look after God’s wonderful world. We went on a walk around the school grounds, taking time to admire the beauty of God’s creation.
Harvest trail
19-10-2025
Y6 took Nursery on a wonderful Harvest trail around our school. We sang, said prayers and gave thanks to God for our Earth and its abundant gifts.
The story of Abraham and the 3 strangers
16-10-2025
Year 4 dramatised the story of Abraham at Mamre and how 3 strangers visited him. We used the photos to retell the story and how Abraham and Sarah were feeling.
‘I am a link in a chain…’
09-10-2025
Year 4 studied the life and work of St John Henry Newman, we found out that he recognised that God had a mission for him and that we too had a mission. He wrote about this in ‘Hope in God – Creator’, we chose the parts that spoke to us and created our our chain.
Commitment in our community
08-10-2025
Today we welcomed our local PCSO to talk to us about the commitments of her job as part of our current RE topic.
The Prodigal Son
07-10-2025
In Y6 we reflected on the reunification of the family in the Parable of The Prodigal Son. We used pipe cleaners to create figures to show the unconditional love between the father and son.
Year 4 visit to church
28-09-2025
On Wednesday, Year 4 visited our Parish church of St Clare’s. One of the parishioners, Cathy, showed us around and described the special areas of the church. She also showed us where the first 2 Sacraments of Baptism and First Holy Communion take place.
RHSE consultation for Parents
24-09-2025
We had a great turn out today for our parents consultation with all year groups represented. Many thanks to all were able to attend. If you need any more information, please don’t hesitate to ask or check out the parents information page on the website.
211
Prayer and liturgy
23-09-2025
Year 5 took part in a beautiful Prayer and Liturgy about hopes and dreams.
Our blessings
19-09-2025
As part of the Creation and Covenant branch, we studied the work of Hannah Dunnett, a Christian artist who uses simple images and words of scripture. We created our own versions and included our own blessings and pieces of scripture.
Nursery class have been learning about God’s wonderful world
19-09-2025
In RE, Nursery explored the story of Creation using our special golden box. We started with darkness, then added light, sky, grass, and animals to show how God made the world. A lovely, hands-on way to bring the story to life!
Y6 prayer and liturgy
18-09-2025
Today Y6 welcomed their parents and families to join us in worship. The theme was unconditional love. The children enjoyed planning and leading the worship and it was lovely to reflect together on what unconditional love from God means in our lives.
The Prodigal Son
16-09-2025
In Y6 we have been learning about unconditional love. We read the parable of the Prodigal Son and used role play to further understand who showed unconditional love and why.
Jubilee celebration
07-09-2025
Year 5 took part in a Prayer and liturgy, celebrating the Jubilee as we become pilgrims of hope.
Jubilee Year-Pilgrims of Hope
04-09-2025
Today, Year 4 took a pilgrimage through our school, we took rubbing of bark and leaves we had collected as part of our Jubilee pledge day. We all wrote pledges, saying how we cook be Pilgrims of Hope in our school, using Catholic Social Teaching. We also created a 3-d representation of the Jubilee logo #Jubilee
Stewardship of God’s Creation in Y6
03-09-2025
Today Y6 went on a nature walk to celebrate the jubilee year and their hopes for God’s world in the future. They collected items from the school grounds and created their own version of the jubilee badge.
Mission Day
02-09-2025
Today Y6 went on a pilgrimage around the school grounds. Whilst on their pilgrimage, they thought about different ways they could let their light shine. Back in class they created a wonderful video about what it means to shine in school, at home and in the wider community.
School Mission Day
02-09-2025
Year 4 revisted the school mission today, we read how Matthew spoke about letting you light shine for the world and talked about what it meant. We then wrote acrostic poems based on our core values of Faith, Aspire and Respect. We then draw candles and wrote how we could let our light shine at school and at home.
Big Lent Walk
07-05-2025
Recently, the whole school took part in the Big Lent Walk for CAFOD, raising money to buy glitter chickens for families in Kenya. These chickens are very hardy and don’t need much water so are ideal for the drought conditions experienced in Kenya. We will know how much we’ve collected shortly.
Pilgrims of Hope
30-01-2025
Today we welcomed Jackie from CAFOD to teach us all about the Jubilee year. We learned about pilgrimages and about working together for the good of everybody.
Standing in solidarity with one another
26-01-2025
Y6 reflected on the theme of solidarity this week during their assembly. They listened to the story of Shristi the Sun Bear and shared with the rest of the school the ways we stand together to help our global neighbours.
Jubilee Year Launch
24-01-2025
Today we had a visit from Jackie from CAFOD. She came to tell us all about this year’s Big Lent Walk fundraising event – buying ‘glitter chickens’ for villages in Kenya and to hold workshops for years 2 and 4, learning about the Jubile Year of Hope.
Using Bible references
14-01-2025
Y6 helped each other to look up and find different books and chapters in the Bible. We can now find our favourite passages with ease!
Decorating crowns
13-01-2025
In R.E Nursery have been learning about the wisemen visiting Jesus. During continuous provision the children decorated their own crowns.
Advent Prayer and Liturgy
10-12-2024
Year 5 led today’s Advent prayer and liturgy, celebrating the 2nd Sunday of Advent – Peace.
Lest we forget
10-11-2024
Year 5 led a beautiful remembrance prayer and liturgy. This included a visit from friend of St Clare’s, Pipe Major James Axon who performed a wonderful lament (Flowers of the Forest).
Tidying up our prayer garden
01-10-2024
After a long summer break, our prayer garden was in need of a little care. Y6 spent some time clearing the leaves and litter to make this a lovely space to sit and reflect.
Year 5 prayer and liturgy
30-09-2024
Year 5 carried out a wonderful black history prayer and liturgy. The children read extremely. Well done year 5.
Year 5 led a wonderful Earth Day assembly. The children talked about the actions we can take to help God’s creation flourish.
30-04-2024
Nursery – (R.E) The Holy Spirit
26-04-2024
In Nursery we are learning about the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is our friend and looks after us. We took streamers and bubbles outside to demonstrate the Holy Spirit is a feeling, like the wind, we can’t see it, but we know it is there.
157
Catholic Social Teaching
25-02-2024
We had a visit from Jackie form the CAFOD education team, she introduced us to the animals that represent each of the Catholic Social Teaching values.
