RE at St. Thomas Aquinas is central to the life of our school and aims to teach children about the greatness of God which is discovered through the Bible and particularly through the life and teachings of Jesus. Children will learn about the teachings of the Church, of the lives of saints, the importance of the sacraments and of prayer, and will develop the relationship between their own lives and their faith.

‘Come and See’ is the current Primary RE syllabus which was introduced throughout the diocese in September 2012.

Through a process of ‘Explore’, ‘Reveal’ and ‘Respond’, core themes of The Church, The Sacraments and Christian Living are covered throughout the year and are divided into nine study topics: Family, Belonging, Loving, Community, Relating, Giving, Serving, Inter-relating and The World.

Each year group will then approach and develop the topics in a different, age appropriate way to understand how they relate to the core themes. This process will last for four weeks.

Week 1 – EXPLORE - The topic is introduced and life experiences are explored and reflected upon.
Week 2 and 3 – REVEAL - Knowledge and understanding of the Catholic faith is revealed through scripture, tradition, rites, prayers and Christian living.
Week 4 – RESPOND - learning is remembered, celebrated and responded to in daily life.

Children’s religious learning is developed through scripture and stories, through discussion and questioning, through research, shared and personal experiences and through music, art, drama, dance and ICT. RE is closely linked with the PSHE curriculum and the outdoor courtyard areas of our school allow for a different dimension to some learning tasks.

Daily prayer and worship are integral to life at St Thomas Aquinas School. Masses, assemblies, meditations and charity work are part of our lives throughout the liturgical year and we welcome many visitors to help us on our faith journey.

Our pupils will learn about the customs and beliefs, the stories, the holy books and places of worship of other World religions giving particular attention to the understanding of the Jewish faith.

The planning, delivery and assessment of Religious Education is carried out by class teachers which is overseen by the subject co-ordinator and is in-line with direction given by the diocese to ensure all pupils progress in the skills, concepts and attitudes needed to learn about and learn from religion.