Our RE Curriculum

 Religious Education

We are part of the St Teresa of Avila Parish in Ashford and work closely with our parish priest to develop the education and spiritual welfare of everyone in our school.  

 Intent

At St Teresa's School, we acknowledge and understand that Religious Education is a lifelong process and recognises that the primary years are significant in the lasting impact they have upon our children. 

The aims of religious education in St Teresa's Catholic Primary School include the following:

• To create a safe, secure and stimulating learning environment.
• To deepen knowledge and understanding of the Catholic faith through prayer and the Gospels.
• Helping to foster pupil’s awareness that our Christian faith is not just a subject for learning, but a complete way of life.
• To promote the spiritual and moral development of the children.
• To lead the children to a living and active faith by helping them to become aware of God’s presence in their lives, to listen to Him and to respond to His invitation to enter into a personal relationship with Him through prayer.
• To give the children the experience of a Christian caring and inclusive community where all members are valued.
• To involve parents/carers in the spiritual development of their children.

Implementation

Lighting the Path EYFS/KS1

Lighting the Path is a new scheme being introduced in October 2025 for EYFS and KS1 ( and in the next academic year for KS2), created by a team of experts and practising teachers led by Dr Nancy Walbank (former CES policy advisor and leading drafter of the RED).

It is closely linked to the model curriculum set out in the new Religious education directory (RED).

Lighting the Path is a scripture-centred resource. It provides a guided journey through children's encounter with the Bible, the story of stories, to help them understand the texts and develop their biblical literacy.

To help children decode the rich texts of the Bible, Lighting the Path has developed a skills progression that moves pupils from simple readings and retellings of scripture to a growing understanding of:

-literary form (what type of text is it?)

-author intent (why is the writer telling us this?)

-what the Catholic Church teaches about the text (what do Catholics believe about this?)

Pupils will engage with scripture by developing critical thinking about the text and be invited to make a personal response to the rich subject knowledge they have studied.

 Curriculum Overview for Early Year and Key Stage 1 – Lighting the Path (to be updated as new scheme is released.)

Appropriate measures have been implemented to ensure that pupils are fully supported in their transition from The Way, the Truth and the Life scheme of learning to the new Lighting the Path curriculum.

As a result of this careful planning and support, no additional teaching is deemed necessary for pupils in Reception and Year 1, as they have acquired the requisite subject knowledge.

In Year 2 the following have been incorporated into Term 2 teaching for 2025-2026:

The Our Father

Old and New Testaments and the Psalms

A recap of the story of Noah

Stewardship

 The way, the Truth and the Life KS2 

This scheme will continue to be used as we transition to the newer Lighting the Path scheme, which will not be available for KS 2 until September 2026. It contains systematic and rigorous teaching and learning, at least equal to that of other curriculum areas. It covers the teachings and practices of the Catholic Church and their implications for the lives of people today, and particularly for the lives of the pupils:

that every human event is marked by the creative activity of God which communicates goodness to all beings;
that the reality and power of sin limit and numb every person;
that the life, death and resurrection of Christ, communicated by the Holy Spirit, give believers the hope of a definitive ‘fulfilment’.
Other faiths are addressed as a consequence of, and in the context of, Catholic teaching. Catholic teaching about the action of God in the world requires an informed and respectful approach to other faith. Catholics can  learn from the practices of other faiths (e.g. patterns of prayer, fasting, pilgrimages etc.). 

The scheme incorporates attainment targets: learning about the Catholic faith (AT1) and learning from the Catholic faith (AT2). These are set out in the form of specific key learning objectives for each module.

The topics for each year group are as follows:

RE Curriculum Journey

As well as learning about Catholicism, we believe it is important for our children to learn about other World Faiths as these also make up part of our immediate community. Throughout the year, we have 5 additional 'R.E. Days', each one focusing on a different World Faith - these include Sikhism, Judaism, Hinduism, Islam & Buddhism.

Everyday the children engage in collective Prayer and Liturgy. Children pray together, sign hymns together, learn together and reflect on aspects of our Faith together. Using the context of both their own and their shared school experiences to deepen their knowledge and understanding.

We regularly celebrate Mass together as a community and on Sundays throughout the Year. 

Impact

The children of St Teresa's are able to talk about their own faith in a reflective and knowledgeable manner. Through class discussions they are encouraged to ask questions and challenge beliefs, enabling them to justify their own opinions linking their thoughts with their knowledge of the scripture and their own experiences. The continue to demonstrate their learning through their confident to contributions to the liturgy of the school and the parish, the reflective work they produce in their RE book and the shared learning opportunities as evidenced in the RE Big Books.

RE is assessed like any other core curriculum subject, there is a high expectation for the quality of the work produced.