Why do we study Religious Education?

The Religious Education curriculum at St. Winefride’s aims to provide a solid foundation in the Catholic faith, encouraging students to deepen their understanding and communicate their beliefs with confidence. It promotes curiosity by inviting students to explore challenging questions while critically engaging with the Church’s moral and social teachings in relation to contemporary society. The curriculum fosters respect for other religious traditions, linking Religious Education with other subjects and allowing pupils the chance to study other faiths. It also develops students’ ability to apply their faith to daily life, encouraging them to think critically about their faith and big issues in our world. The curriculum also allows plenty of opportunities for personal reflection allowing pupils a personal response to their faith. With a commitment to inclusivity, the program ensures all students, including those with Special Educational Needs (SEND), have access to a supportive learning environment that allows them to flourish. Our Religious Education curriculum strives to ensure that all of our pupils are compassionate, spiritually enriched individuals ready to live out their faith in service to others and in harmony with the wider world

At St. Winefride’s, we will be teaching the RE curriculum through the ‘To Know You More Clearly’ programme from the new Religious Education Directory. This programme is currently optional but will be compulsory for all Catholic schools from September 2025. 
Based on the constitutions of the Second Vatican Council and rooted in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the objective of the new programme  is to produce religiously literate and engaged young people, with the knowledge, understanding and skills to reflect spiritually, think ethically and theologically, and recognise the demands of religious commitment in everyday life. While nurturing the faith of Catholic pupils, the curriculum prepares all pupils to play their part as critical citizens in a plural and diverse culture.
There is also a focus on the beauty of Catholicism and its influence on culture through art, music, literature, science, and architecture, equipping young people to engage with the Church beyond intellectual remits.
Branches and Lenses
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:
  • Here
  • Believe
  • Celebrate
  • Live
At the end of each branch and lenses the children will:
  • Understand
  • Discern
  • Respond

VISITORS

We had a visit from CAFOD to teach us about deforestation in the Amazon and about how to care for our world.

DISPLAYS

display

PLEASE READ OUR DIOCESAN CANONICAL INPECTION REPORT BELOW:

NRCDES DIOCESAN CANONICAL INSPECTION REPORT – ST WINEFRIDES SHEPSHED

Pupil Voice

At St Winefride’s Catholic Voluntary Academy, pupils’ opinions and ideas matter. We believe that pupils should have the opportunity to share their ideas. We do this in a number of ways:

  • The School Council
  • The Chaplaincy Team
  • The Eco Club
  • Pupils have the opportunity to take on leadership roles such as head girl and head boy; house captains; play leaders; as well as opportunities with each class
  • Pupils have regular opportunities to discuss issues that may arise through activities such as circle time
  • The curriculum offers opportunities for pupils to develop the skills, knowledge and understanding when using their pupil voice
  • We also use questionnaires and pupil voice interviews linked to different areas
  • Pupils having a great idea and sharing it with staff

Have a look at what we thought about our Distinctive Christian Character.

What pupils like best about Collective Worship:

  • Stories from the Bible
  • Saying prayers
  • Preparing liturgies
  • Being involved and the way things are done is very creative
  • ‘I like sorry prayers because we can think about what we’ve done’
  • Learning things from the Bible and how it reflects on our lives
  • When Father comes in for Mass

What pupils like best about RE:

  • Learning about Christian values
  •  ‘I enjoy being able to write stories, diary entries and being able to have my own personal view of religion’
  • ‘The best thing in RE for me is when we write about Bible stories’
  • When we start a new topic
  • Learning about other faiths
  • Doing writing
  • ‘The teacher’s help if you are stuck and they explain it so it’s easier for me’
  •  ‘We get together to talk about problems and worries which helps us’