Please select the relevant tab, to learn about each of these areas of learning at Alston Lane.

Religious Education Policy

436 KB
863 KB
481 KB

Religious Education Curriculum Statement

Intent

At Alston Lane Catholic Primary School, Religious Education is the ‘core of the core’ curriculum and our primary intent in teaching is to learn and grow as children of God. We want our children to develop knowledge, understanding, reflection skills, analysis and faith through their learning and religious experiences. In our Catholic community, we intend for our children to gain a wide range of experiences to build their sense of belonging alongside their individual faith. We wish to support them to become religiously literate, knowledgeable of sacred scripture and aware of Catholic Social Teaching, acting upon this with integrity and humility.

We aim to enable the children to be active participants in RE through our curriculum as well as our whole school worships, Masses and celebrations. These all allow our children to feel they are an important part of our school community.

Implementation

As directed by the Bishop’s Conference, our Religious Education scheme is called 'To know you more clearly’. This curriculum has been fully in place at Alston Lane since 2024, well in advance of the September 2026 statutory implementation date. This scheme seeks to present the teaching of religious education in a sequential and progressive form, rooted in the liturgical year. The framework has four structural elements:

  • Knowledge lenses which indicate what should be known by the end of each age phase. These are split into hear, believe, live and celebrate.
  • The ‘ways of knowing’ are the skills which develop as the children progress through their curriculum journey. These are split into understand, discern and respond.  
  • Expected outcomes are set for each age phase and indicate what pupils are expected to know, remember and be able to do.
  • Curriculum branches are the way the programme of study presents its model curriculum. There are six half term branches which are the same in each year group:

Autumn 1- Creation and Covenant - Encounter the God who creates and calls all people with a focus on the accounts of Creation.

Autumn 2- Prophecy and Promise - Explore the expectant waiting for the Messiah through the Advent season.

Spring 1- Galilee to Jerusalem - Experience the ministry of Jesus and the Word of God. They will learn through parables, encounters, miracles and teachings.

Spring 2- Desert to Garden - Study the season of Lent and its culmination in the events of Holy Week.

Summer 1- To the Ends of the Earth - Study the events that flowed from the Resurrection and Ascension in the coming of the Holy Spirit and the work of the apostles and early Church.

Summer 2- Dialogue and Encounter - Learn how Christians work together with people of different religious backgrounds, building an understand that all people work towards a common good and should respect all humanity.

Impact

We assess children's learning and attainment by assessing their knowledge and understanding of each half-termly branch. This is done formatively, during lessons and through quizzes and other opportunities. Pupil attainment is reported to parents through the termly report card and at the end of the year in the detailed pupil report. Internal moderation of their work, as well as moderation alongside other Diocesan schools, serves as a benchmark to support teacher assessment throughout the year. 

582 KB
286 KB

As a Catholic school, prayer and worship lie at the heart of our daily life and routines. Our daily worship and liturgies provide an opportunity for children to develop socially, morally, spiritually and prayerfully. Our children engage in a range of worship opportunities including class Masses, collective worship in the classroom, celebration worship and celebrations relevant to the liturgical year. Our children are familiar with the language, silence and reverence of worship. Prayer and worship are shared experiences which are led by staff and children to a high quality.

Timetable of Prayer and Liturgy
Daily morning, lunchtime and end of day prayers are said in the classroom.

Weekly class worship - planned and led by staff or children, linked to the liturgical year or scripture chosen by the children.

Monday 3pm - Whole school worship led by the Headteacher

Wednesday - Class based liturgy using 'The Wednesday Word' liturgical resource.

Thursday 9am - Class Masses, on a weekly rota basis, for children in Year 6 to Year 3. Children take responsibility for the readings and bidding prayers at these Masses.

Friday 2.45pm - Whole school celebration assembly and worship led by the Headteacher

Holy days of obligation - Whole school Masses take place on these days.

Start and end of term - Whole school Masses take place to mark the beginning and end of each term in school.

Feast days and patron saints - Special attention is given to celebrating these days as they arise throughout the liturgical year. Our Lady and Saint Michael are the patron saints of our local parish and as such, we ensure opportunities are taken to worship them:

  • 29th September - Feast day of St Michael the Archangel
  • October - Month of the Rosary
  • May - Month of Mary and our Marian Procession

Reconciliation - Children who have received the Sacrament are given the opportunity to go to confession during Advent and Lent.

Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament - Children in Year 5 and Year 6 take part in the Parish's 40 hours devotion of the Blessed Sacrament, at the beginning of September.

Diocesan opportunities - Pilgrimage to Lancaster Cathedral, veneration of St Bernadette's relics and involvement within Diocesan special occasions are a feature of our curriculum.

The following text, was written by the Catholic School Inspectorate, about the Catholic life and mission of our school. We were graded 'outstanding' in every area of inspection in January 2025.

Pupils in Alston Lane Catholic Primary School feel loved, secure and safe. Leaders are relentless in their pursuit of excellence, whilst ensuring the school is caring and happy. The mission statement ‘Learning and growing as children of God’, is lived out by pupils, staff, parents and governors. Pupil behaviour is outstanding, both in lessons and around school. Pupils understand that the school is a no name-calling school where they treat each other with deep respect and kindness. This was shown in action in lessons observed by the inspectors.
 
Pupils speak confidently about their responsibility to help others and refer to Jesus as their inspiration. Members of the school council and eco groups told the inspectors how they put their faith into action by fundraising for charities, both locally and globally, including the Ribble Valley foodbank and Cafod. They are proud of the work they do, and it is celebrated through ‘Super Citizen’ awards which recognise those pupils living out the gospel values in their daily lives.
 
Supported by staff, pupils respond exceptionally well to the demands of Catholic social teaching. One pupil told inspectors, ‘Fairtrade is about respect, dignity and the human worth of a person’. They recognise the need to treat others fairly. Pupils are able to articulate the need to care and pray for global issues and demonstrate an excellent understanding of their responsibility to be proactive in responding to the needs of others, referencing the teachings of Jesus.
 
Staff embrace the mission statement and are exemplary role models for pupils. They show respect and compassion for each other and talk openly of going the extra mile to provide exceptional support. Staff show commitment to activities that reflect the life and mission of the school. They regularly attend Mass with the school/parish family and many support the sacramental preparations.
 
Leaders and governors embrace the bishop’s vision for collaboration. The school engages extremely well with the Diocesan Education Service and the school became part of the Mater Ecclesiae Catholic Multi Academy Trust in August 2024.
 
Trust leaders and governors are highly effective, driving forward the distinct Catholic nature of the school. They know the school exceptionally well and have clear ambitions. For example, governors and school leaders are actively seeking ways to work in collaboration with other primary schools in the Trust to further improve outcomes for pupils. Leaders, including governors, speak confidently about the strong links with the parish, with school and parish coming together regularly for Mass and other liturgies. Indeed, the parish priest described the school and parish as ‘one body’, when speaking to inspectors. Staff and governors are inspirational witnesses to the gospel and to Catholic social teaching in their directing of the school at every level.
 
The provision for relationships sex and health education is carefully planned and monitored and meets all statutory and diocesan requirements. All policies and procedures clearly demonstrate the priority given to the Catholic identity of the school.
Parents value and appreciate the work of the school, responding positively to the parent questionnaires. One parent stated, ‘teachers are very supportive and give solutions to any areas of need for my child’ and another described the school as a ‘tonic of hope’. Parents also told inspectors that the headteacher knows every pupil by name and that Catholic values are a strength of the school, impacting the lives of their children beyond the school day.
 
The school environment contributes to the sense of calmness and safety and bears witness to the school’s distinctive Catholic character. There are displays around school, including one on stewards of creation and an interactive display for the liturgical year. Each classroom has a dedicated prayer table for prayer and liturgy and a well-used working wall for religious education.