At St. George’s, Religious Education underpins the whole curriculum and we seek to ensure that the message and spirit of the Gospel permeates all aspects of school life.  We follow The Way, The Truth and The Life programme of study which maps the Curriculum Directory as specified by the Bishops Conference of England and Wales. Through this scheme, the children are taught the basics of Catholic faith and morality, through constant reference to their own life experience. Religious Education lessons account for 10% of the school timetable. The children’s learning is supported and enhanced through drama, singing, music and art to help each child profess their knowledge and understanding of their faith in a creative and engaging way.

 ‘For all pupils religious education is a proper subject in its own right in the school’s curriculum. It is a rigorous academic discipline.... For those already engaged in the journey of faith, religious education will be catechesis, and for some children and young people religious education will be evangelization, the first opportunity to hear the good news of the Gospel.”

Curriculum Directory for Catholic Schools (Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales 1996)

For children in Key Stage 2, a book is sent home with a different child in each class every Wednesday. Children can write or draw their reflection on the Wednesday Word sent home that week. An information sheet can be found on the inside cover of the book with more details.  We hope to build further links with home and school and I know that the children and staff are looking forward to seeing the many creative ways in which each child articulates their knowledge, understanding and feelings about their faith and beliefs. 

This academic year, we will continue to send home ‘The Wednesday Word’ every week in order to continue to promote the Catholic life of our school and parish. This resource aims to spiritually support the families of our school, by encouraging a sharing of the Sunday Gospel. It seeks to draw families together around the Word of God and in the love of Christ. The Wednesday Word is a stand alone resource. It is designed to support the home, school and parish partnership. It enables school families to use it to draw closer to Christ, to develop their understanding of scripture and the school’s Catholic ethos. It strengthens family spirituality and assists parents in their role as primary educators in the faith. Please share the content of the Wednesday Word as a family.  The resource encourages the active engagement of both parent and child, through the Family Time section.