"Education is not about knowing things or taking lessons but about being able to use three lingos: those of the head, the heart, and the hands... learning so that you can think about what you feel and do, can feel what you think and do, and can do what you feel and think. Unity within a person." – Pope Francis

Religious Education

As a Catholic School, St Cross attaches the greatest importance to Religious Education in the life of our School. This not only applies to specific R.E. lessons but in the everyday interaction of school life, assemblies, meal times, play times and all the relationships that exist within St. Cross. We try to help children to find a personal faith in God and to enjoy a sense of awe and wonder at His creation. We teach tolerance and respect for other faiths, races and cultures. The Parish Priest takes an active interest in the School and its religious life. Mass and liturgies are celebrated in the School each term. At St Cross, we celebrate an act of collective worship each day, in class groups or as a whole school.  

New Religious Education Directory (R.E.D.) launching in September 2026 

‘To Know You More Clearly’ is the new programme of study that will become statutory in all Catholic Schools in England and Wales from September 2026 and will replace the previous programme of study listed above. This is for all children aged 3-19 who are educated in a Catholic setting, and aims to provide a model curriculum for schools.  

From September 2024, to fulfil our aims and objectives we will use the ‘To Know You More Clearly’ programme from the new Religious Education Directory. This programme is currently optional but will be compulsory for all year groups from September 2026. 

The dates for the role out of the new R.E.D Curriculum are as follows:

Spring 2024 EYFS, Autumn 2024 Year One, and Year 2, Spring 2024-2025 KS2

To view the overview of the R.E. Curriculum please click on the document below.

https://education.rcdow.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/13.23-Attachment-To-know-You-more-clearly-RED.pdf

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 the four lenses :

• Hear
• Believe
• Celebrate
• Live
• Dialogue
• Encounter

At the end of each branch and knowledge lenses the children will:

• Understand - The aim is to help pupils understand deeply the meaning of sacred texts, religious beliefs, sacred rites, and the lives of individuals and communities who are shaped by these texts, beliefs and rites.
• Discern - The aim is to help pupils to be able to judge wisely in response to different interpretations of the meaning, significance and implications of texts, beliefs, rites, and ways of life so that they can arrive at justified conclusions about what is true, what is good and what is beautiful.
• Respond - The aim is to help pupils reflect personally and with integrity on what they have learnt and consider the implications for action these may have their own lives and the world in which they live.