RE Intent

St Columba’s is a Catholic School with Christ’s teachings of love, peace and justice at the heart of all we do.

St Columba’s School aims to be caring community which is inspired by Christ’s teachings of love, peace and justice. The importance of promoting our Catholic faith is central to our school’s mission for the children in our care. We aim to lead children into a close, loving relationship with God through Prayer, Worship, Sacraments and Scripture. Our school will offer a high standard of Catholic education where children can grow in understanding and in the acquisition of skills, attitudes and values in all subject areas. In delivering the curriculum we recognise the uniqueness of each child and respect the value, dignity and individuality of each one. Within our school, great emphasis is given to Religious Education through Liturgy and  Worship, the celebration of the Mass and preparation for the Sacraments of Reconciliation, the Eucharist and Confirmation. Every effort is made to live by and promote the teaching of Our Lord and his Church concerning faith and moral living. We attach great importance to good relationships within the school community and recognise that the strong partnership, which exists between school, home and parish, must be nurtured if we are to grow and develop as a living and worshipping community and truly provide a Christ centered environment for the children in our care.

Religious Education takes a prominent place in our school’s curriculum and at least 10% of our teaching time is devoted to this subject.  Following the introduction of the Religious Education Directory 'To know you more clearly' in September 2026, we follow the Archdiocese of Birmingham's Discerning Disciples. 

The Religious Education curriculum is structured according to the six curriculum branches set out in the RED. Each branch is studied sequentially each year and revisited with increasing depth and challenge.

The Six Branches include:

1. Creation and Covenant

2. Prophecy and Promise

3. Galilee to Jerusalem

4. Desert to Garden

 5. To the Ends of the Earth

6. Dialogue and Encounter

Knowledge Lenses

Teaching and learning within each branch is framed through the following lenses:

• Hear – encountering Scripture and Church teaching

• Believe – understanding what the Church teaches and believes

• Celebrate – exploring prayer, liturgy and sacramental life

• Live – applying faith to everyday life Ways of Knowing Pupils are supported to:

• Understand – develop secure knowledge and meaning

• Discern – think critically and reflectively

• Respond – make informed, personal and moral responses

Lesson Structure

All Religious Education lessons will follow the structure as advised by the Birmingham Diocesan Education Service:

• Dialogue – from the beginning and throughout the lesson. Unlock pupils’ prior knowledge through discussion.

• Introduce recall – I do. Introduce the Direct Knowledge Statements relevant to the lesson.  

• Scaffold Support – Teacher to model and design and remove scaffold so all pupils move from secure knowledge to meaningful discernment.

• Collaborative Conversation – We do. Pupils discuss discovery questions with teacher guidance.

• Evaluate understanding – Teachers use hinge questions to assess the understanding of all pupils before moving on.

• Record responses with discernment – You do. Pupils independently record their understanding and response.

• Next steps and notes – Use age-appropriate reflection and feedback to evaluate learning and inform next steps.