As a Catholic school we aim to educate the whole child, and our ethos is inseparable from the curriculum. The religious character of the school is evident in all interactions and subjects within the school community. Religious Education is a core subject at St Edmund Arrowsmith. Our Religious Education course aims to inspire our learners to reflect upon the world around them, their beliefs, how their world view has been shaped by their experiences and to provide a safe environment to discuss difficult topics and big questions. Religious Education lessons at St Edmund Arrowsmith aim to provide academically rigorous lesson content coupled with time for reflection and spirituality.  

Religious Education lessons examine human interactions, religious phenomena, and topics that include inequality and their effects on groups and individuals. They also consider to what extent religion shapes our views, feelings and personality. Pupils will be confident in expressing their beliefs, whatever they may be. Pupils in RE will be encouraged to consider how and why society has and is changing, examine the impact of these changes on individuals, societal structures and on society as a whole. They will be encouraged to make links between the world around them and religious beliefs, encouraging them to be active participants in making the changes that they want to see.  

Pupils will consider the impact of faith and spiritual beliefs on people around the world-particularly in their own lives and social context. Pupils are encouraged to explore and debate contemporary religious and social issues to enable them to challenge taken-for-granted assumptions and to question their everyday understanding of religious phenomena, belief, believers and practices. By following this course, learners will develop their own spiritual awareness through active engagement with the Catholic ethos of the school. They will be encouraged to question and explore the world around them and think about the big questions-

• Where did we come from?
• How do we know what is true?
• How do we know what is right?

Pupils will be challenged both academically and personally to justify their responses to these questions.

As a Catholic academy, the focus is on Church and Gospel values but students will also explore other World Religions such as Hinduism, Judaism and Islam, and worldviews such as Humanism in recognition of the fact that we live in a multi faith society.

The KS3 Curriculum is determined by the Bishop’s directory of England and Wales as presented in the RE Curriculum Directory. Students will follow the People of God syllabus which links directly to, and builds on, the Come and See curriculum in Catholic primary schools in the Archdiocese of Liverpool. The New Religious Education Directory is being introduced in year 7 from half term two onwards. Year 8 and 9 will be following the new RED from September 2024.