Learning about the Catholic Faith
Word and Worship
These are interpreted by the children as Talk and Pray.
Word [talk] – talk together as a word of God’s community.
Worship [pray] – We pray together as a worship community.
Word & Worship
We learn about the word of God during our Religious Education (RE) lessons and during Prayer and Worship sessions. We do this through the study of scripture and developing pupils understanding of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. At St Mary's our approach is very creative, we use drama, art and music to learn about the Catholic faith and develop our relationship with God. We also place a strong emphasis on developing socially, morally and emotionally. We reflect on what we have learnt and consider what this means to us in our daily lives and how we behave as a result of our beliefs - this is called Learning from Religion.
The Catholic Faith at St Mary's permeates every aspect of school life. We have excellent relationships with our families and across the wider community. The Gospel values and SMSC (Spiritual, Moral, Social, Cultural) development at the core of our curriculum, vision and mission statement.
What is SMSC?
Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Education is about educating and developing pupils understanding of who they are as individuals, their purpose in life and their role in the community both now and in the future.
This focuses on what pupils believe and what Christians believe. It encourages them to discuss the meaning and purpose of life and engage in 'Big Questions'.
Based on what pupils believe they are asked to consider the difference between making right and wrong choices. They are encouraged to discuss issues and develop their understanding of the principles society live by. They are also asked to consider - 'What would Jesus do?'
Considering their spirituality and morality pupils consider their relationships with others and reflect on their own behaviors. Pupils learn about community and develop their sense of belonging.
We look at the the traditions of the Catholic faith and the local community. Pupils learn about the customs and practices of the Catholic Church as well as those in their local community. They look at the history of how cultural develops and influences their own and others' lives. Pupils learn that it is our culture that gives expression to a community's spirituality, morality and social values.