Discerning Disciples

Our School Mission Statement: Let us protect with love all that God has given us. 

Our Diocesan Mission Statement: Forming Christ-centred pilgrims of hope with kind hearts, questioning minds, a thirst for knowledge and a hunger for justice.

Our Religious Education is at the centre of our curriculum and is the core of the core of our curriculum.

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.

Religious Education is taught for 10% of curriculum time.