Reception

Our Religious Education Journey

Our Religious Education curriculum follows the six branches of the Religious Education Directory, To know You more clearly. Each branch is revisited every year, enabling children to build upon what they already know and develop an increasingly deep understanding of Scripture, Catholic belief and the life of the Church.

Reception

In Reception, children begin their RE journey through wonder, awe, stories, play, exploration and active learning. They learn that God made and loves them and created our beautiful world; hear about Mary, Jesus' birth and the shepherds; discover that Jesus welcomes everyone; encounter the events of Lent, Holy Week and Easter; and hear about Pentecost and the first Christian community. They begin to learn how to listen respectfully to others and encounter different faith and cultural communities.

The six branches in Reception:

Branch	Children learn about…
Creation & Covenant	God made our beautiful world, God made each of us and loves everyone. We are called to care for God's world and one another.
Prophecy & Promise	The Annunciation, the birth of Jesus and the shepherds; Mary was chosen by God and Jesus is God's Son.
Galilee to Jerusalem	The Magi; Jesus welcoming and blessing children; Jesus showing God's love and care, including through the Feeding of the 5,000.
Desert to Garden	Lent as a time to care for others; key events of Holy Week; Jesus' death on Good Friday and Resurrection on Easter Sunday.
To the Ends of the Earth	Jesus returning to his Father, the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and the early Christian community.
Dialogue & Encounter	St Peter and St Paul as friends of Jesus; listening respectfully to others and beginning to encounter different faith and cultural communities.

How the learning grows

Reception: I encounter, wonder, listen and retell.
Years 1–2: I recognise, retell and begin to make connections.
Years 3–4: I describe, explain and make increasingly meaningful connections.
Years 5–6: I use theological vocabulary, explain, compare, interpret, discern and justify my thinking.

The RED describes three Ways of Knowing: Understand, Discern and Respond, which develop alongside increasingly rich subject knowledge. Pupils, therefore, do not simply learn more religious facts as they move through Sacred Heart: they become increasingly able to understand what they encounter, think critically and creatively about it, and consider its meaning and significance.