Our Lady's Catholic Primary School

At Our Lady’s we aim to create an environment where Religious Education at Our Lady’s permeates throughout our whole school; it is not exclusive to timetabled RE lessons. The spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of each child is addressed through all aspects of the curriculum and school life. 

As our school's Mission Statement reminds us, we are all called by Mother Mary to follow Christ; everything we do has Christ at the centre and teaches children to grow as kind, helpful, happy, hardworking and caring people.

RE lessons are delivered through Diocesan-approved schemes: The Way the Truth and the Life has been successfully implemented for a number of years; the new scheme The Vine and The Branches is being gradually adopted and will supercede the former in time. Within these schemes there are different topics, one per half-term and they are organised to coincide with the liturgical year. We endeavour to work closely with other schools, especially those within our parish and our trust, to share outstanding practice and therefore ensure our children reach their full potential. Suitable opportunities are provided for all children by matching the challenge of the task to the ability and experience of the child. At Our Lady’s we recognise that there are pupils of widely different abilities in all classes and we use a variety of methods to ensure suitable learning opportunities for all pupils, matching the challenge of the task to the ability of SEND, Pupil Premium and Gifted and Talented children.

RE Long Term Plan 23/24 - 25/26

Prayer is an important part of each day that nourishes our spiritual needs and helps us focus on why we are here. Daily prayer occurs within each classroom, starting with the Lord's prayer. At midday, pupils encounter the Angelus and at the close of day, a prayer of thanks is given. Prayer is also integral during whole-school assemblies. Prayer walks and prayer trails also add to the pupils' faith journey. 

Collective Worship is a time during the day when children gather together, listen to and reflect on Gospel readings; it takes place when we are gathered together as a whole school and also within the classroom through teacher and pupil led Celebration of the word sessions.

Singing is another key element in being closer to Christ. Each week the children gather to sing hymns in unison, led by the skilled Jon Barton from the Shrewsbury Diocese. Pupils at Our Lady's have also contributed to video-recorded songs as part of the Holy Family Catholic Schools Multi-Academy Trust to immerse themselves further in the liturgical calendar.  

Church - at Our Lady's we look for opportunities to allow our pupils to attend our parish church, St.John Henry Newman; we hope that by strenghtening links with our parish, the pupils will enjoy reflections, services and Mass itself, and become closer to God through Christ. Opportunities are created for all our pupils from our youngest who visit to engage with nativity scenes right up to our Y6 who are celebrated as they prepare to move on to the next phase of their journeys.

Our Lady's pupils sing their hearts out with other schools in our Holy Family Trust:

https://youtu.be/iZ41S9JJlL0?si=bEK3DtJmK8oEYrM1