Religious Education
Our School Ethos
At St Mary Magdalen's Catholic Primary School and Nursery, we embrace and welcome children of all faiths into our caring and inclusive family community. With close relationships between staff and children, we believe that diversity enriches our learning environment and fosters a sense of understanding and acceptance.
At our school, we create a warm and welcoming environment where every child feels safe and cared for. We focus on teaching values that align with our Catholic faith. Our goal is to nurture your child's confidence and courage as they learn and grow with us. We believe in encouraging them to be themselves, to share their thoughts and feelings openly, and to be curious about the world around them. Through meaningful conversations and activities, we aim to teach them the importance of understanding and accepting others, no matter our differences.
The school strives to build on the foundations of faith started from the home and seeks to provide an environment where beliefs and values of the Catholic faith are taught, explained, developed and nurtured. Our school is a place where each child believes in their own potential, in an environment where they can succeed and achieve their ambitions.
We have a passionate RE Team who lead the different aspects of our Faith life at St Mary Magdalen's;
Mrs McCarthy, Mrs Nunes and Mrs Clayton
Religious Education is the "core of the core curriculum" in a Catholic school (Pope John Paul ID. Placing RE at the core of the curriculum in Catholic schools helps the school to fulfil its mission to educate the whole person in discerning the meaning of their existence since "Religious Education is concerned not only with intellectual knowledge but also includes emotional and affective learning. It is in the mystery of the Word made flesh that the mystery of what it is to be human truly becomes clear. Without religious education, pupils would be deprived of an essential element of their formation and personal development, which helps them attain a vital harmony between faith and culture." (Religious Education Curriculum Directory p4). Furthermore, religiously literate children and young people are able to engage in a fully informed critique of all knowledge, "...leading, for example, to an understanding of the relationship between science and religion or history, and between theology, sport and the human body." (Religious Education Curriculum Directory p4).
WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF RELIGIOUS EDUCATION IN CATHOLIC SCHOOLS?
Catholic schools, with RE at their core, exist in order to "help parents, priests and teachers to hand on the Deposit of Faith in its fullness to a new generation of young people so that they may come to understand the richness of the Catholic faith, and thereby be drawn into a deeper communion with Christ in his Church."
Religious Education Curriculum Directory (pvii)
WHO INSPECTS CATHOLIC SCHOOLS?
All Catholic schools are subject to a Catholic Schools Inspection (which for maintained schools is carried out by the Catholic Education Service) at least every five years (Education Act 2005). The purpose of Catholic School Inspection (CSI) under Canon Law and Section 48/50 is to report to and advise the Bishop of the Diocese on the quality of classroom religious education and the Catholic life of the school. Inspection also provides an opportunity to inform parents/carers and the wider community on the quality of religious education and celebrate the school's efficacy as a Catholic community.
All maintained Catholic schools are also subject to Ofsted inspections at the intervals set out by Her Majesty's Chief Inspector.
RE CURRICULUM
Please click the link below to find out more about our RE Curriculum.
At St. Mary Magdalen’s we:
PRAISE GOD
We follow in Jesus’ footsteps in all that we do.
LOVE
We love each other as we are all members of our special school family.
LEARN
We learn together and inspire each other.
RESPECT
We treat everyone with respect and celebrate our differences.
SHINE
We are all unique, shining in God’s world.