Good Shepherd Primary School

Our Faith Life

Worship

We have a daily act of collective worship either as part of an assembly in the hall, in class or in small groups.

Our Parish Priest leads an assembly each week and regularly visits with classes and small groups for worship and to talk about the Catholic faith. Please see our weekly newsletter for Father Boyle's reflection for the week.

School Masses take part at the start and end of term. There are also special masses that celebrate special days/festivals throughout the year.

Our assemblies follow the following pattern:

Monday	Head Teacher 'Thought for the Week' Assembly
Tuesday	Assembly led by Parish Priest (Fr. Cornelius Boyle)
Wednesday	Gospel Assembly
Thursday	Hymn Practice
Friday	Celebration Assembly

Catholic Life of the School

Good Shepherd is a Catholic School, which makes this a very special place to be, but we also welcome children from other faiths. We are very proud to be a Catholic school. Our faith permeates every aspect of our school life and in the way the whole community treats and respects one another. The Catholic life of the school is rich in opportunities for children to encounter God and to deepen their relationship with Him as a loving, compassionate Father. We enable children to come to know and love God through prayer, liturgies, Religious Education lessons and through the relationships and support for each other that children, staff and parents enjoy within the school community, Religious icons can be found throughout the school. Displays of work in RE are of very high quality and can be seen in classrooms and all around the school, including the school's main reception area. Each class has a prayer focus area, with a liturgical cloth in the appropriate colour. The Christian values at the heart of our Catholic faith incorporate the British values and in everything we do, we aim to further each child's sense of commitment and responsibility to themselves, to others and in the wider world.

Prayer and worship

Prayer and worship are central to the daily life of our school. We aim to provide opportunities for children's spiritual growth and development through participation in a variety of forms of worship and through experiencing all forms of prayer: formal, informal, spontaneous, private, shared, petitionary and meditative. Pupils are actively involved in planning and leading worship, both in class groups and whole school settings. Shared acts of worship take place in an atmosphere of reflection and stillness, where we encourage each other to listen to God speaking to us and to respond. Children are encouraged to write prayers and this is a skill which we explicitly teach, just as we teach other genres in English.

The school as a Catholic Community

All staff, led by the Headteacher, Deputy Headteacher, R.E Leader and Governors are aware that the school's foundations are built on the Catholic faith and beliefs and that it is our shared responsibility to transmit the Catholic faith to the children in our care. All staff receive regular in-service training as part of their continuous professional development. Staff pray and work together to support each other in providing the very best Religious Education possible for the pupils. Learning in RE is at the core of the curriculum and we ensure that the Bishop's directive is followed in allocating 10% of curriculum time to RE lessons. The Governing Body, led by the Chair and the Governor responsible for RE, provide outstanding support and commitment to the central place of RE in the school. We hold the belief that we share the role of educators of the faith with the parents of our pupils. Parents are welcomed to assemblies, Masses and other liturgies throughout the year.

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How Good Shepherd responds to the requirement to deliver British Values

In Good Shepherd we teach British Values within the context of Gospel Values:

Dignity of the human person

Respecting, valuing and recognising all people as being made in the image and likeness of God. Therefore: Democracy is explored, lived and experienced through teaching and learning, pupil voice, pupil leadership and extracurricular activities. The Rule of Law Fundamental to Good Shepherd’s understanding of the importance of the Rule of Law, is the greatest command: ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind and ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ Luke 10:27 The Christian concept of Law is explored through RE, Gospel Values, Collective Worship and whole school activities.

Liberty

Liberty is explored within the context of Christ’s teaching on morality, freedom to make the right choices and recognise that with freedom comes responsibility. “Do to others as you would have them do to you” – Luke 6:31.

Tolerance of Diverse Beliefs and Values

Tolerance of Diverse Beliefs and Values is explored through the understanding of diversity, inclusion and respect for the unique value of each person. Good Shepherd seeks to educate all pupils to be critical thinkers who are seeking truth in a very complex world. We foster open minds and hearts to learn and grow together. Our community is made of a wide variety of families from different faith traditions which reflect the local community and the global church.

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Religious Education

Religious Education is taught throughout the school using the 'Come and See' programme. “Come and See” is an invitation and a promise of life for everyone. The invitation is open to all. In response to the question ‘Where do you live?’, Jesus invited the disciples to ‘Come and See.’ They went with Jesus ‘and spent the rest of that day with him.’

We recognise that all children are at different stages in their journey of faith; for some children RE is catechesis and part of their formation in the faith. Those who receive the invitation to ‘Come and see’ may also offer it to others. In the same invitation we remember that for some of our children RE will be evangelisation, the first opportunity to hear the Good News.

Religious Education is a core subject of the curriculum for Catholic Schools and as such teaching and learning in RE makes up 10% of curriculum time. As such it is taught rigorously with all the same expectations as other core subjects whilst maintaining a creative element and encouraging children to question and think at a high level.

Each term pupils study three topics, each lasting four weeks and following a common theme across the school. As the children move through the school this theme is developed further, appropriate to the pupils age and stage of learning.

Each year group approaches the theme through a different topic e.g. the Autumn term topic 1 is a 'Domestic Church' theme which is explored through:

Early Years – Myself

Year 1 – Families

Year 2 – Beginnings

Year 3 – Homes

Year 4 – People

Year 5 – Ourselves

Year 6 – Loving

In the Autumn term theme of Belonging (topic 2) Early Years children will be learning about Baptism as being welcomed to God’s family, in their “Welcome” topic, Years 1,2 and 3 further develop their understanding of Baptism, including Signs and Symbols (Yr2) and Promises (Yr3), whilst in their “Community” topic Year 4 move on to learn about Confirmation, Yr5 learn about the commitment of Marriage in their Life Choices topic and Yr6 learn about the vocation to priesthood and religious life in their “Vocation and commitment” topic. Scripture is at the heart of each topic.

The termly themes are as follows:

AUTUMN

The three autumn themes are developed in the light of an understanding of Creation.

 Family - Domestic church;

 Belonging - Baptism/Confirmation/Marriage/Vocation;

 Loving - Advent/Christmas.

SPRING

The three spring themes are developed in the light of an understanding of Incarnation

 Community -Local church;

 Relating -Eucharist;

 Giving -Lent/Easter.

SUMMER

The three summer themes are developed in the light of an understanding of Redemption and the work of the Holy Spirit

 Serving -Pentecost;

 Inter-relating -Reconciliation;

 World -Universal Church.

Each four-weekly topic is broken into 3 aspects:

EXPLORE (1 WEEK)

 Introduces the topic;

 The children’s life experience is explored;

 The questions raised are wondered at, shared, investigated and their significance reflected upon;

REVEAL (2 WEEKS)

 Heart of the programme;

 Knowledge and understanding of the Catholic faith revealed through Scripture, Tradition, doctrine, prayers, rites and Christian living;

RESPOND (1 WEEK)

 Learning is remembered, celebrated and responded to in daily life;

 Prayer.

 Prayer and celebration are integral to Come and See;

 Opportunities for reflection are present within Explore, Reveal and Respond;

 Traditional prayers are introduced in the different Key Stages;

 Prayer styles: children are introduced to a range throughout the scheme.

OTHER FAITHS

Judaism is taught in the Autumn Term and Islam in the Summer Term using the Come and See materials.

In This Section

Good Shepherd Catholic Primary School is a charitable company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales (registered number 9918358).
Registered office: Dunley Drive, New Addington, Croydon CR0 0RG