Further information Curriculum Detail Key stages 3,4 and 5

How we address values and virtues through the Religious Education Curriculum

Catholic Social Teaching

Catholic Social Teaching recognises is based on the belief that God has a plan for creation, a plan to build his kingdom of peace, love and justice.  Elements of the of our curriculum lend themselves to the development and teaching of these beliefs.

1.Dignity of the Human Person – Within the curriculum each year group have topics which lead them to consider the unique place we, as humans, have in God’s creation, and the respect we are therefore due. This includes study of scripture and Church teaching to understand the foundations of these beliefs. In Year 7 students begin the year by studying ‘Trash’, spending time looking at the contrast between how society can treat those who are economically disadvantaged. This is taken further in Year 8 when students explore what it means to be a follower of Jesus and the social responsibility this places on us. In Year 9 this is taken further when exploring the ways particular groups of people are discriminated against, and how human rights and Catholic Social Teaching seek to remedy these inequalities. At GCSE students study a number of topics that consider the beginning of life and the value of the unborn child through to the end of life decisions that medical technology has made possible and the morality of these. This continues into medical ethics for those studying A Level and RSE for all following the PRE RE programme. Of equal importance is the way that staff and students interact, modelling positively the relationships and dignity we are all due.

2. Peace – Peace comes from within, and thus before the curriculum is taught, RE staff are effective in creating caring and nurturing learning environments where students feel able to study and grow in self-belief. To create peace, all people must learn to accept the rights of every individual. Thus the learning opportunities provided to students to facilitate this include: Year 7 community with a focus on what unites us as a Catholic Christian community; Year 8 The Kingdom of God including peace as a sign of God’s Kingdom; Year 9 Human Rights and Social Responsibility, in particular respecting the rights of different groups in society and globally; Year 10 Peace and Conflict including the Catholic Christian response to violence and conflict; Year 11 the place that suffering plays in our lives and the theodicies we use in response to make sense of such ills; Year 12 A Level War and Peace, including the pacifistic ideals of Jesus and many Christians.

3.The Common Good- Commitment to the Common Good means respecting the rights and responsibilities of all people. No one should miss out on the opportunity to flourish and grow. As Acts 2 43-47 tells us, we should do all in our power to provide the necessities for those who are lacking. In RE this means ensuring all students receive their right to a high calibre education and with this comes the responsibility to allow all in the class to access this work. Therefore, our focus on and provision for SEND students is paramount. Within the curriculum across all year groups and key stages we work closely with the SENCO, including our SEND champion, and utilise a variety of methods to implement recommendations. These include, task lists, key word lists, seating in class, use of laptops, coloured photocopies, scaffolded and differentiated worksheets, modelled answers and targeted revision materials and workshops.

4. The Option for the Poor- Throughout the Bible, and especially in the Gospel narratives of the life of Jesus, we see many examples of God’s special concern for the poor and the powerless. This reading of scripture developed with Liberation theologians during the 1960’s and is very much evident in the thinking of Pope Francis who comments that “where injustices abound and growing numbers of people are deprived of basic human rights and considered expendable” the principle of the common good is “a summons to solidarity and a preferential option for the poorest of our brothers and sisters.” (Laudato Si). Students are exposed to this concept in numerous parts of the curriculum including: Year 7 the concept and practice of langar in Sikhism; Year 8 the Church as the body of Christ; Year 9 human rights and the genocide in Rwanda plus the healing miracles of Jesus; Year 10 the work of various charities including CAFOD and SVP; Year 11 the rights of the unborn child and those vulnerable at the end of life through the study of abortion and euthanasia; Year 12/13 New Testament study of the parables of the Kingdom.

5. Solidarity- For the RE Department, solidarity works on two levels: 1) the responsibility of states in a more interdependent world and 2) Christ’s birth, death and resurrection as the ultimate model of solidarity for Christians. Hence the elements of the RE curriculum which support this include: Year 7 the liturgical year, including Holy Week and Easter; Year 8 term 1 discipleship and social responsibility including a study of CST, as well as term 2 when they explore the role we are all expected to play as part of the Kingdom of God; Year 9 read the texts of Jesus suffering, death and resurrection in term 2 and begin to understand the significance of this sacrifice for all of humanity: Year 10 read Gaudium et Spes 26 such as ‘Every day human interdependence grows more tightly drawn and spreads by degrees over the whole world. As a result, the common good, that is, the sum of those conditions of social life which allow social groups and their individual members relatively thorough and ready access to their own fulfilment, today takes on an increasingly universal complexion and consequently involves rights and duties with respect to the whole human race. Every social group must take account of the needs and legitimate aspirations of other groups, and even of the general welfare of the entire human family’ in order to allow students to understand the interconnected nature of our global family. Further to this Year 11 explore environmental exploitation and solutions and Year 12/13 A Level students focus in New Testament on the question ‘why did Jesus have to die?’

6. Dignity of Work – The Catholic Church believes that work is more than simply a way to earn money – it’s a way to participate in God’s creation. Examples of where students are exposed to this concept in the RE curriculum include: Year 8 consider different forms of vocation; Year 9 look at sweat shops, working conditions and pay; Year 10 explore the Parable of the sheep and the goats to help them consider our use of money and resources for the benefit of others as well as the Sabbath as a day of rest from work; Year 11 study Laudato Si as an example of how we can care for all of God’s creation including both the land and those who inhabit it.

7. Care for God’s creation – Care for creation is rooted in our earliest scripture where we read in Genesis of God making the universe and all that is in it, simply by the power of His words. We also learn that God’s creation is to be valued since not only does He proclaim it to be ‘good’ but he places a responsibility of care upon us when he tells Adam and Eve, “Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground”. Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food”. (Genesis 1:28-29) As Christians we believe that the role of dominion God places upon us should be exercised through stewardship. As such, the elements of the RE curriculum which support this include: Year 7 Big Questions such as whether animals have souls; Year 8 creation and the Fall; Year 9 creation explored through a study of art, including Michelangelo’s ‘creation of Adam’ and CAFOD with their work for sustainability such as lower consumption wood burning stoves; Year 10 consider the Jewish views on God as creator and sustainer as well as the key moral principle of tikkun olam (healing the world); Year 11 as part of their religion and life module consider how the world is being damaged and what the potential responses to this are; Year 12 in Ethics research Christian and secular perspectives on how we view the world and subsequently the way(s) we treat it, including creation spirituality of St Francis of Assisi, End Time Theology and the Gaia Hypothesis.

Activities to increase a student’s understanding of Catholic Social Teaching include:

• Study of source texts, including scripture and papal encyclicals such as Laudato Si
• Use of videos and animations such as CAFOD’s CST in 3 minutes
• Discussion and use of contemporary examples/case studies (classrooms have a news board which may at times have articles relating to the environment, poverty, abuse of human rights, etc)
• For some groups we have used the CST card packs from CAFOD where students have to rationalise, group and match the CST concepts, scripture/sources and application