Upper Key stage 2 (Classes 10, 11, and 12)
Within Key Stage 1 and 2 we work on a two year cycle in R.E so that all children have access to all of the topics.
We are currently on Cycle B (2022-23 Academic Year)
Upper Key Stage 2: ‘Come and See’ Topic Overviews
Upper Key Stage 2: ‘Come and See’ Cycle A
Upper Key Stage 2 (Class 10, 11 and 12)
Advent Term
Domestic Church – Family: Ourselves
The children will grow to understand that each person is made in the image and likeness of God. They will learn to know themselves and to appreciate that their value and uniqueness is central to their wellbeing. The will have a deepening awareness of ‘Who they are’ and that they have all been gifted with different human qualities which can be developed.
Baptism/ Confirmation – Belonging: Life Choices
The children will explore that through Baptism a Christian is called to a life of holiness and to the mission of spreading the Good News. They will recognise that life can be lived out in different ways; whatever life choices are made the Christian is called to a commitment of holiness and service to others. The children will learn that for some this is through the sacrament of marriage and in this topic they will have a deepening understanding of the marriage liturgy.
Advent/ Christmas – Loving: Hope
The children will learn about Advent – the Church’s season of waiting in joyful hope for the coming of Jesus, the promised One. The topic will focus on Jesus’ coming in history and encourages believers to prepare for the Christ who comes each day. The pupils will also explore how as Christians we wait in joyful hope for Jesus to come in glory at the end of time. We will re-enact the Nativity story through celebrating our Christmas Concert.
Lent Term
Local Church – Community: Mission
The children will study the hierarchy of the Catholic Church, recognising that the Christian family is made up of smaller Christian families called dioceses. They will learn about the bishop’s role as he continues the work of ‘the twelve’ the apostles who lived out the work and mission of Jesus. They will explore the different Christian denominations; promoting unity among Christian churches.
Eucharist – Relating: Memorial Sacrifice
The children will study the Eucharist as a memorial sacrifice; both the Jewish festival of Passover and the present day celebration of Mass. They will learn that this remembers Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, through which Christ gives His body and blood for the salvation of all people, and provides hope for the future. The children will understand that the Eucharist keeps the memory of Jesus’ sacrifice alive and present in a special way.
Lent/ Easter – Giving: Sacrifice
Lent is a season when Christians try to focus on giving. The children will develop their understanding of the complete sacrifice of Jesus and how this is remembered in the liturgy of Holy Week, especially the Easter Triduum (Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday-Easter Sunday.
Pentecost Term
Pentecost – Serving: Transformation
The feast of Pentecost is celebrated and the children learn of the gift of God’s spirit and its transforming power. They will explore Christian belief that the Spirit of God is active in each person and in a special way in the community of believers, which is the church. The children will gain an understanding of how the work of the Spirit enables people to hear God’s message, to respond and share it.
Reconciliation – Inter-relating: Freedom and Responsibility
In this topic the children will explore the Ten Commandments – God’s rules for living freely and responsibly. They will focus on the Christian belief that God has given to each person the free will and power to choose; that freedom brings responsibility and with each choice there are consequences. They will develop an understanding of the Beatitudes and how the Gospel values give us a model to live by.
Universal Church – World: Stewardship
Christians believe that every human being is created in the image of God and has the special gift and challenge of sharing in God’s creation. The children will explore themselves as part of creation and their dependence upon it: in caring for creation we are caring for ourselves. They will develop an understanding of what it means to be a steward of the world in which we live, the people within it and the natural resources available to us.
Upper Key Stage 2: ‘Come and See’ Cycle B
Upper Key Stage 2 (Class 10, 11, and 12)
Advent Term
Domestic Church – Family: Loving
In this topic the children will build on their understanding of themselves and the Christian belief that we are made in the image and likeness of God; that God’s unconditional love for us is never ending. They will explore how they love and care for themselves and each other. It is in the love of a family that most Christians first experience the reality of Church. Everyone begins life in a home and family or community of some kind. For Christians the pattern and ideal of family life is found in the Scriptures – Jesus was born and lived in a human family. The children will study the scriptures and develop their understanding of God as the loving parent of the human family.
Baptism/ Confirmation – Belonging: Vocation and Commitment
Through Baptism and Confirmation, all Christians are called to share the mission of Jesus. In the words of Blessed John Henry Newman: ‘He has committed some work to me, which he has not committed to another. I have my mission’. There are many different ways of carrying out that mission. For some people their mission or vocation is as a priest or member of a religious order. In this topic the children will develop their understanding of the Sacrament of Holy Orders, where a person serves Christ in the midst of the community.
Advent/ Christmas – Loving: Expectations
Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus, given by God as a sign and expression of God’s love. Giving and receiving reflects the truth that all life is given by God and life is given meaning through the birth of Jesus. Advent is a time of joyful expectation, as we prepare to receive Jesus into our lives and to share this gift with others at Christmas and throughout the year. In this topic the children will explore the meaning of expectation. They will develop their understanding of Advent, a time of joyful expectation of Christmas, the Word becoming a human person, Jesus. They will share the joy and celebrations of the season as an academy, especially in watching the KS1 Nativity.
Lent Term
Local Church – Community: Sources
The children will look at a wide variety of books and the purpose for which they were written. They will study our holy book – the Bible, in depth. The Bible is the story, spread over two thousand years, of God’s love and how God’s people responded to that love. Christians believe that the Holy Spirit is also the author of the bible. They will explore all kinds of writings within the Bible and the authors who wanted to tell us about the truth – about God.
Eucharist – Relating: Unity
The children will learn what nourishes and what spoils friendship and unity. For Christians receiving communion means being in union with Jesus Christ and with one another. It means breaking and sharing the consecrated Bread which Catholics believe is the Body of Christ. They will explore the Eucharist which challenges and enables the Christian family to live and grow in communion every day.
Lent/ Easter – Giving: Death and New Life
The children will look at how loss and death bring about change for people. For Christians, it is through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus that new life begins. Through learning about the Church’s seasons of Lent, Holy Week and Easter, Jesus reveals to them the way to eternal life and so a new life begins here and now, a life which will culminate in future glory.
Pentecost Term
Pentecost – Serving: Witnesses
Christians believe that the spirit of God is active in each person and in a special way in the community of believers which is the Church. The children will learn about the Feast of Pentecost – the celebration both of the gift of God’s Holy Spirit and the trust God places in people to be witnesses in the world. They will gain an understanding of the courage needed to be a witness.
Reconciliation – Inter-relating: Healing
The children will gain an understanding of the importance of the need to care for people who become sick. They will learn about the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick – the Church believes that the anointing of the sick is one of the seven sacraments. It is intended to strengthen those who are ill.
Universal Church – World: Common Good
The common good is central to Catholic Social teaching and is intrinsically linked to social justice. The children will be taught about respect for the human person made in the image of God; the social well-being and development of all; peace between all peoples; understanding of the equality of all and respect for difference; human solidarity and an awareness of being part of God’s global family.
