Catholic Life at St Bede's

Catholic Life at St Bede’s

As a Catholic School one of our key aims is to support parents in handing on their faith to their children.  We view the whole curriculum as possessing a religious dimension in particular in the way that we treat each other. The Christian values at the heart of our Catholic faith incorporate the British values and we aim in everything we do to further each child's sense of commitment and responsibility to themselves, to others and in the wider world.

Catholic Life is the aspect of school life that transcends all areas. It is who we are. The ultimate aim of a Catholic school is to develop the full potential of all young people, leading to their life-long activities being guided by the Spirit and presence of Christ, in the service of God and of others.

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 Committee, led by the Chair and the Governor responsible for RE, provide outstanding support and commitment to the central place of RE in the school.

St Bede’s is a community of faith, love and respect - inspiring us to achieve.

Religious Education is an important timetabled activity, the school uses 'Come and See' as a resource to support the teaching of RE in line with the curriculum set out by The Catholic Bishop’s Conference of England and Wales.

Collective Worship provides an important focus for the prayer life of the school and an opportunity for celebration and reflection.  Mass is celebrated frequently, either as a whole school or as an individual class.  We welcome parents to share with is during school Masses and non-Eucharistic celebrations. 

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 literacy.

Gathering together in collective worship is central to our school mission. However, parent/carers do reserve the right to withdraw his/her child from any act of collective worship and should put his/her wishes in writing to Mrs Therese Worrall, Headteacher.

The sacraments of First Communion and Reconciliation are celebrated in Year 4 and the school supports the work of the Parish in preparing children for these sacraments.