Religious Education is central to life at Emmaus and forms the foundation of our curriculum. It is central to our mission as a Catholic and Church of England school, shaping both the spiritual and academic development of every child.

From 2025, our curriculum follows the Religious Education Directory: To Know You More Clearly, as set out by the Bishops of England and Wales. This curriculum ensures that pupils encounter God’s revelation through Scripture and the living tradition of the Church, enabling them to grow in knowledge, understanding and faith.

Religious Education is allocated 10% of curriculum time and is taught with the same rigour as other core subjects.

 

Curriculum Structure

Branches

The curriculum is organised into six branches across the year, reflecting the liturgical life of the Church:

• Creation and Covenant

• Prophecy and Promise

• Galilee to Jerusalem

• Desert to Garden

• To the Ends of the Earth

• Dialogue and Encounter

Each branch develops pupils’ understanding of Scripture, the life of Christ, and the mission of the Church.

 

Knowledge Lenses

Within each branch, learning is shaped through four key lenses:

• Hear – engaging with the Word of God in Scripture

• Believe – understanding the teachings of the Church

• Celebrate – exploring prayer and liturgy

• Live – applying faith to everyday life

These lenses ensure that pupils not only learn about faith but understand how it is lived and celebrated.

 

Ways of Knowing

Pupils develop key disciplinary skills through three “ways of knowing”:

• Understand – gaining secure knowledge of Scripture, beliefs and practices

• Discern – reflecting critically and making connections between faith and life

• Respond – expressing personal meaning and responding to what they have learned.

 

Impact

Through this curriculum, pupils become religiously literate and engaged young people who:

• Have a secure knowledge of the Catholic faith

• Can think critically and reflect spiritually

• Religious Education at Emmaus supports pupils in developing a strong moral compass and a deep sense of their place in the world.

• Understand the relationship between faith and life

• Show respect for others and engage in dialogue with different world-views