Catholic Education

The DDfE Catholic Education work includes Religious Education policy and support, Relationships, Sex and Health Education policy and support, Catholic life and mission, Prayer and Liturgy, and Catholic School Inspection.

These are the five core principles that underpin our Diocesan Catholic schools:

• The search for excellence as an integral part of the spiritual quest.
• The uniqueness of the individual made in God’s image and loved by him.
• The education of the whole person based on the belief that the human and divine are inseparable.
• The education of all with the particular duty to care for the poor and disadvantaged.
• Moral principles put into practice within a Christian community.

Religious Education is at the heart of Catholic school life. Rooted in the Christian understanding of the dignity and value of every person, it helps pupils explore what it means to live a life of faith and purpose. As the core subject in a Catholic school, Religious Education provides pupils with a rich and structured understanding of Catholic Christianity, while also encouraging learning about other world views and beliefs. Religious Education considers how beliefs influence personal choices and actions in everyday life. It nurtures thoughtful, compassionate individuals who are prepared to make a positive contribution to society.

The Religious Education Directory (RED 2023) makes the aims of Religious Education explicit:

1. to engage in a systematic study of the mystery of God, of the life and teaching of Jesus Christ, the teachings of the Church, the central beliefs that Catholics hold, the basis for them and the relationship between faith and life;
2. to enable pupils continually to deepen their religious and theological understanding and be able to communicate this effectively;
3. to present an authentic vision of the Church’s moral and social teaching to provide pupils with a sure guide for living and the tools to critically engage with contemporary culture and society;
4. to give pupils an understanding of the religions and worldviews present in the world today and the skills to engage in respectful and fruitful dialogue with those whose worldviews differ from their own;
5. to develop the critical faculties of pupils so to bring clarity to the relationship between faith and life, and between faith and culture;
6. to stimulate pupils’ imagination and provoke a desire for personal meaning as revealed in the truth of the Catholic faith;
7. to enable pupils to relate the knowledge gained through religious education to their understanding of other subjects in the curriculum.

The outcome of excellent religious education is religiously literate and consciously engaged young people who have the knowledge, understanding, and skills – appropriate to their age and capacity – to reflect spiritually, and think ethically and theologically, and who recognise the demands of religious commitment in everyday life. (RED 2023 p6).

Prayer and Liturgy in a Catholic school is concerned with giving glory, honour, praise and thanks to God. It is our loving response, in word and action, to God’s invitation to enter into friendship, made possible through Jesus, God’s Son, and the witness of the Holy Spirit. It is an integral part of the life of the Catholic school, putting Christ at the centre of education, helping to create and sustain the Catholic ethos, making it tangible.

Resources

In the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle, we aim for our schools to provide excellent teaching in Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education and Health Education. Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education, and Health Education is part of the mission of Catholic schools to educate the whole person. It should be carried out as part of the holistic education which seeks to form as well as inform young people in preparation for adult life.

The CES provides the following guidance:

In order for Catholic relationships education, relationships and sex education and health education to be fully effective it needs to:

• be faithful to the Church’s vision of human wholeness whilst recognising the contemporary context in which we live today;
• involve parents as they are primary educators of their child;
• provide a positive view of human sexuality and dignity of the human person;
• equip young people with the ability to make practical judgments about the right thing to do in particular circumstances;
• explore and promote virtues which are essential to promoting respect and dignity;
• be delivered in an age appropriate way which reflects the development of the child;
• be part of the cross-curricular work in both primary and secondary schools;
• be sensitive to the needs of the individual pupil and recognise the mix of pupils with different sexual orientations, genders and family backgrounds in each class

Resources and guidance

• RSHE Timeline for Implementation
• Primary RSHE Model Policy
• Primary RSHE Curriculum
• Primary RSHE Cross-mapping Document
• Secondary RSHE Model Policy
• Secondary RSHE Curriculum
• Secondary RSHE Cross-mapping Document
• Approved Resources
• Learning 2 Love – An introduction to Catholic Relationship and Sex Education (RSE) for Catholic Educators

School Lay Chaplains are called to be witnesses of the love and care of God and his Church for the school community. Our Catholic schools are a fundamental part of the mission of the Church and the vision of Chaplaincy held by the school must be rooted in Gospel values. The ministry of the Lay Chaplain demands that he or she is a catalyst for action and reflection and will both enthuse and challenge the whole community to respond to God’s call to discipleship in a Catholic context. This is achieved by the witness of the Lay Chaplain’s own life and also by his or her involvement in the spiritual, liturgical and pastoral life of the school and by being available to all members of the school community.

School Lay Chaplaincy is a ministry of the Catholic Church, and those who work in it require a mandate from the Diocesan Bishop. School Lay Chaplaincy personnel are appointed by, and are employees of the Governing Body. In the school, they work with the Headteacher and are ordinarily accountable to him/her. In their work, they are guided by the policies and decisions of the Governors and the Senior Management Team. However, their fundamental mandate comes from the Church and they are in this sense ‘ministers of the Church’.

Links to CES

CES National Standards for School Lay Chaplains

CES School Lay Chaplain Job Description Secondary

CES School Lay Chaplain Job Description Primary

It is the role of the Catholic primary school to teach children to grow in knowledge and understanding of the mystery of God and the life and teaching of Jesus and his Church. Through the Diocesan Sacramental Education Programme Catholic primary schools in Hexham and Newcastle are required to:

• deliver the diocesan programme of study relevant to the sacraments of Reconciliation and Eucharist, appropriate to the age and capacity of the child/young person, during the school day as curriculum Religious Education
• provide parents/carers with clear information about their child’s progress in Religious Education
• assist the parish in arranging and delivering a meeting for parents and carers before the children celebrate the sacraments for the first time

Resources for schools and parishes

Letters

• Letter to Parents from Bishop

Consent Form

• Photo and Video Consent Form

Presentation

• First PowerPoint PDF – Parents’ Session 1: Introduction
• Second PowerPoint PDF – Parents’ Session 2: Reconciliation

Liturgies

• Sacramental Preparation liturgies

Contacts

Schools – Michelle Ross, Religious Education and Ethos Advisor

Tel: 0191 243 3313 or by email.

Parishes – Amy Cameron, Coordinator for Faith and Mission

Tel: 0191 243 3316 or by email.