A faith school for the local community

Click to view RE's Intent, Implementation and Impact statement.

Religious Education at St Paul's 

At St Paul’s, Religious Education (RE) is a part of core curriculum and is the heart and soul of the school. By teaching Religious Education, the school helps children to experience, understand and celebrate their Catholic Faith; provide opportunities for children to learn about the teachings of Christ, the Gospel values and the teaching of the Church as well as enabling to build a personal relationship with God through an understanding of their unique position in His creation.

The children follow the Portsmouth Diocese RE ‘God Matters’ scheme of work as well as the new Religious  Directory (RD), which is split over 7 units in line with the church’s liturgical calendar. Religious education is taught regulatory twice a week; the lessons are taught systematically in order for the children to build on prior learning and to fully understand the theological principle of the scriptures being studied.

 Liturgical Prayer

Collective worship celebrates God’s presence in everything we do, so that praise, honour and thanksgiving may be given to Him. Collective worship invites us to enter a loving relationship with God, made possible by the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. At St Paul’s we believe that our daily collective worship supports our pupils in developing their own personal relationship with God. We invite them to respond to his word personally or collectively, using thought, word or reflection. The children also regularly participate in masses, assemblies and class liturgies, where parents are invited to share in these forms of worship with us both in our church and our school hall.

Opportunities for prayer in school

Each classroom is equipped with a prayer table, which provides a focal point during daily prayer and are themed to be in keeping with the liturgical seasons. We pray three times throughout the day. 

At St Paul’s we are fortunate to have a distinct area for our children to take a quiet moment to speak with God. They may write down their prayers to share, or simply use it as a place for reflection. This area is decorated to reflect the current liturgical season.