At St Catherine's school, we follow the model curriculum as prescribed by the Religious Education Directory 'To Know You More Clearly'.

Curriculum branches are the way that the programme of study presents its model curriculum, with each year group's learning being organised into six curriculum branches. Each year group is structured in the same way, so that children's learning is expanded, deepened and linked as they move through our school. 

The model curriculum is rooted in the narrative of salvation history and leads pupils on a journey through each year of schooling, that gives a sequence to the learning. As they revisit each branch each year, they come to a deeper understanding of its significance for Catholic belief and practice, which allows them to make links between key learning within the context of the narrative of salvation history.

The six branches are:

• Creation and Covenant
• Prophecy and Promise
• Galilee to Jerusalem 
• Desert to Garden
• To the ends of the Earth

The final branch in each year group is called 'Dialogue and Encounter'. This branch aims to foster respect, understanding, and collaboration with people of different religions and world views.

Each branch within the new Catholic RED (Religious Education Directory) model curriculum for primary schools is delivered through what are known as 'Knowledge Lenses'. 

Their purpose is to provide a structured framework for pupils to explore and understand the Catholic faith, with the ultimate goal of helping them know, love, and serve God. 

The purpose of each part is:

• Hear: This lens focusses on encountering the Word of God through sacred scripture and divine revelation. Children listen to and engage with Bible stories and Church tradition to build foundational knowledge.
• Believe: This section encourages children to explore and understand the core beliefs and doctrines of the Catholic faith based on what they have heard in the scriptures. It helps them grasp the mystery of faith and the person of Jesus Christ.
• Celebrate: This component focusses on how the faith is expressed through prayer, liturgy, and the sacraments. Children learn about the importance of worship, Mass, and how these celebrations are a natural consequence of their belief in and love for God.
• Live (Often the fourth lens in the full model, though the user only mentioned three): This final part, which can be thought of as applying faith to the "heart", addresses how to live out the scripture and Catholic social teaching in everyday life. It aims to foster Gospel values like love, compassion, and justice, and encourage children to become active, responsible members of their community and the wider world.