As pupils and teachers return to school for the start of a new session, at SCES we are anticipating a big year ahead as we plan to provide suppport and resources for Catholic schools across the country.
New structures
During this session, details will emerge of new structures to support Catholic Education in Scotland, through the work of SCES and in Dioceses, and with the Catholic Education Commission being tasked with a new role to engage a wide audience of all those interested in Catholic Education in Scotland.
God’s Loving Plan
This new resource – which will guide teachers in Primary schools on how to provide Relationships Education – will be launched at the CHAPS conference on 4/5th September. It will help schools to plan important links between the curricular areas of Religious Education and Health & Wellbeing. It will also provide some classroom resources, in particular for the Primary 6 & 7 stages, as well as support for parents. The general aim of this new resource is to ensure that children are helped to develop healthy and respectful attitudes to their bodies and to God’s gift of life in all its fullness. Details of some Professional Learning opportunities to become familiar with ‘God’s Loving Plan’ can be found on the SCES website.
TIOF Senior Phase
This supplement to ‘This Is Our Faith’ will provide the Church’s national syllabus for Religious Education in S4, S5 & S6. Currently being reviewed for approval by the Holy See, this document is likely to be published, together with some course planning exemplars, before the end of 2014. Details of related Professional Learning opportunities will follow.
Pope Francis Faith Award
As the 50 first phase pilot schools enter year 2 of the scheme, which is leading to some very rewarding work in schools and parishes, more schools will be invited to enrol their Primary 6 pupils in a phase 2 pilot scheme which will start in Advent 2014.
Caritas Award
Building on the success of the Caritas Award since its introduction in 2011, this session is likely to see a record number of enrolments of S6 pupils in schools and parishes across the country, from Dumfries to Shetland. These young people will be asked to commit their time and their talents to serving the needs of others in their schools, parishes and local communities. A meeting of school co-ordinators is scheduled for Wed. 27th August.
Catholic Education Week
Schools and parishes are invited to celebrate the value and purpose of Catholic Education during the week Sunday 8th to Saturday 14th February 2015. This year’s theme will be: “Teaching the Joy of the Gospel”. The Cardinal Winning lecture, organised by the University of Glasgow’s St Andrew’s Foundation, will be given on Saturday 14th February 2015 by Archbishop Rino Fisichella, President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelisation, a former rector of the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome and the author of many theological works, including The New Evangelisation: Responding to the Challenge of Indifference.