As we have no Catholic school in the parish we hold Religious Education classes in term time on Sunday mornings at St. Ives. These classes are provided for children in the Primary school year groups and further details can be obtained from the Parish Office. This programme also includes preparation for First Communion and First Confession. The schedule for the 2006/07 First Communion programme at the Sacred Heart Church may be viewed or downloaded here (PDF, 33kb).

At the 11:00 Masses  on Sunday mornings two groups of volunteers provide Children’s Liturgies, where the younger members of the congregation go into the Hall for the first part of Mass to listen to the readings and engage in activities more appropriate to their age. All those who work with children and young people in this parish have been police checked and trained in accordance with the National Child Protection Guidelines of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. For fuller details, please see our Statement on Child Protection Policy.


Adult Religious Education

Courses are run from time to time that provide opportunities for the advancement of our understanding of the faith. The Parish also offers a more systematic RCIA programme for those who might wish to become members of the Catholic Church as adults, or are simply interested in finding out more about it. Information on these programmes can be obtained from or from .

In connection with the national Catholic Certificate in Religious Studies, the diocese has launched a new programme of adult Religious Education, recently renamed Learning Together, which can lead to different levels of a new Diocesan Certificate and will count towards at least some of the requirements for the national qualification. The sessions are free, but donations towards cost of speakers, etc., are welcome. Although people can turn up on the day, registration for each module is greatly preferable and recommended. You can normally register by downloading, printing out and mailing back a Registration Form or by filling in a form online. Unfortunately the link to the printable Registration Form on the diocesan site is currently (16/9/07) broken, so it is necessary to Register online. All modules are on Saturdays with registration and coffee at 10.30 am and finishing at 3 pm. Please bring your own packed lunch.

The programme for the first part of the 2007/08 academic year can be viewed here.

Catholic Certificate in Religious Studies

More information about this Certificate may be found on the Catholic Education Service website. A detailed handbook and curriculum for the Certificate, in PDF format (N.B. this is a very large file - 1.2 Mb), may be downloaded from here. A number of other ways of accumulating credits towards the national Certificate are listed at the bottom of the Diocesan CCRS page  - in addition to attending the Diocesan (and other) sessions, it is possible to study for the Certificate on-line.