R.E.
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Our Intent
As a Church of England primary school, Religious Education is at the heart of our curriculum. Through delivery of a high quality R.E curriculum we equip our pupils to have an in depth experience and knowledge of Christianity as a living faith. Our pupils understand that Christianity has shaped British culture and heritage whilst also exploring and learning about other religions and world views. We believe that as well as children learning about different religions and world views they should also learn to question their own beliefs and those of others, make links between Christianity and other religions and understand they are a valued and active part of a local, national and worldwide community. By giving children the opportunity to reflect upon their own beliefs and understand and empathise with the beliefs of others we aim to foster a love for the world we live in and an openness to learning for our pupils, represented by our school motto of ‘Hearts overflowing with Truth and Love.’ Throughout our RE teaching we celebrate differences by teaching children about different faiths and cultures. Children are given the time to discuss their own beliefs and respectfully learn about and discuss the beliefs of others. Our RE curriculum teaches children to understand that change is a natural part of life, allowing them to develop their resilience. We raise aspirations in RE by thinking about how we can lead a good and meaningful life, and how different religions and world views help people to lead a fulfilled life.
Aims:
• To enable pupils to encounter Christianity as the religion that shaped British culture and heritage and influences the lives of millions of people today
• To enable pupils to learn about the other major religions, their impact on culture and politics, art and history, and on the lives of their adherents
• To develop understanding of religious faith as the search for and expression of truth
• To contribute to the development of pupils’ own spiritual / philosophical convictions, exploring and enriching their own faith and beliefs
Taken from ‘RELIGIOUS EDUCATION IN CHURCH OF ENGLAND SCHOOLS; A Statement of Entitlement from the Board of Education/National Society Council. 2011’
Planning and Delivery
R.E is taught in weekly discrete sessions
Key Stage One: 1 hour Key Stage Two: 1 hour and 15 minutes
We use the Diocese scheme of work. Each unit has an overarching ‘Big Question’ and each lesson has a further question children will discuss and think about their response to.
The LDBS scheme provides 2/3 of teaching focussing on Christianity in every year. An annual R.E day will be planned by the RE coordinator in discussion with class teachers to promote our SMSC values and Christian ethos to meet the needs of our school community. Our yearly overview focusses on depth rather than breadth, ensuring children are able to develop an in depth subject knowledge and ability to think critically and evaluate.
The yearly overview along with the Diocese detailed medium term plans are available to all teachers. Teachers will use these medium term plans to plan their lessons. The R.E coordinator will support teachers in planning and delivery of lessons and arranging trips and visits. Curricular visits to places of worship (church, mosque, synagogue, Gurdwara, Buddhist Centre, etc.) are encouraged. In planning, teachers are encouraged to include a variety of approaches such as storytelling, handling artefacts, visitors, discussions/debates and drama so children have a variety of experiences in Religious Education.
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Download the updated R.E. curriculum map here.
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Example RE unit overview:
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