Intent

Our RE syllabus provokes challenging questions about meaning and purpose in life, beliefs about God, ultimate reality, issues of right and wrong and what it means to be human. The teaching should equip children with the knowledge and understanding of a range of religions and worldviews, enabling them to develop their ideas, values and identity. Pupils will make progress by reflecting on the impact of religions and worldviews on contemporary life locally, nationally and globally to increasing levels of depth. Pupils should gain and deploy the skills needed to interpret accounts of their own personal beliefs, ideas, values and experiences whilst respecting the rights of others to have different views and ways of life.

Implementation

Pupils will encounter religions and worldviews through special people, books, times, places and objects and by visiting places of worship. The children will listen to and discuss different stories from different religions. Pupils will be introduced to subject specific words and use all of their senses to explore beliefs, practices and forms of expression. The children will be given opportunities to ask questions and reflect upon their own feelings and experiences. The children will be encouraged to use their imagination and curiosity to develop their appreciation of and wonder at the world in which they live. Children will find out about simple examples of religion that are drawn from local, national and global contexts. The children should begin to raise questions and begin to express their own views in response to the material they learn about using story, music, drama, activity, teamwork, thinking structures and language work to enable deepening engagement from every child.

Impact

Children will have sound knowledge and understanding of religions and world views and be able to recognise diversity which exists within communities. Children will be able to appreciate the nature and significance of different ways of living. Children will learn to express/communicate their ideas and insights and explain reasonably their ideas about how beliefs influence individuals and communities. Children will have gained and deployed skills needed to engage with religions and world views and be able to articulate beliefs, values and commitments clearly in order to explain reasons why they may be important in their own and other people’s lives.

Withdrawal of all or part of Religious Education

We are committed to inclusive Religious Education and always hope that no parent/carer will wish to withdraw their children from all or part of the subject. Nevertheless, it remains the right of parents /carers to withdraw their children from RE (and / or collective worship) if they wish to. To exercise this right, parents are asked to contact/write to the Head Teacher informing them of the desire to have their child/children withdrawn from all or parts of RE.