Religious Education

R.E Curriculum

Intent:

At our School we teach children that people have a wide range of beliefs within our community and beyond.

We believe religious and moral education enables children to explore the world’s major religions and to develop their own beliefs and values.

Our intention is to prepare the children for life in an ever changing and diverse world.

Our assemblies are an important part of the school day and are held in class and for the whole school. The tradition of listening to music, and using mindfulness encourages a sense of reflection as well as celebration and togetherness.

Our approach to RE aims to help our pupils

*Mature in their spiritual moral social and cultural development

*Develop important skills, knowledge and understanding in RE to help them to be tolerant and accepting and become ambassadors for a kind, inclusive, respectful and understanding society.

Implementation

Our curriculum is based upon the Buckinghamshire Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education. It aims to ensure that all pupils:

• Develop their knowledge and understanding of Christianity and other major world religions represented in Great Britain
• Explore faiths to help them understand different religions’ beliefs, values and traditions
• Understand the influence of religion on individuals, families, communities and cultures
• Develop a positive attitude towards people who hold religious beliefs different from their own.
• Develop a sense of identity and belonging to promote their personal, spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

Religious Education is taught to all children within discrete lessons, in assembly or classroom discussion each week.

Our School is constantly developing creative ways for our children to learn and truly understand about the members of society and their religions.

Our programmes of study are empirical based, encouraging the children to tackle big questions about what people believe and how they live. We understand that this has to be undertaken sensitively and with respect for those in our school community and the wider world.

We look to provide opportunities each day to reflect on world events, on school and community events and on ourselves and we recognise that this reflection is closely linked to how we feel about our own capabilities and ourselves.

Impact:

We assess pupils from a wide range of sources through discussions and questioning make a summative judgement about the learning goals for RE. Learning walks and governor visits show that as young learners our pupils are beginning to -

• Develop a knowledge and understanding of Christianity and its impact on our local community and on our society today.
• Develop a knowledge and understanding of other principal religious and non-religious belief traditions in Britain today.
• Develop a sense of awe, wonder and mystery.
• Explore some questions of meaning and consider different responses to them.

The approach we have developed in our ‘Destinations’ curriculum is allowing us to see the children begin to foster an awareness of universal moral principles of right and wrong, justice and fairness and proper concern for the fate of others and the world.