At St. Mary’s First School, Religious Education plays an important role in defining the school’s Christian Distinctiveness. The story of the Good Samaritan underpins our teaching and learning, providing the children with the vision that kindness, care and respect is paramount for living our lives. Our school community is committed to promoting a Christian environment, following the values and practice of the Good Samaritan, and we ensure that these Christian values are built into the ethos, teaching and practices of the school.  We recognise that spiritual development lies at the heart of the curriculum and we believe that RE contributes to other areas of education and human experience (aesthetic, environmental, ethical, political, social and spiritual) and is an important part of the wider programme of spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

INTENT

  • To strengthen the vision, ethos and values which are at the heart of everything we do in our school.
  • To allow children to have the opportunities to explore deeper questions about life and to learn about Christianity, alongside a wide range of other faiths and cultures.
  • To know about and understand Christianity as a living faith which influences the lives of people throughout the world.
  • To know and understand about other world religions and views, enabling children to express their ideas and insights.
  • To contribute to the development of individual spiritual growth, and develop a sense of awe, wonder and mystery.
  • To develop the skill of reflection, empathy, communication, interpretation and evaluation.
  • To develop and strengthen the attitudes of respect, sensitivity, open-mindedness and self-esteem.

IMPLEMENTATION

Our RE curriculum - Christianity predominates, however elements of Judaism, Islam, Sikhism, Hinduism and Buddhism are taught within cross curricular topics, providing some knowledge of the different faiths and also raising cultural awareness.  In EYFS, the learning outcomes are referenced to Christianity and as appropriate to a range of other beliefs and cultures through festivals.

A range of teaching and learning activities will ensure that pupils learn effectively and with interest, ensuring that there is continuity and progression for pupils and opportunities for pupils to deepen their understanding of the religion and world views as lived by believers to ‘dig deeper’ and learn from religion. Oracy plays a major part in how we teach RE. All lessons start with crucial content, this includes tiered vocabulary linked to the unit of work, recapping on previous learning and clarifying any misconceptions the children may have.  All children’s work is displayed through a floor book (one for each class). Through this we can see clear progression of learning through school.

IMPACT

As a result of RE teaching at St Mary's we aim to enable our children to:

  • talk with passion about their RE learning, showing that they enjoy and are inspired by their RE lessons.
  • demonstrate an understanding of our school’s Christian Values, to know what these look like in practice and to apply this understanding to help make everyday choices.
  • know about and understand Christianity as a living, global faith that influences (and has influenced) the lives of people worldwide.
  • feel able to talk openly about their beliefs and values in lessons and to grow in their faith.
  • talk with understanding about God and develop a sense of chronology when talking about the Bible.
  • develop a respect and understanding for the other major world religions and world views, allowing them to celebrate the diversity of our multicultural world.
  • develop religious vocabulary enabling them to express their thoughts and beliefs as well as exploring the beliefs of others with respect.
  • develop their understanding of the idea of advocacy, to know how they can challenge injustice and how they can help to make the world a better place.

 

RE Policy 2024-26

RE progression of skills

RE Vocabulary list