Religious Education

Intent

At St. James’ School, we follow the LDBS R.E. syllabus with the aim that:

•          all children become religiously literate
•          RE enables all children to live life in all its fullness – vision for Education (Church of England) 
•          it takes note of the Religious Education Church of England Schools – Statement of Entitlement

During their time at St James’, children have the opportunity to learn about Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Islam and Buddhism. 

The units: 

•         are rooted in theological concepts, strong subject knowledge and content
•          offer a balanced curriculum which enquires into religions and worldviews through theology, philosophy and the human and social sciences
•          offer sequential learning both in terms of knowledge and skills across the primary age range
•         offer motivating, engaging and creative activities
•          provide opportunities for children to develop understanding and empathy towards people of similar or differing religious or worldviews to their own
•          allows opportunities for children to develop their spiritual selves

Teaching and learning in R.E. is part of our curriculum in enabling our children to become religiously literate and to nurture their own spirituality as well as providing opportunities for them to explore their place within the world.  This is also enhanced through: 

•          The Christian vision of the school
•          Close links with our Parish Church
•          Acts of Collective Worship
•          Commitment to being a UNICEF Rights Respecting School
•         An embedded PSHE curriculum (JIGSAW)

We offer a systematic enquiry-based approach to the teaching of R.E. so that the following skills in children can be developed:

•          ability to be critical thinkers
•         ability to engage critically with texts
•          ability to ask deep and meaningful questions
•          ability to make connections within and across religions and worldviews
•          ability to reflect, respond and express their own religious, spiritual and/or philosophical convictions
•          ability to make their own choices and decisions concerning religion and belief based on a deep knowledge and understanding of religions and worldviews, belief systems, values and practices

Implementation

R.E is an important part of our curriculum and we have ensured that we are commited to the deliver of RE by providing sufficient dedicated curriculum time and meeting explicit R.E. objectives.  At St James’ this works out as one hour in Key Stage 1 and 1.5 hours in Key Stage 2. 

All R.E. needs to follow careful planning, starting with:

•          end of unit expectations
•          key concept being explored
•          key religious vocabulary shared

Each weekly lesson is planned to ensure that children: 

•          know what the big theological question is that is being explored throughout the unit
•          are given opportunities to learn through enquiry-based learning
•          are given opportunities for deep theological enquiry and discussion
•          are given opportunities to reflect/express so they can demonstrate their understanding and personal response

Planning:

•          We use the LDBS syllabus and assessment grids to guide our planning.  This ensures we know what the children need to have learnt by the end of the unit and plan accordingly
•          We ensure all units are enquiry-based and follow the LDBS syllabus
•          We aim to visit St James’ Church or to invite a member of the church team into school to talk to the children in classes
•          We try to include visits to places of worship linked to the world faith being studied
•          We try to have visitor from a member of a different faith, linked to world faiths being studied
•          For every unit, we ensure that the big question and the weekly question is displayed in the classroom along with key vocabulary. This display is then updated on weekly basis as the children record their response to each weekly question.
•          We encourage a dialogue of question and response in lesson. We want children to ask questions and others to respond whilst the teacher ensures that any misconceptions are addressed.
•          Where possible, we aim to enrich the curriculum, for example, Year 5 visit the National Gallery to look at religious works of art at Christmas time.

Impact

The impact of our R.E curriculum by the end of Year 6 is: 

•          children will be able to hold a balanced and well-informed conversation about religion and worldviews – they will be religiously literate.
•          children will make good or better academic progress from their starting points as a result of a rich and engaging RE curriculum.
•         children will be able to reflect upon, respond to and express their own religious, spiritual and/or philosophical convictions.
•          children will be able to make their own choices and decisions concerning religion and belief based on a deep knowledge and understanding of religions and worldviews, belief systems, values and practices.
•          children will have developed a deeper understanding of what it means to live life in all its fullness.

RE Knowledge