Religious Education
Our Vision
"You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."
Matthew 5:14-16
At St Mary’s CE School, our core purpose is to enable all to ‘shine as lights in the world’.
Through our inclusive Christian values, we empower the school community to be thoughtful human beings by showing respect for themselves, for others and for the world around us. We strive for all to have the integrity to achieve our full potential through resilient endeavours.
Intent
Religious Education at St Mary’s CE School enables every child to thrive and to live life in all its fullness. RE promotes dignity and respect whilst encouraging all to live well together. As a Church school, RE has a high profile and helps embed our Christian values and our vision to 'Shine as Lights in the World' throughout our school and wider community. The rich and engaging nature of lessons through an enquiry approach enable all children including SEND and the more able to flourish in their RE learning.
The purpose of RE is to teach children about the religious and non-religious worldviews that they will encounter in modern Britain and enable them to engage in meaningful and considered dialogue with those of all faiths and none. This is religious literacy. Every year group studies Christianity and at least one other world faith. Staff ensure there is a balance between Theology, Philosophy and Human Sciences.
We believe that RE should enable our pupils to:
- Acquire and develop knowledge and understanding of principal religions represented in the United Kingdom;
- Develop an understanding of the influence of beliefs, values and traditions on individuals, communities, societies, and cultures from the local to the global;
- Develop the ability to make reasoned and informed judgements about religions and moral issues, with reference to the teachings of the principal religions represented in the United Kingdom;
- Enhance their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development;
- Develop positive attitudes of respect towards other people who hold views and beliefs different to their own, and towards living in a society of diverse religions and beliefs.
At St Mary’s CE School, we follow the Buckinghamshire Locally Agreed Syllabus for RE, which is ambitious and designed to give all pupils the knowledge, skills and personal development to succeed in their learning in school as well as in life. We use the Oxford Diocese RE Scheme of work 2023 or Understanding Christianity as it takes an enquiry approach to lessons making them exciting and engaging for both teachers and children alike. Alongside this, Collective Worship supports children’s understanding of the Bible and what it means to Christians as well as celebrating traditions from other world faiths and views.
Our RE Scheme of Work is designed to give pupils from EYFS through to Year 6 a coherent picture of Christian worldviews and a range of other worldviews in line with the agreed syllabus. It will take pupils on a journey through a range of concepts driven by three core strands: Beliefs and questions, Community and identity and Reality and truth. These strands will create connections between substantive and the disciplinary knowledge, and the units will include opportunities for the development of personal knowledge. The aim is to develop curiosity in pupils and equip them for future learning about, as well as enabling them to make sense of, the complex world of religious and non-religious worldviews.
- Beliefs and questions will focus on theology, looking at the core beliefs and diverse interpretations of text, symbols and teachings of the chosen religions and worldviews.
- Community and identity will focus on Human and Social Science and using data and other sources to examine practices and human expressions of religious and non-religious beliefs.
- Reality and truth will focus on philosophy and ethics, looking at how people decide what is true and reliable drawing on the worldviews covered in the other units.
It is in these units that pupils will have the opportunity to explore the wider concept of what a worldview is and how people reach these ideas.
Implementation
Teachers create a positive attitude to RE learning within their classrooms and reinforce an expectation that all children can respect and understand key religions and be able to discuss and share opinions on sometimes challenging concepts. Our whole school approach to the teaching and learning of RE involves the following:
- RE is taught as a discrete subject for at least an hour weekly.
- Through our planning, we involve deeper thinking opportunities that allow children to find out for themselves. Children are encouraged to ask their own questions and be given opportunities to follow these questions up through discussion and reflection.
- We build upon the learning and skill development of the previous years. A skills progression document supports teachers to ensure skills and knowledge are built up sequentially across the three phases in school (KS1 LKS2, UKS2) building on their understanding from the Early Years.
- New vocabulary and challenging concepts are introduced through direct teaching. This is developed through the years, in-keeping with the topics.
- Where possible, experts from the different faiths taught enhance the curriculum with talks and visits to school while opportunities are sought wherever possible to visit places of worship and key religious places.
Impact
The impact of our successful RE Curriculum is that children reach the intended end points identified by the end of each phase. Robust assessments also reflect children’s knowledge and skills as well as their ability to discuss their views on their learning. Regular monitoring and evaluation of the subject, through the use of pupil voice and books scrutiny, shows that children can talk confidently about what they have learnt from the subject and give their views respectfully on the topics covered.
RE activity examples across the school
Visits
All Year Groups visit The Church on Fairford Leys to further develop their understanding of the Christian faith. Trips are also arranged to other churches, places of worship and visitors are invited in so the pupils can begin to appreciate how faith in a world religion influences followers daily.
Biblical Experience Week
Every year the whole school visits The Church on Fairford Leys to take part in a range of workshops. These help children to gain a greater understanding of Biblical stories, the historical background behind them and what they mean to Christians today. These weeks have included: Moses, Daniel, Easter, Parables and The Lord's Prayer.
Useful websites