Intent
At Shavington, our Religious Education (RE) lessons allow children to encounter different religions and cultures, develop understanding and tolerance and have the opportunity to discuss their ideas, thoughts and learning. Our aim is to help children to develop knowledge, acceptance and understanding of different religions and cultures, so that they are empathetic towards people’s religious beliefs and values in their local community and in the wider world.
During their RE lessons, our children will engage in and explore people’s beliefs and commitments, using various resources and stimulus.
These include:
- Artefacts
- Educational-clips
- Drama
- Art
- Discussion
We take time to explore the different places of worship – this is done both by using the internet and where possible through first-hand experiences. This helps to develop their knowledge and understanding of the different religious rituals.
We also provide opportunities throughout the year for our children to visit the two local Churches and take part in a range of activities.
Implementation
RE is taught from Nursery to Year 6 (in EYFS, RE is covered within 'Understanding The World'). This is usually done though weekly lessons, however, this may look slightly different in each year group. At Shavington, we follow the expectations of the Cheshire East locally agreed syllabus. To aid and reinforce our teaching of RE, the children are able to handle artefacts and have opportunities to visit our local Churches. We also often have assemblies lead by people who are part of these Churches.
As part of our RE curriculum, we teach the religious beliefs and practices of several religions.
We focus mainly on:
- Christianity
- Judaism
- Hindu Dharma
- Islam
We also spend time exploring non-religious world views such as Humanism.
This knowledge enables the children to explore RE further as they go to high school.
If, for any reason, parents wish to withdraw their child from an R.E. lesson or an act of worship, they should contact the Head teacher and alternative arrangements will be made.
We ensure that our RE lessons are inclusive. This means that children of all abilities are encouraged to join in and teachers ensure that all children are able to access the learning, whilst stretching those children who are confident.
During our RE lessons, we ensure that we allow time for in-depth discussion. We find that this discussion is key for helping children to better understand their leaning. It also allows the children time to share their views, build their vocabulary and ask thoughtful questions.
Before each unit of RE is taught, the children are given a task to assess any prior knowledge they may have of that unit of work. It also ensures that our subsequent planning suits the needs of all children. This can also be a great opportunity for discussion and allows children to share any experiences they may have had outside of school that link to their RE unit of work. At the end of each unit, the children will complete a similar task to assess their learning and understanding of the unit of work.
Impact
At Shavington, we strive to make sure that all Religious Education lessons are engaging and that all learning is inclusive to ensure children make good progress.
This allows children to:
- Engage in learning about religion by developing their understanding and tolerance.
- Experience a wide range of enquiry questions and challenges within the subject.
- Deepen their appreciation of religious beliefs and become empathetic towards people’s religious beliefs, cultures and values, in their local setting and beyond.
- Visit places of worship and see religious artefacts in a different setting.
- Develop British and moral values of tolerance, mutual respect between those of different faiths, cultures and beliefs.
- Build a richer vocabulary when discussing a range of religions.
- Express their findings and thoughts through both oral and written questioning or reflection.
- Gain a good knowledge of religious buildings, symbols and rituals specific to the religions taught.
- Understand how people show their commitment to their God and religious beliefs.
- Achieve their best (regardless of their ability), which is reflected through our continued links and engagement with our local communities.
