Religious Education

At Christ Church CE School, we have a distinctly Christian ethos, where shared respect, compassion and consideration for other faiths are all valued and celebrated.

‘Religious education in a church school should enable every child to flourish and to live life in all its fullness (John 10:10). It will help educate for dignity and respect encouraging all to live well together’. (Statement of Entitlement 2019)

Intent

Religious education has a unique place as a central subject in the curriculum at Christ Church. The 1988 Education Act states that ‘Religious Education has equal standing in relation to core subjects of the National Curriculum in that it is compulsory for all registered pupils’.

At Christ Church, RE has a high profile within the curriculum and is a priority for all stakeholders. It also contributes to British values and spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

Aims and objectives:

Through our Religious Education curriculum we aim:

To engage pupils in enquiring into and exploring questions arising from the study of religious and non-religious worldviews and belief, so as to promote their personal, spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.
To understand Christianity as a diverse global living faith through the exploration of core beliefs using an approach that critically engages with biblical text.
To gain knowledge and understanding of a range of religious traditions and non-religious worldviews appreciating diversity, continuity and change within the religions and world views being studied.
To develop their understanding of the ways in which beliefs influence people in their behaviour, practices and outlook.
To enable learners to apply the insights of the principal religious traditions and non-religious worldviews to their own search for identity and significance.
To enable learners to become aware of their own beliefs and values and to have a positive attitude to the search for meaning and purpose in life.
To encourage learners to develop a positive attitude towards other people who hold religious beliefs and non-religious worldviews different from their own.
To engage with challenging questions and meaning and purpose raised by human existence and experience.
To recognise the concept of religion and non-religious worldviews and its continuing influence on Britain’s cultural heritage and in the lives of individuals and societies in different times, cultures and places.
To explore their own religious and spiritual and philosophical ways of living, believing and thinking. (Statement of Entitlement 2019)

At Christ Church School we aim that Religious Education will:

Enable pupils to encounter Christianity as the religion that shaped British /culture and heritage and influences the lives of millions today.
Enable pupils to learn about the other major religious traditions and non-religious worldviews, their impact on culture and politics, art and history, and on the lives of adherents.
Develop understanding of religious faith as the search for expression of truth.
Contribute to the development of pupils own spiritual/philosophical convictions, exploring and enriching their own faith and beliefs.

At the end of Primary Education in church schools pupils should be able to:

Talk about ideas about God and discuss deep questions that face human beings.
State important aspects of Christian belief, and explain why they are important for Christians.
Appreciate the importance of the person of Jesus Christ for Christians.
Develop the skills to explore the Bible text and apply it to life.
Provide examples of Christian practice from different denominations and different nations.
Begin to make thoughtful response to Christianity.
Recognise the significance of faith in God as a way of living, and make links between faith and faithful living.
Respect the faith, beliefs and non-religious worldviews of others, and value the journey of faith.
Notice areas of similarities between faiths and non-religious worldviews.
Enrich their understanding of the truth.
Speak comfortably about their understanding of faith and life choices.

Pupils will:

Learn about other religious traditions and non-religious worldviews, their beliefs and traditions and practices and from them through encounter and dialogue;
Recognise areas of common belief and practice between different religious traditions and non-religious worldviews;
Enrich and expand their own understanding of truth;
Respect those of all faiths in their search of God;
Enrich their own faith through examples of holy living in other traditions.

Implementation

Legal requirements for Religious Education:

Religious Education is a statutory subject of the curriculum for all pupils in each year group and ‘should be provided for all registered pupils except those withdrawn at the request of their parents.’ (s 71 SSFA 1998)

Parents have the right to request that their son or daughter be excused from all or part of the RE provided at school.

The recommended timings for R.E. are:

In KS1 36 hours per year and in KS2 45 hours per year. This equates to 50 minutes per week in KS1 and 1 hour 10 minutes in KS2. This can be taught weekly or blocked over the course of a week. R.E. can be taught cross curricular but the R.E. content needs to be distinct, taken from the medium term planning and recorded.

Assembly time cannot be included in the allocated R.E. timings.

The Learning Processes of R.E.

At Christ Church CE Primary School Religious Education is taught in accordance with the Birmingham Agreed Syllabus 2022 and the Understanding Christianity resource pack and reflects the distinctive and inclusive ethos of our Anglican foundation.

Understanding Christianity

The Christ Church RE curriculum has been planned in such a way to make connections and enhance learning through the ‘Understanding Christianity’ document. The key purpose of these materials is to support pupils in developing their understanding of Christianity, as a contribution to their understanding of the world and their own experience within it. It does this by integrating pupils’ developing understanding of significant theological concepts within Christianity with their own self-understanding and understanding of the world, as part of their wider religious literacy.

Aims

To enable pupils to know about and understand Christianity as a living world faith, by exploring core theological concepts.
To enable pupils to develop knowledge and skills in making sense of biblical texts and understanding their impact in the lives of Christians.
To develop pupils’ abilities to connect, critically reflect upon, evaluate and apply their learning to their own growing understanding of religion and belief (particularly Christianity), of themselves, the world and human experience.
Christian Concepts for each age group
EYFS – Creation-Incarnation-Salvation
KS1 - Creation-Incarnation-Salvation
LKS2 - Creation -Incarnation--Salvation
UKS2 - Creation- Incarnation- Salvation-

www.understandingchristianity.org.uk

With reference to Christ Church planning class teachers will plan each unit using the following headings:

To begin with
Explore the text
Discover the impact
Make the connection
Digging Deeper

The Birmingham Agreed Syllabus 2022

The Birmingham Agreed Syllabus 2022 for Religious Education includes the teachings of:

Buddhism
Islam
Hinduism
Sikhism
Judaism
Christianity
Baháʼi
Jainism
Rastafari
Non-Religious Worldviews (Agnosticism, Atheism, Humanism)

Learning in this syllabus is driven through 24 dispositions. ‘The dispositions derive from a number of sources including the Cardinal Virtues from the Classical tradition, Theological Virtues and Religious Practice. They are equally applicable to, and inclusive of, the religious, those who have an established non-religious world view and those classing themselves as ‘nones’.’ (Birmingham Agreed Syllabus 2022). These dispositions fit in with our values and ethos at Christ Church School.

This syllabus uses a learning model which breaks the dispositions into four tangible, interconnected aspects. They are:

Children learn from Experience
Learning about Religious Traditions and Non-Religious Worldviews
Learning from Faith and Non-Religious Worldviews
Learning to Discern. (Birmingham Agreed Syllabus 2022)

The curriculum will:

promote children’s engagement in learning through enquiry-led approaches that develop skills, dispositions and attitudes to learning;
equip children for their futures in a rapidly changing world recognising the importance of dialogue and understanding between different groups;
value, celebrate and build on children’s religious and cultural heritage.
promote mutual respect of those with different religious and non-religious worldviews;
help children develop an understanding of all faiths and none, and participate in the celebration of different religious events in understanding and accepting differences;
develop children holistically; their intellectual, practical, aesthetic, spiritual, social and emotional capacities;
ensure an understanding of protected characteristics of the Equality Act and how, through diversity, they can be celebrated;
develop compassion for others.’ (Birmingham Agreed Syllabus 2022)

We aim to promote tolerance and understanding of those of different faiths or no faith. This is achieved through enhancing pupils’ understanding of their place in a culturally diverse society and by giving them opportunities to experience such diversity in the local and wider community.

There are opportunities to experience different places of worship through visits to local mosques, churches, synagogues and temples (see Special Events section).

Members of different faiths or religions via the local community are invited into school and encouraged to share their knowledge to enhance learning across the school. Religious Education is taught on a weekly basis, but is also taught during Interfaith Week, where children study a particular religion for that week.

Lessons are planned and delivered in a variety of ways ensuring that all children can access and participate in lessons. Interactive, practical activities encourage the children to discuss their ideas and extend their understanding of difficult concepts and challenging questions.

Differentiation/SEN

The RE Agreed Syllabus schemes and Understanding Christianity are written as universal core curriculum provision for all children. Inclusivity is part of its philosophy. Teachers will tailor each enquiry to meet the needs of the children in their classes. To support this differentiation, many enquiries suggest creative learning activities that allow children to choose the media with which they work and give them scope to work to their full potential.

Assessment

Pupils’ progress in RE is based on the expected outcomes outlined in the in ‘Birmingham Agreed Syllabus 2022’ and in ‘Understanding Christianity’.

We track individual pupil’s progress in this way, whilst also bearing in mind that the statements do not cover all aspects of teaching and learning in RE. For example, pupil’s personal views and ideas are not subject to formal assessment, and yet are central to good RE.

Impact

Religious Education at St Christ Church develops pupils’:

knowledge and understanding of, and their ability to respond to, Christianity, other principal world religions, other religious traditions and world views;
understanding and respect for different religions, beliefs, values and traditions (including ethical life stances), through exploring issues within and between faiths;
understanding of the influence of faith and belief on individuals, societies, communities and cultures;
skills of enquiry and response through the use of religious vocabulary, questioning and empathy;
skills of reflection, expression, application, analysis and evaluation of beliefs, values and practices, and the communication of personal responses to these.

Religious Education at Christ Church encourages pupils to:

consider challenging questions of the meaning and purpose of life; beliefs about God, the self and the nature of reality, issues of right and wrong and what it means to be human;
understand the influence of religion on individuals, families, communities and cultures;
learn from different religions, beliefs, values and traditions while exploring questions of meaning and their own beliefs;
learn about religious and ethical teaching, enabling them to make reasoned and informed responses to religious, moral and social issues;
develop their sense of identity and belonging, preparing them for life as citizens in a plural, global society;
develop respect for and sensitivity to others, in particular those whose faiths and beliefs are different from their own.

Religious Education at Christ Church enhances pupils’:

awareness and understanding of religions and beliefs, teachings, practices and forms of expression;
ability to reflect on, consider, analyse, interpret and evaluate issues of truth, belief, faith and ethics and to communicate their responses.

Religious Education at Christ Church offers:

opportunities for personal reflection and spiritual development.

RE Quality Mark Silver Award

July 2022

RE Quality Mark Silver Certificate

We are proud to announce we have achieved the REQM Silver award.

This is an incredible achievement and we are extremely happy with the result.

Here is our official award certificate and assessor feedback:

Religious Education Quality Mark Assessor Feedback

Curriculum Overviews

Also see our RE Policy on our Policies page.

Our RE Board.		Reflection Board.
Sharing and caring.		Who was the good listener?
Creating unity and harmony.		Being honest and truthful.
All things bright and beautiful.