To enable children to:

• Engage meaningfully and critically with learning which helps them to make sense of the multi-religious and multi-secular world in which they live.
• Know about and understand Christianity as a diverse global living faith through the exploration of beliefs and practices, using approaches which engage with biblical text and key sources of authority.  
• Gain knowledge and understanding of a range of religious and non-religious world-views, appreciating the complexity, diversity, continuity and change that exists within those world-views being studied. 
• Grapple with questions of meaning and purpose raised by human existence and experience.  
• Understand the concept of religion and recognise its continuing influence on Britain’s cultural heritage and in the lives of individuals, communities and societies in different times, cultures and places.  
• Develop disciplinary knowledge which equips pupils to be religiously literate.  
• Explore their personal world-views; their own religious or non-religious, spiritual and philosophical ways of living, believing and thinking.   

Our Religious Education curriculum is based on the Southwark Diocesan Board of Education Syllabus and the Jigsaw RE Scheme of Work. These provide a strong framework for high-quality teaching and learning. Through RE, pupils develop wise minds by gaining a rich understanding of Christianity and other world-views, and kind hearts through growing empathy, respect and appreciation for the beliefs and experiences of others.

 

Theology, Philosophy & Sociology 

Pupils encounter core concepts in religions and beliefs in a coherent way, developing their understanding and their ability to handle questions of religion and belief. The teaching and learning approach also has three disciplinary lenses or ‘ways of knowing’ (believing, thinking, living), which are woven together as golden threads to provide breadth and balance within teaching and learning about religions and beliefs, underpinning the aims of RE.

Believing, relating to theological approaches, thinking, relating to more philosophical approaches and living, sociological approaches.

Teaching and learning in the classroom will encompass all three elements, allowing for overlap between elements as suits the religion, concept and question being explored.

 

Four Step Enquiry Method 

The Key Question for each Enquiry is such that it demands an answer that weighs up ‘evidence’ and reaches a conclusion based on this. This necessitates children using their subject knowledge and applying it to the enquiry question, rather than this knowledge being an end in itself.

Our curriculum focuses on critical thinking skills, on personal reflection into the child’s own thoughts and feelings, on growing subject knowledge and nurturing spiritual development and uses the following 4-step model:

Step 1:  Engagement

The human experience underpinning the key question is explored here within the children’s own experience, whether that includes a worldview/religion or not. So for example, a human experience underpinning the question, ‘What is the best way for a Sikh to show commitment to God?’ is ‘commitment’, so piece 1 aims to help all children resonate with the experience of ‘commitment’ in their own lives. Relating to this human experience acts as a schema to then help them better understand the worldview being studied (which may be very much outside of their experience). 

Step 2:  Investigation

The teacher guides the children through the enquiry, children gaining subject knowledge carefully selected to assist their thinking about the key question. 

This ensures that the acquisition of the factual information about the religion /belief system being studied is embedded and important, but can be applied critically so that it is not an end in itself. 

Step 3:  Evaluation

This step draws together the children’s learning and their conclusions about the key question of that enquiry.  The activity usually provides evidence in children’s books of their learning in each enquiry. 

Step 4:  Expression

Children are taken back to Step 1, their own experience, to reflect on how this enquiry might have influenced their own starting points and beliefs. 

Key question / Theme

Reception:

• What makes people special?  Special People
• What is Christmas? Incarnation
• How do people celebrate? Celebrations in different cultures and world-views
• What is Easter? Easter (Salvation)
• What can we learn from stories? Stories
• What makes places special? Special places

Year 1

• What do Christians believe about God?  Creation, God the Father as an introduction to the Trinity.
• What gifts might Christians in my town have given Jesus if he had been born here rather than in Bethlehem? Incarnation, God the Son – continuation of introduction to the Trinity.
• Is Shabbat important to Jewish children?  Shabbat - The Jewish creation story, Shabbat and the synagogue as a place of worship during Shabbat.
• Why was Jesus welcomed like a king or celebrity by the crowds on Palm Sunday? Salvation, God the Son – continuation of introduction to the Trinity.
• What might Sanatanis learn from the story of Rama and Sita and the celebrations of Diwali? The story of Rama and Sita, what a Sanatani might learn from it and how it informs some elements of Sanatani practice.
• What can we learn from Bible stories?  Creation story, Moses & the 10 Commandments, The Parable of the Lost Sheep.

Year 2

• Is it possible to be kind to everyone all of the time? Jesus's example as the Son of God.
• Why do Christians believe God gave Jesus to the world? Christmas - Jesus as a gift from God (incarnation).
• Why is the story of the Buddha important to some Buddhists? The significance of the Buddha to many Buddhists and how many Buddhists might try not to be selfish or greedy because of his example.
• How important is it to Christians that Jesus came back to life after his crucifixion? Salvation - Resurrection of Jesus at Easter.
• Who is God to Muslims? The meanings of and the attributes shown by the 99 names of Allah and how a Muslim may want to show respect to these.
• What can we learn from Bible stories?  Noah's Ark, Miriam's courage, The Parable of the Good Samaritan.

Year 3

• Could Jesus heal people? Did Jesus perform miracles or was there some other explanation?  Jesus' Miracles including the healing of the leper, the healing of the wise man and the healing of the paralysed man.
• Has Christmas lost its true meaning?  The meaning of Christmas to Christians including extending kindness and considering why Jesus was born (the incarnation).
• What is the best way for a Sanatani to lead a good life?  How the Sanatani beliefs in Karma, Atman and Moksha may affect the actions they take in their lives including devotion to God and actions to help society.
• What is 'good' about Good Friday?  The Easter story and its meaning to Christians in the belief that Jesus came back to life and therefore they may receive life after death.
• Does joining the Khalsa make someone a better Sikh? Amrit ceremony, the promises made, events of how the first Khalsa was formed, reasons why a Sikh may or may not choose to join the Khalsa, the meaning of the 5Ks and how they are important to Sikhs today.
• What can we learn from Bible stories?  Daniel in the Lion's Den, The miracle of the loaves and fishes, Jesus calms the storm

Year 4

• Do people need to go to church to show they are Christians? Uses of the church for worship and other events such as baptism and taking of Holy Communion.
• What is the most significant part of the nativity story for Christians today?  Revisiting the Christmas story with a focus on the symbolism of different parts and how they might be meaningful in different ways to different people, including the use of the Christingle.
• What motivates Humanists to lead good lives? Humanist beliefs on how the world began and why it is important to look after it using the example of Humanist Climate Action.
• Is forgiveness always possible for Christians?  Revisiting the Easter story with a focus on the teaching of Jesus about forgiveness (7x70 times) and the people that Jesus forgave (Peter and the people who crucified him and were crucified with him).
• How do Jewish beliefs, teachings and stories impact on daily life?  Kosher, Kashrut rules from the Torah, foods that are treif and parev; the story of the Passover and the symbolism of the Seder plate.
• What can we learn from Bible stories?  Zacchaeus the tax collector,  Moses leading Israelites out of Egypt, The parable of the prodigal son

Year 5

• What is the best way for a Christian to show commitment to God?  Beliefs and practices including the 10 Commandments, Love your neighbour as yourself, charity work and prayer and worship practices.
• Is the Christmas story true?  Incarnation, focussing on the elements of the Christmas story which may cause debate and how this may or may not affect people's beliefs.
• How significant is it for Christians to believe that God intended Jesus to die? Salvation, focussing on whether this was Jesus' destiny or his free will, looking at the actions taken in Holy Week.
• How far would a Sikh go for their religion?  Khalsa, Baisakhi or Vaisakhi, giving of sacrifice, 3 Pillars or Key Beliefs, Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji, the role of Sikhs in both WW1 and WW2, Sewa, Vand ke Chanka, Naam Japo (Focus on God), the Harmander Sahib.
• Can the Buddha’s teachings make the world a better place?  Anicca (change) and Dukkha (suffering), the story of the Buddha and the angry elephant, Kisa and the mustard seed, the Buddha's teaching on how compassion can lessen suffering.
• What can we learn from Bible stories?  Ruth & Naomi, Queen Esther, Mary & Martha

Year 6

• Is anything ever eternal? Salvation and eternal life, agape and forgiveness. What might motivate a Christian to show these qualities considering the belief in heaven.
• How significant is it that Mary was Jesus' mother? Incarnation focussing on the annunciation and Mary's background. This enquiry discusses the Christians belief in Mary's virginity so the school's RSHE scheme may need to be consulted.
• What is the best way for a Muslim to show commitment to God? The importance of prayer, helping the poor and needy, purification of wealth, Ramdan, importance of Allah in the life of a Muslim and why they would want to show Allah respect and commitment.
• Does belief in the Trinity help Christians make better sense of God as a whole? Trinity and how the 3 consubstantial persons of God can help Christians understand the different aspects of God and the impact of this on their lives.
• Why do vegans feel they have a responsibility to make certain lifestyle choices?  Responsibility. A more detailed look at the choices vegans may make because of their beliefs: food, products, environment/farming. Introduces the term ‘Ethical Veganism’
• What can we learn from Bible stories?  Women discovering the empty tomb, David & Goliath, Joseph