Intent

As a Church of England school, the main focus of Religious Education at St John’s is the Christian faith that underpins the ethos and values of our school community. Through RE we seek to give the children a rich variety of experiences from which they can develop knowledge, understanding and awareness of all faiths. R.E. also has a significant role for the development of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding. It promotes respect and open-mindedness towards others with different faiths and beliefs. We encourage pupils to develop their sense of identity and belonging through self-awareness and reflection. .In line with the National Society’s Statement of Entitlement (2016) we aim to:

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• enable pupils to encounter Christianity as the religion that shaped British culture and heritage and influences the lives of millions of people today as a world religion;

• enable pupils to learn about the other major religions, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism and

• Buddhism and their impact on culture and politics, art and history, and on the lives of

• their adherents;

• develop understanding of religious faith as the search for and expression of truth;

• contribute to the development of pupils’ own spiritual / philosophical convictions,

• exploring and enriching their own faith and beliefs.

We believe that it is vital for all our pupils to learn from and about religion, so that they can

understand the world around them. We encourage  pupils at St John’s to ask questions about

the world and to reflect on their own beliefs, values and experiences.

 

Implementation

 

We use the Guildford Diocesan Guidelines for Religious Education and the Big Ideas as the basis for our curriculum. As an enquiry model of learning, it helps pupils to deepen their understanding in RE and make secure connections as well as utilising higher level thinking skills. Our effective enquiry planning in RE follows the format Engage/ Enquire & Explore/ Evaluate/ Express. It:

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• Starts by engaging the pupils in their learning. They are given opportunities to explore, wonder, respond, make links with their personal experiences, and build upon previous learning.

• Allows pupils time to gather information and draw conclusions before asking them to reflect and apply their learning

• Enables pupils to reconsider and extend their initial thinking as they begin to see new levels of possibility

• Allows pupils to use their creativity and imagination

• Emphasises  impersonal evaluation and critical thinking with a process of:

RE is taught using the Early Years, KS1 and KS2 Guidelines from the Diocese of Guildford through whole school RE days which enable children to enhance and deepen their understanding, and will challenge by engaging in higher level thinking over a meaningful period of time. 

 

Our Religious Education curriculum is enhanced further with trips to places of worship in our local area and visiting experts who support the learning experience. Experiences and enrichment opportunities include: 

 

• handling artefacts

• exploring sacred texts and critically engaging with texts

• using imaginative play or drama to express feelings and ideas

• responding to images, games, stories, art, music and dance

• fostering close links with our local St John’s Church community with regular visits and services as well as visits by clergy to the school

• making visits to religious places of worship e.g. Shah Jahan Mosque in Woking, Kingston Liberal Synagogue, Buddhapadipa Temple in Wimbledon

• taking part in whole school events- (multicultural days, Harvest Festival, school performances at Christmas and Easter, Easter sponsored walk, Remembrance Service at school and with veterans at Abinger Memorial Gardens)

• participating in moments of quiet reflection using Prayer stations and reflection areas

• participating in Open the Book assemblies, Bible Explorers in Year 5, RE/Science linked workshops

• using IT to further explore religion and belief globally

• comparing religions and worldviews through discussion

• debating and communicating religious belief, worldviews, theological and philosophical ideas and answering and asking ultimate questions posed by these

Our Religious Education Curriculum is high quality, well thought out and is planned to demonstrate progression. Teachers assess against success criteria learning about and from religion by capturing pupil discussions about their learning, reflecting on standards achieved against the planned outcomes and celebrating learning with our Big Questions booklets. Our Worship committees monitor the teaching, learning and progression of RE each term.. 

Impact

The children at St John’s Church of England Primary School enjoy learning about Christianity and other faiths and have a deep knowledge and understanding of the importance of religion in people’s lives. Through their R.E. learning, the children are able to make links between their own lives and those of others in their community and in the wider world. Through R.E. our children are developing an understanding of other people’s cultures and ways of life and worship, making connections and critically engaging with texts to help them to understand the big questions of life. One child in Year 3 explained, “It teaches us that God is always there when you need help” and another felt, “joyful” after he had written his outcome. Another in Year 5 said that they enjoy RE as , “I think about what Christians believe.”