Our Religious Education Intent:

‘Roots to Grow and Wings to Fly’

At By Brook Valley CE Primary School, our aim is to provide an RE curriculum that engages all pupils and enables them to deepen their knowledge and understanding of Christian belief and practice, other religions, faiths and world-views, whilst developing their curiosity and religious literacy.

Our high quality sequential RE Programme is intrinsic to our Christian vision ‘‘Roots to Grow, Wings to Fly’, enabling all pupils to flourish. It will prepare our pupils for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of life in a diverse modern Britain, now and in the future.

As a church school, By Brook Valley CE Primary School considers RE as an academic subject.

Aims:

• To know about and 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 religions and world views appreciating diversity, continuity and change within the religions, faiths and world views studied through meaningful and informed dialogue;
• To explore core concepts, questions and key vocabulary;
• To develop a wide range of skills including enquiry, analysis, interpretation, evaluation and reflection;
• To recognise the concept of religion and its continuing influence on Britain’s cultural heritage and in the lives of individuals and societies in different times, cultures and places;
•  To contribute to British values and spiritual moral social and cultural development;
• Are prepared for the next stage of their educational journey.

Linked to Church of England Education office RE Statement of Entitlement, February 2019

How We Teach RE:

Our RE curriculum is taught to each year group based around a key question. It develops sequentially, building on the previous year’s learning. The children will learn about and from a range of religions during their time at By Brook Valley, including Judaism, Islam, Hinduism and Sikhism. We follow the Discovery RE programme to support this. As a Church school, we focus on the teachings of Christianity multiple times throughout each school year, using the Understanding Christianity programme. This learning is further embedded through our daily acts of worship throughout the school.

We understand the importance of first hand experiences to embed children’s learning and to ignite their curiosity. This includes visits to places of worship and taking part in religious celebrations.

We prioritise the teaching of religious vocabulary and children are given lots of opportunity to use the vocabulary in class discussions and in written work when answering their key question. We ensure the children have lots of exposure to religious vocabulary, either through knowledge organisers, wall displays, personal vocabulary books or word lists.

Each year group will have a selection of knowledge organisers linked to their RE key questions. They can be accessed via the class page and are available during the term they are taught.

Experience Pentecost and Experience Church workshops at our local Church run by members of our community