Religious Education
Intent
Here, at Hapton C of E/Methodist Primary School, the aim of Religious Education is to help children acquire and develop knowledge and understanding of the Christian Faith, our vision for the children is that they will be inspired, gain wisdom and discover the opportunities that God has given them through Jesus. It is vital that religious education encourages pupils to develop positive attitudes to their learning and to the beliefs and values of others. The following four attitudes are essential for good learning in religious education and should be developed at each stage or phase of religious education:
- self-awareness.
- respect for all.
- open-mindedness.
- appreciation and wonder.
The children will also learn about other principal religions represented in Great Britain; to appreciate the way that religious beliefs shape life and our behaviour, develop the ability to make reasoned and informed judgements about religious and moral issues and enhance their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. RE provides opportunities for spiritual development and personal reflection. It develops children’s knowledge and understanding of the nature of religion and belief, it provokes challenging questions about meaning and purpose, truth and values, identity and belonging. RE prepares children for citizenship in today’s diverse society. It enables them to develop sensitivity to, and respect for others. Quality RE breaks down barriers and builds communities. At its best RE offers pupils authentic encounters with living faith communities equipping them with the ability to hold an informed conversation about religious beliefs and practices.
Religious Education is taught throughout the school in such a way as to reflect the vision of the school. At Hapton C of E/Methodist Primary, Religious Education plays an important role, along with all other curriculum areas in promoting the spiritual, moral, social, and cultural development of our children.
Our aims are:
- to enable pupils to know about and understand Christianity as a living faith that influences the lives of people worldwide and as the religion that has most shaped British culture and heritage.
- to enable pupils to know and understand about other major world religions and world views, their impact on society, culture and the wider world, enabling pupils to express ideas and insights.
- to contribute to the development of pupils’ own spiritual/philosophical convictions, exploring and enriching their own beliefs and values.
Implementation
At Hapton CE/Methodist, it has been agreed that having taken into account the requirements and guidelines presented in the Agreed Syllabus, the following religions have been selected for study:
- Christianity
- Islam
- Judaism
- Hinduism
- Sikhism
- Methodism
There are no presumptions made as to the religious backgrounds and beliefs and values of the children and the staff. We value the religious background of all members of the school community and hope that this will encourage individuals to share their own experiences with others freely. All religions and their communities are treated with respect and sensitivity and we value the links, which are, and can be made between home, school, and a faith community. We acknowledge that each religion studied can contribute to the education of all our pupils. We promote teaching in Religious Education that stresses open enquiry and first-hand experiences wherever possible for both staff and children.
Impact
Our Religious Education Curriculum is tailored made to suit the needs of the children in our school; it is high quality, well thought out and well planned to demonstrate progression. If children are keeping up with the curriculum, they are deemed to be making good progress. In addition, we measure the impact of our curriculum through book scrutinies, pupil interviews and drop-ins. Our recent SIAMS inspection was graded Outstanding; this reflects the distinctiveness and effectiveness of our school as a church school.