The RE curriculum forms an important part of our school’s spiritual, moral and social teaching.
We believe that high-quality RE lessons ensure our children grow to become tolerant and respectful citizens, who appreciate that everybody encompasses their own set of beliefs and values and that these may differ from their own. Through our RE curriculum we provide opportunities to develop children’s knowledge and understanding of world religions and reflect on the questions that they provoke.
Through RE we aim for our pupils to:
- develop knowledge and understanding of Christianity and other religions and consider how the beliefs of others impact on their lives and the lives of others
- understand religious faith as the search for and expression of truth
- provides opportunities for personal reflection where children can explore their own beliefs and opinions (not necessarily religious) in a safe and supportive environment.
- to appreciate and respect the different cultures and diversity of modern society
- ask and reflect on challenging questions regarding RE
Children at Ribbon are not only given the opportunity to learn about religion but also learn from religion, recognising religion as not only a thing of the past but a thing of the present contributing to the diverse culture and society that we are apart of.
Our RE Overview outlines the essential details to ensure full coverage of the National Curriculum whilst providing our teachers with the tools required to support the development of informed yet reflective learners. These details include: –
- progression of teaching topics
- identification of skills to teach, learn and practise
- prioritised knowledge and facts to know, supporting an improved conceptual understanding of religion and its impact across the world
Teachers use long term planning supported by the Durham Locally Agreed Syllabus which focusses on the world religions most prevalent to our local area, with enquiry questions as a stimulus for learning. As part of this planning process, the knowledge, skills and vocabulary all children must master are sequential and progressive to encourage the development of broader yet deeper learning. The children are introduced to the skill of reflection which is the skill that underpins religious education at our school.
Additional to Christianity, our children are exposed to a selection of faiths from across the world through focused units and comparative work against Christianity. Here is how the faiths are mapped out across the year.
- Year 1 and 2 – Buddhism
- Year 3 – Hinduism
- Year 4 – Humanism/ Thematic links
- Year 5 – Judaism
- Year 6 – Islam
Supplementary, our children are also taught about other thematic concepts such as how people use ritual in their lives, how they care for each other and how those with a religious faith care for the environment. Where possible, our Educational Visits and enhancement programme ensures teaching is supplemented with trips to places of worship or visits from people from religious communities making learning relevant, current and therefore purposeful for children at Ribbon.
