At St Ann’s Heath, we believe that RE is an essential area of study which ensures that our children are well prepared for life in a world where there are a multitude of viewpoints.  We enable our children to make their own informed decisions and to have the confidence to voice their views. We want to develop resilient responses to misunderstandings, stereotyping and division. We want to offer the children a place where difficult questions can be tackled within a safe but challenging context. RE nurtures SMSC development and pupils’ understanding of diversity.  The children discuss challenging questions about meaning and purpose in life, beliefs about God, issues of right and wrong and what it means to be human. 

Intent

• Promote a respect for and understanding of different faiths, cultures and lifestyles.
• Encourage our children to develop a positive attitude towards other people who hold religious beliefs different from their own.
• Provide our children with knowledge and understanding of Christianity and other principal religious traditions and beliefs represented in Great Britain.
• Recognise the influence of beliefs, values and traditions on the individual, on culture and on communities throughout the world.
• Engage our children in enquiring into and exploring questions arising from the study of religion and belief, so as to promote their personal, spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

Implementation

• At St Ann’s Heath, we follow the Surrey Agreed Syllabus for RE which has been updated for the new academic year 2023.
• RE is taught discretely throughout the year and builds upon prior learning in EYFS and KS1. 
• Each year group teach one unit of work per half term; three units per year focussing on Christianity. Other religions studied include Hinduism, Sikhism, Islam, Buddhism, Judaism and Humanism.
• The new SACRE syllabus teaches RE using the concept of ‘Golden Threads’ and teaching intertwines the concepts of God (theology) / Identity (philosophy) / Community (sociology). 
• Within the teaching units, all religions and their communities are treated with mutual respect and sensitivity.
• We use language which is without bias and which encourages children to develop their own views.
• 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. 
• Where possible we link learning to children’s own lives as well as using stories, artefacts, artwork, visits/visitors to enhance engagement, promote discussion and challenging conversations and deepen children’s understanding of religious and world views.

 

Knowledge organisers

To support each unit of learning, there is an associated 'Knowledge Organiser' or 'Concept Map'. These contain all the key facts and information that children need to have a basic knowledge and understanding of for each unit. The organisers can be used both in school, and at home, as a starting point for discussion or the basis for further research, providing the children with the 'bigger picture' of a topic.  Our belief is that the more children know, the more they will learn.