Religious Education (RE)
OUR VISION
‘Within the love of God, working together, growing together,
for all to flourish.’
Our RE Curriculum is intrinsic to our schools Christian Vision in enabling all our pupils to Flourish. It ensures that all our pupils acquire a deep knowledge and understanding of Christianity, including its uniqueness and diversity. Children will also engage with a range of religions and world views. Learning activities provide for the needs of all pupils. Pupils develop a wide range of skills including enquiry, analysis, interpretation, evaluation and reflection. Pupils have a safe space to explore their own religious, spiritual and/or philosophical ways of seeing, living and thinking, believing and belonging. In addition, the RE Curriculum contributes to British Values and Spiritual, Moral Social and Cultural Development.
Article 14 (freedom of thought, belief and religion)
Every child has the right to think and believe what they choose and also to practise their religion, as long as they are not stopping other people from enjoying their rights. Governments must respect the rights and responsibilities of parents to guide their child as they grow up.
- RE Policy
- Collective Worship Policy
- Exeter Diocese Withdrawal Policy
- Our previous SIAMS Inspection Report (Jan 2018)
Religious Education is not only based on Christian teaching and attitudes; it is concerned with the children’s learning about life, about their environment and their relationships with others. It is implemented by teachers in class groups, in School Worship and in the general life of the school, where value is placed on the quality of relationships. An early awareness of the child’s place and role in his/her family and the community is encouraged.
RE Curriculum
Brixton St Mary’s CofE Primary School teaches RE using the locally agreed syllabus. Click on image to see further detail.
Due to mixed age classes from Y1-Y6, our RE curriculum follows a 2 year rolling programme, (see below).
To support the locally agreed syllabus, teachers also use a supporting resource called ‘Understanding Christianity’, which compliments the curriculum. Click on the ‘Understanding Christianity’ logo to visit the website.
Understanding Christianity’s approach to teaching about Christianity builds up pupils’ encounters with core concepts through biblical texts. Each unit addresses a concept, through some key questions, exploring core Bible texts, their impact for Christians, and possible implications for pupils. Each unit incorporates the three elements below:
- Making sense of the text: developing pupils’ skills of reading and interpretation; understanding how Christians interpret, handle and use biblical texts; making sense of the meanings of texts for Christians.
- Understanding the impact: examining ways in which Christians respond to biblical texts and teachings, and how they put their beliefs into action in diverse ways within the Christian community and in the world.
- Making connections: evaluating, reflecting on and connecting the texts and concepts studied, and discerning possible connections between these and pupils’ own lives and ways of understanding the world.
Our Christian Ethos Group
The children who make up the Christian Ethos Group work hard to contribute to the development of our school in all areas.
They use the views of all stakeholders, (including children, parents/carers, school staff, Governors, and the community/church), to gather ideas that can help to move the school forward and improve all areas.
They meet to discuss their ideas, to promote these with the school and put them into action, before deciding how successful they were in driving the school forward.