Intent
At Eythorne Elvington Community Primary School, we believe that it is important for all our pupils to learn from and about religion, so that they can understand the world around them.
The aim of Religious Education in our school is to help children to acquire and develop knowledge and understanding of Christianity and the other principal religions represented in Great Britain; to appreciate the way that religious beliefs shape life and behaviour, develop the ability to make reasoned and informed judgements about religious and moral issues and enhance their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.
We want our children to have confidence in themselves whilst having the ambition to make a difference and show perseverance to overcome pertinent issues that our society faces today. We will model to children the importance of showing empathy to others at all time. Our role is to ensure that pupils are successful in becoming the very best individuals they can be in order to contribute not just to the school, but our community and the wider world. Our RE curriculum will provide children with the opportunities and experiences to investigate a range of religions and world views.
Religious Education is taught throughout the school in such a way as to reflect the overall aims, values, and philosophy of the school, through topics such as Justice and Freedom and Heroes/ Heroines in everyday life.
It plays an important role, along with all other curriculum areas, particularly PSHCE, in promoting social awareness and understanding in our children. We encourage our pupils to ask questions about the world and to reflect on their own beliefs, values and experiences. We include and promote British values, ensuring that children are aware of their rights and responsibilities as UK citizens.
Our curriculum is designed to encourage creativity, imagination, enquiry, debate, discussion and independence.
Implementation
At Eythorne Elvington, the following religions have been selected for study:
- Christianity
- Islam
- Judaism
- Hinduism
- Buddhism
- Sikhism
In the Early Years Foundation Stage the learning outcomes are referenced to Christianity and as appropriate to a range of other beliefs and cultures
KS1 – Christianity is studied (and one other principal religion in some depth)
KS2 – Christianity is studied (and two other principal religions in some depth)
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 are extremely lucky that members of the local church regularly visit our school to carry out assemblies.
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
The children at Eythorne Elvington enjoy learning about other religions and why people choose, or choose not to follow a religion. Through their R.E. learning, the children are able to make links between their own lives and those of others in their community and in the wider world, developing an understanding of other people’s cultures and ways of life. As such, R.E. is invaluable in an ever changing and shrinking world.