Intent
At St. John’s C of E (Aided) Primary School, we are proud to be a Church of England school. As such we seek to follow the Church of England’s Statement of entitlement for Religious Education, which states:
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 worldviews, 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
Our curriculum follows the Understanding Christianity resources for our teaching of Christianity plus additional units from the Durham and Newcastle Diocesan Syllabus for Religious Education (2018). RE lessons have three key elements: making sense of beliefs; understanding the Impact; making connections.
Our approach to RE is engaging and creative – the children are taught through a range of mediums such as art, drama, storytelling and investigating artefacts. By the end of their school lives at St. John’s, children will have learned about the major world religions: Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Sikhism, Hinduism and non-religious views, such as Humanism. See our RE Curriculum Overview and our RE skills progression for more details.
We also invite a wide range of visitors into school and off-site visits to encourage children to share experiences of a specific faith or implement workshops for children to have an interactive experience of religion in the real world. For example, children visit a Synagogue in Newcastle, are visited by the Muslim Chaplain to Durham University (Dr Mahshid Turner) and receive dedicated Year 6 Eucharist preparation sessions before receiving Communion in St. John’s Church. We have strong clergy links with our own church and other local ministers in our community, enhancing our teaching and today’s Christianity at work.
Many of our RE lessons are not merely isolated learning opportunities, but our children take those principles and teaching and put them into practice. Over the past years, our children have regularly taken part in fundraising events for national charities, as well as child-initiated fundraising for local causes. A generosity of spirit pervades all we seek to accomplish at St. John’s.
Impact
In addition, we want to prepare children for the diverse landscape of modern Britain; welcoming those children and families of all faiths and none. As they progress through the school, children receive a rich diet of teaching, visitor experiences, music and worship to inspire and uplift them.
In Religious Education, we aim to give children a grounded understanding of Christianity and the major world faiths. As the children progress through the school, they will encounter different religions and worldviews. Our curriculum is such that Religious Literacy is taught and developed, allowing all our pupils to become aware of, have a deeper understanding of and be tolerant of different faiths in our locality, our country and worldwide.
An important aim of RE is that children are encouraged to reflect on their learning and make their own decisions about what they believe. The aim of RE is not to make children into religious believers, but to understand that religion still influences and sustains many people in the world today; to consider the wisdom of faith traditions and reflecting on what they might take from it. Our teaching is rooted in the Church of England, but we provide a space for all children to express their home religion, or for those of no faith.
Above all, we believe that the values underpinning our Religious Education will enable our children to become confident, reflective, spiritual and morally aware people who will play be a positive role in shaping modern Britain.
Curriculum
You can view or download the Curriculum Overview by clicking the link below.