“God doesn’t require us to succeed; he only requires that you try” – Mother Teresa
Religious Education Intent
At Ann Edwards Primary, children are taught to be respectful of the beliefs, customs and practices of others. We believe it is vital for all our pupils to learn from and about religion, so that they can understand the world around them as well as feel a sense of belonging to the school and community in order to make a positive contribution to the wider world. As a Church School, we live out our vision and values in everything we do by offering guidance through the teachings of Christ and moments of calm, stillness and reflection. Opportunities for spiritual development are embedded across the curriculum to provide children with a breadth of experiences in which they can reflect on and explore how they relate. Engaging in meaningful and informed dialogue, where big questions about religion are explored, ensures value is given to each other’s opinions and contributions and where any misconceptions can be explored.
We support our pupils to persevere with their learning when facing challenging concepts and to live out their own beliefs unwavered. Our chosen Biblical story of The Good Samaritan supports our children to think of others before themselves and to use their talents positivity in service to others, be this through raising money and awareness for charity or by putting on community events.
Through Religious Education, pupils will explore what people believe and what difference this makes to how they live so that they can gain knowledge, understanding and skills needed to handle questions raised by religion and belief, reflecting on their ideas and ways of living. Our Religious Education curriculum is enhanced further with a rolling programme of visits to places of worship in our local area, including All Hallows Church in South Cerney, as well as with inspiring visitors. We use the agreed Gloucestershire Religious Education syllabus as the basis for our spiral curriculum where themes are built on from EYFS, the discovering stage, to exploring further in KS1 and finally connecting ideas in lower and upper KS2. Each year group will encounter a range of religions and beliefs but across the whole school every year group will be taught 80% Christianity with the other 20% being made up of Judaism, Islam and Hinduism. Throughout, we support all of our children to flourish through engaging learning activities that provide fully for the needs of all where consideration of other religions and non-religious worldviews can occur as appropriate, for example when considering overarching concepts such as creation, morality and the nature of divinity. Consequently, we expect our pupils to have a rounded knowledge of all religions with an emphasis on Christianity.
Aims
Following the principle aim of the Gloucestershire Agreed Syllabus which is a statutory document for the teaching of RE- The principal aim of religious education is to explore what people believe and what difference this makes to how they live, so that pupils can gain the knowledge, understanding and skills needed to handle questions raised by religion and belief, reflecting on their own ideas and ways of living. Gloucestershire Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education 2017 – 2022
The overarching aim for RE in Ann Edwards School is to ensure that pupils learn from religions as well about religions.
- to develop an awareness of spiritual and moral issues arising in their lives;
- to develop knowledge and understanding of Christianity and other major world religions or value systems adhered to in the UK;
- to develop an understanding of what it means to be committed to a religious tradition;
- to be capable of reflecting on their own experiences, and of developing a personal response to the fundamental questions of life;
- to develop an understanding of religious traditions, and an appreciation of cultural differences in the UK today;
- to develop their investigative and research skills, in order to hold reasoned opinions on religious issues;
- to have respect for other people’s views, and hence to celebrate diversity in society.