Intent:
At Ashton St. Peters School, we believe that the teaching of RE is essential in developing children’s understanding of the meaning and purpose in life, beliefs and values about God, an understanding of World religions, issues of right and wrong and what it means to be human.
The RE agreed syllabus 2018 – 2023, for Bedford Borough, Central Bedfordshire and Luton, enables the pupils to gain the knowledge, understanding and skills needed to handle questions raised by religion and belief, reflecting on their own ideas and ways of living. It will help them gain and deploy the skills needed to understand, interpret and evaluate texts, sources of wisdom and authority and other evidence. Additionally it will help them learn to articulate clearly and coherently their personal beliefs, ideas, values and experiences while respecting the right of others to differ.
Implementation:
Religious Education is taught throughout all year groups, following the RE agreed syllabus. This reflects the fact that religious traditions of Great Britain, are, in the main, Christian, whilst taking into account the teaching and practices of other key religions in the world. Through questioning and reflecting, children are enabled to explore and respond to these areas of study. Learning is embedded through the development of knowledge and skills over time.
The subject is taught weekly, through themes and topics, and sometimes blocked to study a topic at greater depth. Whole school focus days enable all children to explore common themes and values in a vibrant context. Children learn through cross curricular approaches, using story, drama, art, celebrations, focus days, visits and visitors, incorporating our locality and links with the local church – the Priory Church – our vicar, Reverend Rachel, and the community as a key resource. Published materials in use include ‘Understanding Christianity’.
Impact:
Alongside an evaluation of children’s work, we assess the impact of our curriculum through the behaviour and values children reflect in their everyday life. Children consistently demonstrate harmonious relationships across the school community, a positive attitude and sense of self –worth. These values are modelled consistently by staff.
Learning displayed in Art, Music, Drama, written and illustrated forms all show a consistently high quality, with almost all children achieving age related expectations or above.