Religious Education
Religious education at Christ Church
RE at Christ Church is a core subject and it is our priority that our teachers have a strong subject knowledge enabling effective teaching. We use the LDBS Syllabus to support our teaching and through our weekly lessons we study Christianity and World Religions.
Intent
At Christ Church, the teaching of RE is central to our curriculum. Religious Education has an equal status in relation to the core subjects. We intend for our children to be excited, curious and willing to engage in exploring their own faith and beliefs, enabling them to explore their own spiritual or philosophical ideas with depth of knowledge, understanding and respect. Through the teaching of high quality RE, our children will become religiously literate; develop the wisdom to have well informed conversations and develop into compassionate, free thinking adults.
As part of a multi faith and multi-cultural community and society, we aim to promote discussion, tolerance and understanding within our children, enabling them the skills to combat prejudice and preparing them for adult life in modern Britain and beyond.
We want all our children to know more and to remember more, allowing them to function and contribute positively in a diverse society with outcomes for each individual being promoted and enabling each child to "flourish". In this way, children will be equipped to explore the Big Questions in life enabling them to reflect upon their own choices as well as finding out what others believe. Academic study assists in the prevention of misconceptions about religion and world views; through the promotion of discussion we can enable our children to become active participants in life with a global perspective and an ability to live "life to its fullness".
Implementation
Religious Education is taught weekly throughout the school including our nursery. We follow the London Diocesan Board for Schools agreed model curriculum. Two thirds of the curriculum is based on the teaching of Christianity with the world faiths: Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism and Buddhism forming the other part of the curriculum. This is high quality and sequential.
Teacher knowledge of the syllabus supports children to recall, revisit and to build on prior learning; enabling effective progress. Children have a safe space in which to be challenged and to think critically. They develop trust.
Children are encouraged to make connections to their personal experience and to realise there is diversity within a viewpoint. Lessons are balanced and varied. Teachers teach creatively and with an exploratory approach enabling children to access the core concepts; lessons are adapted to meet the needs of all children. Enrichment opportunities support experience at all ages, assisting the delivery of a rich and engaging Religious Education curriculum enabling our children to flourish.
Impact
At Christ Church, our children reflect our vision and values through their day to day actions and interactions and in the choices they make in life. Children achieve at expected or above through their engagement. We see the impact of our Religious Education curriculum in the classroom and in our community. Our children are loving, considerate and tolerant, able to self-reflect and contribute effectively in school and beyond.