Religious Education and Collective Worship

Intent of our Religious Education Curriculum

At Bicton C,E. Primary School, we believe that it is important for all our children 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: 

• enable children to know about and understand Christianity and other faiths by exploring core concepts 
• enable children to develop knowledge and skills in making sense of religious texts and understanding their impact in the lives of Christians and other faiths. 
• develop children’s abilities to connect, reflect upon, evaluate and apply their learning to their own growing understanding of religion and belief of themselves, the world and human experience. 

Religious Education is taught throughout the school in such a way as to reflect the overall aims, values, and philosophy of the school as well as enhance children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.  In particular, it is designed to emphasise our curriculum drivers to encourage aspiration, initiative and unity for all pupils.  It plays an important role, along with all other curriculum areas, 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 promote British values through our curriculum, ensuring that children are aware of their rights and responsibilities as UK citizens. 

Implementation of our Religious Education Curriculum

We use the RE Today materials to support our RE curriculum.  This covers: 

• EYFS – children are encouraged to share their experiences with others so they can appreciate and respect people’s differences and learn other cultures. Christian festivals, such as Easter and Christmas, are celebrated through a play-based curriculum. Children engage in other festivals such as Diwali through Art and Drama. 

• KS1 – Christianity is studied (and one other principal religion in some depth – Judaism /Islam). 
• KS2 – Christianity is studied (and two other principal religions in some depth – Islam / Hinduism / Judaism). 

We value the religious background of all members of our 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 made between home, school, and the community.  We are extremely lucky that members of the local church, Bicton Holy Trinity Church, regularly visit our school to lead collective worship through Open the Book. 

Impact of our Religious Education Curriculum

The children at Bicton C.E. Primary School 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. 

 

“Religions all have different names, but they all contain the same truths” Muhammad Ali

Bicton Religious Education Rolling Programme