Religious Education

At St Mewan School, the aim of Religious Education is to help children to acquire and develop knowledge and understanding of Christianity and the other principal religions represented in Great Britain. We aim to understand the way that religious beliefs shape our lives and our behaviour, develop the ability to make reasoned and informed judgements about religious and moral issues and enhance our spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

Religious Education is taught throughout the school in such a way as to reflect the overall aims, values and philosophy of the school. It plays an important role along with other curriculum areas, particularly PSHE, 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 teach appropriate vocabulary to aid this process. We include and promote British values, ensuring that children are aware of their rights and responsibilities as UK citizens. Our curriculum is designed to encourage creativity, imagination, enquiry, debate, discussion and independence.

Implementation:

We follow the National Curriculum through PlanBee. It has been agreed that having taken into account the requirements and guidelines presented in the Local Agreed Syllabus, the following religions have been selected for study through PlanBee:

· Christianity

· Judaism

· Hinduism

· Buddhism

· Sikhism

· Islam

This scheme allows children to compare and contrast the 6 major world religions along with their religious communities and traditions, festivals, places of worship and special books. As the children progress within the school, secular and religious viewpoints are considered and compared.

· KS1 – Year 1 – Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Hinduism is studied

Year 2 – Judaism, Christianity, Buddhism and Sikhism is studied

· KS2 – Year 3 – Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism and Islam is studied

Year 4 – Christianity, Sikhism, Hinduism and Buddhism is studied

Year 5 – Christianity, Islam, Judaism and Buddhism is studied

Year 6 – Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and Sikhism is studied

In the Early Years Foundation Stage, the learning outcomes are references to Christianity and, as appropriate, to a range of other beliefs and cultures.

There are no presumptions made as to the religious background and beliefs and values of the children and the staff. We value the religious background of all members of the school community and hope that this will encourage individuals to share their own experiences with others freely. The teaching of RE is fully inclusive. All religions and their communities are treated with respect and sensitivity. Before Covid, we had members of the local church enhance our teaching about Christianity via Open the Book assemblies along with Harvest, Christmas and Easter celebrations at St Mewan Church for the Infants. Upper Juniors have the opportunity to gain a greater understanding of Christmas and Easter via the Christmas and Easter Experiences held at the church. Post Covid, we are now starting to build links again with the local church for key celebrations.

We acknowledge that each religion studied can contribute to the education of all our pupils. We promote teaching in Religious Education that stresses open enquiry and first hand experiences wherever possible for both staff and children.

Impact:

The children at St Mewan School enjoy learning about other religions and why people choose, or choose not to follow a religion. The impact of teaching RE at St Mewan is that the children reach their full potential and are fully prepared for their next stage in life. 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. Through R.E. our children are developing an understanding of other people’s cultures and ways of life and worship. As such, RE is invaluable in an ever changing and challenging world.

Parents and carers have the right to withdraw their child from some or all RE lessons, contact the school to discuss.