RE | Clowne Infant and Nursery School

Religion Education

Our RE curriculum is based on the Derbyshire Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education (2020-2025). It provides the legal framework for a syllabus for Religious Education for Derby City and Derbyshire schools

At Clowne Infant & Primary School the teaching of RE engages pupils in systematic enquiry into significant human questions which religion and worldwide views address, so that they can develop the understanding and skills needed to appreciate and appraise varied responses to these questions, as well as develop responses of their own. The study of religious and non-religious world views is a core component of a rounded education. Young people today are growing up in a world where there is an increasing awareness of the diversity of religious and non-religious worldviews and they will need to live and work well with people with very different outlooks from their own.

Intent: What are we trying to achieve?

We follow the RE syllabus for Derbyshire and Derby City and as such we:

teach RE in a stimulating, interesting and enjoyable way which encourages the children to learn, enquire and evaluate the fundamental questions of life.
provide a safe space where students can discuss different religious and non-religious beliefs and develop a mutual respect and tolerance of all people.
enable children to explore their own beliefs (whether they are religious or not), ideas, feelings, experiences and values in the light of what they learn.
give children the ability to evaluate their own and others’ views.
promote the children’s social, moral and cultural awareness.
encourage empathy and respect.
enable pupils to develop their own sense of identity and belonging.
promote respect for the right of others to hold different beliefs, values and ideas.
encourage children to appreciate different religions, beliefs, viewpoints and cultures and develop their own views through enquiry, questioning and investigation.
prepare the children with the right skills and attitudes to flourish in the community and be good citizens in a diverse society.

Implementation: How will we achieve this?

RE is taught every half term throughout the year in line with Derbyshire and Derby City Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education 2020 - 2025. This syllabus provides three main aims for pupils – Know about and understand a range of religions and worldviews, express ideas and insights about the nature, significance and impact of religions and worldviews, gain and deploy the skills needed to engage seriously with religions and worldviews. It is important that RE is delivered within a safe, secure and supportive learning environment where pupils can question and reflect on both their own and others religious beliefs. We foster a reflective approach to learning by encouraging an open and honest enquiry, a growing self-understanding and respecting the rights of others to hold different beliefs. A wide range of teaching styles will be used including enquiry, exploration, discussion, role play, drama, asking and answering questions. These learning opportunities will be further enriched with the use of assemblies, artefacts, visitors and visits where appropriate. Children will be given the opportunity to reflect on prior learning and build upon this to allow them to gain a deeper understanding and for knowledge to ‘stick’.

Impact: What difference will this make?

Our curriculum allows children to develop self-confidence in relation to their own religious views whilst having a good understanding and appreciation of others. This will be further enhanced by links to PSHCE and British Values. Children will be able to reflect on what they have learnt in school and transfer this to the wider community. Children will gain a broad and balanced understanding of RE, with their knowledge being built on and deepened each year.

The children at Clowne Infant and Nursery 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. R.E. acts as a hub, therefore, between social aspects of learning, science and geography. Through R.E. our children are developing an understanding of other people’s cultures and ways of life, which they are then able to communicate to the wider community.

R.E. offers our children the means by which to understand how other people choose to live and to understand why they choose to live in that way. As such, R.E. is invaluable in an ever changing and shrinking world.

Please click on the following links to find out more about RE in our school: