RE

Intent 

In line with the current Norfolk Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education, Religious Education will be delivered in school to meet the agreed syllabus aims by: 

• Including knowledge and reference to religious and nonreligious beliefs and worldviews, practices and ways of life. 
• Develop knowledge and understanding of all members that make up our rich and diverse community. 
• As part of the syllabus at each Key Stage, visits to local places of worship are encouraged as are visits by members of faith communities to school. 
• Develop understanding of concepts and mastery of skills to make sense of religion and belief, at an appropriate level of challenge for their age. 
• Develop positive attitudes and values and to reflect and relate their learning in RE to their own experience. 
• Have the opportunity to learn that there are those who do not hold religious beliefs and have their own philosophical perspectives. 
• The syllabus has been created in a cyclical format to enable children to revisit and build on their prior knowledge of the different beliefs and practices taught across the school. The syllabus also allows for teachers to be flexible and adapt the term in which units are taught in their year group, to allow for cross-curricular links or involvement with parents or other members of the community. At Flitcham, we are committed to providing our children with an exciting and positive learning environment, in which they have the opportunity to develop their knowledge and understanding of religions while contributing to their spiritual, moral social and cultural development. 

Religious Education supports the values of the school curriculum 

Religious Education reflects the overarching values of the school curriculum, actively promoting the spiritual, moral, social, cultural, physical and intellectual development of the individual and, as a result, enhancing their wellbeing. It places specific emphasis on pupils valuing themselves and others, on the role of the family and the community, on the celebration of diversity in society through understanding similarities and differences, and on care for the environment. Religious Education aims to promote and critically evaluate the values of truth, justice and respect for all. Religious Education also recognises the changing nature of society, including changes in religious practice and expression, the influence of religion in the local, national and global community and the critique of religions from non-religious groups and individuals. 

Religious Education supports the aims of the school curriculum. 

Aim 1: The curriculum should enable all children and young people to become successful learners who enjoy learning, make progress and achieve well

Religious Education provides opportunities for the development of knowledge, skills and understanding that stimulate pupils’ interest and enjoyment in learning and encourage the best possible progress and attainment for all. It promotes the development of creative and resourceful children and young people who demonstrate both independent and inter-dependent learning. Religious Education makes an important contribution to the essential learning skills of literacy, and information and communication technology. It promotes an enquiring approach, enabling children and young people to think for themselves, to process information, reason, question and evaluate issues of truth, belief, faith and ethics. Religious Education seeks to enable children and young people to develop an understanding of the big ideas and events that have shaped – and continue to shape – our world, and encourages them to make sense of these, interpreting the world around them. 

Aim 2: The curriculum should enable all children and young people to become confident individuals who are able to live safe, healthy and fulfilling lives 

Religious Education has a significant role in the promotion of spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. It provokes challenging questions about the meaning and purpose of life, beliefs about God, the nature of reality, ethical issues and what it means to be human. Religious Education seeks to enable children and young people to appreciate their own and others’ beliefs and cultures, and how these impact on individuals, 

The three aims here draw on both primary and secondary National Curriculum documentation. The aims for the school curriculum are reflected in Section 351 of the Education Act 1996, which requires that all maintained schools provide a balanced and broadly based curriculum that a) promotes the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils at the school and b) prepares pupils at the school for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of adult life. 

Aim 3: The curriculum should enable all children and young people to become responsible citizens who make a positive contribution to society 

Religious Education encourages each child and young person to develop a sense of identity and belonging. It aims to promote religious understanding and respect, to promote understanding between those of faith, and to promote understanding between those who are religious and those who are not. It aims to challenge prejudice, discrimination and stereotyping. It is concerned with the promotion of each pupil’s self-worth, enabling them to reflect on their uniqueness as human beings, to share their feelings and emotions with others and to appreciate the importance of forming and maintaining positive relationships. Religious Education seeks to enable pupils to learn about the ways different communities, including those of faith, relate to each other and to society as a whole. In addition, Religious Education is committed to exploring the significance of humanity in relation to the environment, and the beliefs people hold about their responsibility towards it. Religious Education aims to enable children and young people to flourish individually within their communities and as citizens in a diverse society and global community. 

Implementation 

RE is taught either weekly for one hour or in a weekly topic block each half term, planned by the teacher to link with key dates and religious festivals, providing opportunities to celebrate festivals and religions with greater relevance and consistency. Work is recorded in RE/topic books and can be evidenced with a variety of outcomes suggested on the scheme of work; written piece, artwork, photo. 

Religious education taught in our school (according to the Norfolk Agreed Syllabus Religious Education, revised November 2019): 

• Is open and objective, it does not seek to urge religious beliefs on young people, nor compromise the integrity of their own religious position by promoting one tradition over another. 
• Endeavours to promote a positive attitude toward people, respecting their right to hold different beliefs from their own. 
• Promotes the values and attitudes necessary for citizenship in a multi-faith and multi-racial society through developing understanding of, respect for, and dialogue with people of different beliefs, practices, races and cultures. 
• Recognises similarities and differences in commitment, self-understanding and the search for truth. Respecting and valuing these for the common good. 
• Is not the same as collective worship, which has its own place in the educational life of the school – together with RE it can contribute to an informed, reflective, compassionate and caring school and community. 
• Promotes community cohesion through linking with our partner school.. 
• Recognises and celebrates the range of cultures and diversity of the school through workshops, assemblies and shared experiences of staff, children and people from the local community.  

Flitcham works with DNEAT in the local RE leaders forum to work with teachers in improving the quality of teaching and learning of RE by providing training, and publishing updated schemes of work and materials and guidance to develop and support SMSC, Assessment for Learning and effective teaching and learning strategies. 

Impact 

At Flitcham, we seek to ensure that all pupils in our school are educated to develop spiritually, academically, emotionally and morally to enable them to better understand themselves and others and to cope with the opportunities, challenges and responsibilities of living in a rapidly changing, multicultural world. Regular assemblies and celebrations of work taught and learnt during each year group’s RE week will help to celebrate the diversity of the school community and promote positive images of people in the wider community, including their beliefs, traditions, culture, language and history.