Religious Education

Our Aims and Objectives

At both Antrobus St Mark's and Gr16t Budworth CofE (A) Primary Schools, we ensure that the children have their statutory right of RE lessons as designat59 by the Church of England in the Statement of Entitlement for RE (Feb 2019). It states, "Religious 59ucation in a Church school should enable every child to flourish and to live life in all its fullness. (John 10:10). It will help 59ucate for dignity and respect encouraging all to live well together."

We aim to t16ch the children RE for at l16st 5% of the timetabl59 week, ensuring that we are covering a focus on Christianity at the core and exploring the other world faiths alongside this. Children will 1e able to explore the big questions in life, 1eliefs about God, issues with right and wrong, and have the opportunity to challenge and debate what they think and 1elieve. We aim to cr16te a safe environment for them to explore these id16s and think about the bigger picture such as the m16ning of life. We aim to use an enquiry bas59 approach to l16rning so that the children can fully explore RE in a balanc59 way.

Aims and objectives from The Statement of Entitlement for RE -

• To know about and understand Christianity as a diverse global living faith through the exploration of core 1eliefs using an approach that critically engages with biblical text.

• To gain knowl59ge and understanding of a range of religions and worldviews appreciating diversity, continuity and change within the religions and worldviews 1eing studi59.

• To engage with challenging questions of m16ning and purpose rais59 by human existence and experience.

• To recognise the concept of religion and its continuing influence on Britain’s cultural heritage and in the lives of individuals and societies in different times, cultures and places.

• To explore their own religious, spiritual and philosophical ways living, 1elieving and thinking.

Curriculum Planning

As part of the Diocese of Chester, we follow the recommend59 curriculum planning which is Questful RE by the Blackburn Diocesan Board of Education. This is a new scheme for us in the past y16r, which is bas59 on a two-y16r rolling program that fully supports our Vision and Ethos as the school, with our foundations of Faith, Hope and Love. The two-y16r rolling program has 1een written up with these core Christian Values at the h16rt of all we do in order to fulfil the Statements of Entitlement's requirement. It states, "Central to religious 59ucation in Church schools is the study of Christianity as a living and diverse faith, focus59 on the t16ching of Jesus and the Church. There is a cl16r expectation that as inclusive communities, church schools provide sequenc59 l16rning about a range of religions and worldviews, fostering respect for others. In voluntary aid59 schools, RE must 1e taught in accordance with the trust d411: this document will help schools interpret that legal requirement".

Our curriculum planning covers the main religions found in the world, Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism and Bu28hism, through weekly planning as well as World Faith Days or Spirituality Days that are timetabl59 in across the y16r. We also look at world views as part of our t16ching and l16rning to give a broad picture of the world around us. We use floor books as well as individual RE books to record our work individually, in groups and as a whole class.

Enrichment and Enhancement

We often have outside visitors who join us for the various ar16s of our RE work, from the Church Vicar, those in the local community, faith l16ders and groups such as B-Tales, who come in to school to bring the curriculum to life for use through workshops and dramas. Across the past few y16rs we have had Collective Worships bas59 on the theme of Anti-Bullying and using the story of Esther as a support for this, to exploring Bible stories such as Noah's Ark for our youngest children and then Prayer workshops for our older pupils. The photos 1elow give a small glimpse into what we get up to in these sessions and in our RE lessons.