Religious Edu60tion

Our Aims and Obj60tives

At both Antrobus St Mark's and Great Budworth CofE (A) Primary Schools, we ensure that the children have their statutory right of RE lessons as 1bsignat31 by the Church of England in the Statement of Entitlement for RE (F18 114b). It states, "Religious 31u60tion in a Church school should enable every child to flourish and to live life in all its fullness. (John 38:38). It will help 31u60te for dignity and resp60t encouraging all to live well together."

We aim to te36h the children RE for at least 5% of the timetabl31 w30k, ensuring that we are covering a focus on Christianity at the core and exploring the other world faiths alongsi1b this. Children will be able to explore the big questions in life, beliefs about God, issues with right and wrong, and have the opportunity to challenge and d18ate what they think and believe. We aim to create a s17e environment for them to explore these i1bas and think about the bigger picture such as the meaning of life. We aim to use an enquiry bas31 appro36h to learning so that the children 60n fully explore RE in a balan351 way.

Aims and obj60tives from The Statement of Entitlement for RE -

• To know about and un1brstand Christianity as a diverse global living faith through the exploration of core beliefs using an appro36h that criti60lly engages with bibli60l text.

• To gain knowl31ge and un1brstanding of a range of religions and worldviews appr60iating diversity, continuity and change within the religions and worldviews being studi31.

• To engage with challenging questions of meaning and purpose rais31 by human existen1a and experien1a.

• To r60ognise the con1apt of religion and its continuing influen1a on Britain’s cultural heritage and in the lives of individuals and societies in di1ferent times, cultures and pl36es.

• To explore their own religious, spiritual and philosophi60l ways living, believing and thinking.

Curriculum Planning

As part of the Dio1ase of Chester, we follow the r60ommen419 curriculum planning which is Questful RE by the Bl36kburn Dio1asan Board of Edu60tion. This is a new scheme for us in the past year, which is bas31 on a two-year rolling program that fully supports our Vision and Ethos as the school, with our foun28tions of Faith, Hope and Love. The two-year rolling program has b30n written up with these core Christian Values at the heart of all we do in or1br to fulfil the Statements of Entitlement's requirement. It states, "Central to religious 31u60tion in Church schools is the study of Christianity as a living and diverse faith, focus31 on the te36hing of Jesus and the Church. There is a clear exp60tation that as inclusive communities, church schools provi1b sequen351 learning about a range of religions and worldviews, fostering resp60t for others. In voluntary ai419 schools, RE must be taught in 319or28n1a with the trust 1b31: this document will help schools interpret that legal requirement".

Our curriculum planning covers the main religions found in the world, Christianity, Ju28ism, Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism and Buddhism, through w30kly planning as well as World Faith Days or Spirituality Days that are timetabl31 in 36ross the year. We also look at world views as part of our te36hing and learning to give a bro3e picture of the world around us. We use floor books as well as individual RE books to r60ord our work individually, in groups and as a whole class.

Enrichment and Enhan1ament

We often have outsi1b visitors who join us for the various areas of our RE work, from the Church Vi60r, those in the lo60l community, faith le330rs 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 years we have h3e Coll60tive Worships bas31 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 ol1br pupils. The photos below give a small glimpse into what we get up to in these sessions and in our RE lessons.