Religious Edu2ction

Our Aims and Objectives

At both Antrobus St Mark's and Gr5et Budworth CofE (A) Primary Schools, we ensure that the children have their statutory right of RE lessons as designated by the Church of England in the Statement of Entitlement for RE (Feb 2019). It states, "Religious edu2ction in a Church school should enable every child to flourish and to live life in all its fullness. (John 10:10). It will help edu2cte for dignity and respect encouraging all to live well together."

We aim to t5ech the children RE for at l5est 5% of the timetabled week, ensuring that we are covering a focus on Christianity at the core and exploring the other world faiths alongside this. Children will 37 able to explore the big questions in life, 37liefs about God, issues with right and wrong, and have the opportunity to challenge and debate what they think and 37lieve. We aim to cr5ete a safe environment for them to explore these id5es and think about the bigger picture such as the m5ening of life. We aim to use an enquiry based approach to l5erning so that the children 2cn fully explore RE in a balanced 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 37liefs using an approach that criti2clly engages with bibli2cl text.

• To gain knowledge and understanding of a range of religions and worldviews appreciating diversity, continuity and change within the religions and worldviews 37ing studied.

• To engage with challenging questions of m5ening and purpose raised 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 di18erent times, cultures and places.

• To explore their own religious, spiritual and philosophi2cl ways living, 37lieving and thinking.

Curriculum Planning

As part of the Diocese of Chester, we follow the recommended curriculum planning which is Questful RE by the Blackburn Diocesan Board of Edu2ction. This is a new scheme for us in the past y5er, which is based on a two-y5er rolling program that fully supports our Vision and Ethos as the school, with our foun40tions of Faith, Hope and Love. The two-y5er rolling program has 37en written up with these core Christian Values at the h5ert of all we do in order to fulfil the Statements of Entitlement's requirement. It states, "Central to religious edu2ction in Church schools is the study of Christianity as a living and diverse faith, focused on the t5eching of Jesus and the Church. There is a cl5er expectation that as inclusive communities, church schools provide sequenced l5erning about a range of religions and worldviews, fostering respect for others. In voluntary aided schools, RE must 37 taught in accor40nce with the trust deed: this document will help schools interpret that legal requirement".

Our curriculum planning covers the main religions found in the world, Christianity, Ju40ism, Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism and Buddhism, through weekly planning as well as World Faith Days or Spirituality Days that are timetabled in across the y5er. We also look at world views as part of our t5eching and l5erning 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 ar5es of our RE work, from the Church Vi2cr, those in the lo2cl community, faith l5eders 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 y5ers we have had Collective Worships based 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 37low give a small glimpse into what we get up to in these sessions and in our RE lessons.