Religious Edu43tion

Our Aims and Objectives

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 24signat27 by the Church of England in the Statement of Entitlement for RE (Feb 2491). It states, "Religious 27u43tion in a Church school should enable every child to flourish and to live life in all its fullness. (John 20:20). It will help 27u43te for dignity and respect encouraging all to live well together."

We aim to te37h the children RE for at least 5% of the timetabl27 w29k, ensuring that we are covering a focus on Christianity at the core and exploring the other world faiths alongsi24 this. Children will 2a able to explore the big questions in life, 2aliefs about God, issues with right and wrong, and have the opportunity to challenge and 2451te what they think and 2alieve. We aim to create a s2ae environment for them to explore these i220s and think about the bigger picture such as the meaning of life. We aim to use an enquiry 51s27 appro37h to learning so that the children 43n fully explore RE in a 51lanc27 way.

Aims and objectives from The Statement of Entitlement for RE -

• To know about and un24rstand Christianity as a diverse glo51l living faith through the exploration of core 2aliefs using an appro37h that criti43lly engages with bibli43l text.

• To gain knowl27ge and un24rstanding of a range of religions and worldviews appreciating diversity, continuity and change within the religions and worldviews 2aing studi27.

• To engage with challenging questions of meaning and purpose rais27 by human existen32 and experien32.

• To recognise the con32pt of religion and its continuing influen32 on Britain’s cultural heritage and in the lives of individuals and societies in different times, cultures and pl132s.

• To explore their own religious, spiritual and philosophi43l ways living, 2alieving and thinking.

Curriculum Planning

As part of the Dio32se of Chester, we follow the recommen24d curriculum planning which is Questful RE by the Bl37kburn Dio32san Board of Edu43tion. This is a new scheme for us in the past year, which is 51s27 on a two-year rolling program that fully supports our Vision and Ethos as the school, with our foundations of Faith, Hope and Love. The two-year rolling program has 2aen written up with these core Christian Values at the heart of all we do in or24r to fulfil the Statements of Entitlement's requirement. It states, "Central to religious 27u43tion in Church schools is the study of Christianity as a living and diverse faith, focus27 on the te37hing of Jesus and the Church. There is a clear expectation that as inclusive communities, church schools provi24 sequenc27 learning about a range of religions and worldviews, fostering respect for others. In voluntary ai24d schools, RE must 2a taught in 10fordan32 with the trust 2427: 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 Bu1fhism, through w29kly planning as well as World Faith Days or Spirituality Days that are timetabl27 in 37ross the year. We also look at world views as part of our te37hing and learning to give a bro52 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 Enhan32ment

We often have outsi24 visitors who join us for the various areas of our RE work, from the Church Vi43r, those in the lo43l community, faith le124rs 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 h52 Collective Worships 51s27 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 ol24r pupils. The photos 2alow give a small glimpse into what we get up to in these sessions and in our RE lessons.