Religious Education

Thornton-in-Craven Community Primary school follows the North Yorkshire Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education.

Our subject leader is Mrs Nicola Whitwell

Intent

This curriculum for RE aims to ensure that all pupils:

1. Know about and understand a range of religiong and worldviews so that they can:

describe, explain and analyse beliefs and practices, recognising the diversity which exists within and between communities and amongst individuals
identify, investigate and respond to questions posed, and responses, offered by some of the sources of wisdom found in religions and worldviews
appreciate and appraise the nature, significance and impact of different ways of life and ways of expressing meaning

2. Express ideas and insights about the nature, significance and impact of religions and worldviews, so that they can:

explain reasonably their ideas about how beliefs, practices and forms of expression influence individuals and communities
express with increasing discernment their personal reflections and critical responses to questions and teachings about identity, diversity, meaning and value, including ethical issues
appreciate and appraise varied dimensions of religion

3. Gain and deply the skills needed to engage seriously with religions and worldviews, so that they can:

find out about and investigate key concepts and questions of belonging, meaning, purpose and truth, responding creatively
inquire into what enables different individuals and communities to live together respectfully for the well-being of all
articulate beliefs, values and commitments clearly in order to explain why they may be important in their own and other people’s lives

We believe that it is important for all our pupils to learn from and about religion, so that they can understand the world around them. The aim of Religious Education in our school is to help children to acquire and develop knowledge and understanding of Christianity and the other principal religions represented in Great Britain; to appreciate the way that religious beliefs shape life and behaviour, develop the ability to make reasoned and informed judgements about religious and moral issues and enhance their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.e.

It plays an important role, along with all other curriculum areas, particularly PSHCE, in promoting social awareness and understanding in our children. We encourage our pupils to ask questions about the world and to reflect on their own beliefs, values and experiences. We include and promote British values, ensuring that children are aware of their rights and responsibilities as UK citizens.

Our curriculum is designed to encourage creativity, imagination, enquiry, debate, discussion and independence.

Implementation

Religious Education will be taught as a discrete subject and will allow children to comment, question or explore the viewpoints and ideas of others.
Religious Education will be taught using practical, hands on tasks, as well as discussions, resources, debates and visits, or visitors.
Religious Education outcomes will be recorded through photographs, discussions, written evidence etc. across individual pieces of work or class ‘Big Books’.

Impact

The children at Thornton-in-Craven Community Primary school enjoy learning lots about other religions and why people choose, or choose not to follow a religion. Through their R.E. learning, the children are able to make links between their own lives and those of others in their community and in the wider world. R.E. acts as a hub, therefore, between social aspects of learning, science and geography. Through R.E. our children are developing an understanding of other people’s cultures and ways of life, which they are then able to communicate to the wider community. It helps to link our small village primary school to the much bigger, multi-cultural world around us.

R.E. offers our children the means by which to understand how other people choose to live and to understand why they choose to live in that way. As such, R.E. is invaluable in an ever changing and shrinking world