Our Vision for Religious Education at Heyes Lane Primary School
“The need of the moment is not one religion, but mutual respect and tolerance of the devotees of different religions”
M K Ghandi
Our Vision
At Heyes Lane Primary School, we recognise the importance of supporting our children to be active and ethical citizens, who care about themselves, their community and the wider world. Our RE curriculum is designed to allow children to explore both their own beliefs and develop their understanding of the world and the beliefs of others. Through our key questions, which range from longer themes looking in depth at a particular religion, to shorter themes which look at concepts such as prayer, places of worship or ideas about God across a range of religions, we foster children’s understanding and respect for the wide variety of different beliefs and practices that take place in the world around us, both religious and secular.
Our RE curriculum provides a safe environment where children can learn about different religions, and can develop and express their own beliefs without judgement. Through the breadth of themes and religious/non-religious viewpoints covered, children will gain a deeper understanding of their own identity and personal beliefs. Children are encouraged to respect the opinions of others, to understand that everyone has a right to their own beliefs and are taught that a person’s beliefs may be a mixture of different religious and non-religious viewpoints. It is a significant mechanism for supporting pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development in school and helps children to build on their developing sense of belonging within the community. RE provides a key context to develop children’s understanding and appreciation of diversity, to promote shared values and to challenge racism and discrimination.
Curriculum Overview
Implementation
At Heyes Lane Primary School, in KS1 and KS2 we teach RE discretely. RE teaching follows the Trafford agreed syllabus for Religious Education (SACRE), which meets the legal requirements of the Education Act (1944) and the Education Reform Act (1988), and is taught weekly from Year 1 through to Year 6.
The RE syllabus is broken down into three strands:
- Believing – This strand focusses on religious beliefs, teachings, and sources; it poses questions about meaning, purpose and truth.
- Expressing – This strand relates to religious and spiritual forms of expression; it includes questions about identity and diversity.
- Living – This strand deals with religious practices and ways of living; the questions concentrate on values and commitments.
All our units of work are based around key questions, many of which enable the children to explore and compare several different religions at the same time.
Children have ample opportunities to learn about the contribution that different religious groups make to their communities and to consider the contributions they can make themselves to improve the world we live in. Throughout the units, children learn about the leadership of different religious and influential figures, and look at the qualities that define a good leader.
In Early Years our children follow the ‘New EYFS Framework 2021’ and ‘recognise that people have different beliefs and celebrate special times in different ways’ and know there are some similarities and differences between religions and cultural communities in this country’.
