ASHURST CE AIDED PRIMARY SCHOOL
RE POLICY
Aims - Our Intent
The study of RE at Ashurst CE Aided Primary School develops children’s abilities to explore, appreciate and understand the world in which we live and how different people believe it was created. RE is concerned with real people both past and present and the views that shaped and shape their lives. RE at Ashurst explores how individuals and communities make meaning and sense of their lives through the major religions of the world. It enables pupils to know about, understand and respond to the important and ultimate questions of life. RE is taught to inspire children to explore, develop and affirm their own faith and values and have respect for the faith, beliefs and values of others.
RE actively encourages children’s curiosity about the diversity of faith both in Britain and the wider world and plays an essential part in preparing them for living and working in the contemporary world.
As they progress from EYFS through KS1 and into KS2 children develop a chronological framework for their knowledge of significant events (The Big Story). They see the diversity of human experience, and understand more about themselves as individuals and members of society. They learn that what they believe and the values they hold will influence their decisions and personal choices. In RE, children are encouraged to discuss their thoughts and beliefs and to reach their own conclusions. To do this they need to be able to discuss with increasing confidence and argue their point of view – skills that are valuable in adult life.
Our aim is for our children to develop their own thinking and understanding of Christianity, as a contribution to their understanding of the world and their own experience within it. As a church school, the main focus of our RE curriculum is Christianity. Children explore the significant theological concepts within Christianity as part of developing their wider religious, theological and cultural literacy. In addition to this, using a similar enquiry based approach, children at Ashurst focus on some of the other major world religions including Judaism, Hinduism and Islam.
We strive to ensure that our children develop a ‘Religious Intelligence’- an understanding of the multi - faith society that they live in. Our children are engaged with activities such as drama, art, debates, outdoor exploration & still time, which allow them to gain a deeper understanding of humanities varied beliefs and practice.
It is our aim for the children to:
• acquire a knowledge and understanding of the origins, content and development of the Christian religion and of other religions, their traditions and beliefs
• understand the importance of religious experience and recognise the ways by which these experiences have been interpreted and expressed through a variety of religious traditions
• appreciate the contribution that religious and spiritual ideas and concepts can make to their personal search for meaning and purpose in life, enabling them to develop their own spiritual values.
• understand that information can be presented in a variety of ways and that these sources of information, when investigated and reflected on, can provide a deeper understanding of the faith in question.
• identify areas of similarity as well as difference between the major world religions.
• have a secure knowledge of the chronology of significant events, people and time periods locally, nationally and in the wider world. This chronological understanding will become more in-depth as the children progress through the school.
• look beyond self and recognise the contribution of religion in the establishment of relationships and responsibilities in the family, among friends, in schools, the community and the world at large
• use their understanding and to apply this in a variety of contexts and situations, for example, by considering the similarities and differences between different faith stories or ways of life or by making links between main events, situations and changes.
• explore the consequences of religious belief and experience in the development of personal attitudes.
- develop a positive attitude towards other people, respecting their right to hold beliefs different from their own, and towards living in a society of diverse religions.
Teaching and Learning Approaches – Our Implementation
The Early Years Foundation Stage
In Early Years RE is taught as an integral part of the topic work covered during the year. Children learn about the world around them by finding out and exploring, asking questions, showing curiosity about objects, events and people and using their senses to explore the world around them. Children’s understanding of RE is developed through finding out about faith and beliefs in their own and their family’s lives. In the Foundation Stage RE makes a significant contribution to developing the children’s understanding of world faiths through activities such as listening to and talking about faith stories from Holy books. Looking at key moments of belonging such as Baptism and using pictures of people of faith and religious artefacts to generate discussions about important festivals and objects in their own lives.
We provide opportunities for children to:
- communicate thoughts, ideas and feelings and to build up relationships with adults and each other
- listen to and interact with stories from different faiths
- talk about personal experiences of the past
- use drama and dance to act out key events from festivals
- Incorporate communication, language and literacy development in planned activities in each area of learning
- Learn in an environment that reflects their place in the world through signs, notices and books
- Develop spoken language through conversations between children and adults, both one-to- one and in small groups, with particular awareness of, and sensitivity to, the needs of children for whom English is an additional language, using their home language when appropriate
R.E. is concerned with educating children about religion and for them to learn from religion. It is not concerned with inducting them in a particular faith; this is the responsibility of the family or the faith community.
The school has a long term RE plan which includes the main objectives of the curriculum that children will study in each topic in each Key Stage. This is based on The Emmanuel Project. At Ashurst the faiths taught in RE at KS1 are Christianity, Islam and Judaism and at KS2 Christianity, Judaism, Islam and Hinduism.
Religious Education is taught through a combination of classroom work and work linked to assemblies. This work is co-ordinated to ensure the highest quality of learning experiences for the pupils; the objectives are progressive and cover the requirements of The Emmanuel Project and the West Sussex Agreed Syllabus.
During Key Stage 1, children have opportunities to consider the ways that people belong to a variety of groups and faith communities and make links between their home and religious lives. They explore events in the lives of their friends in school, and in the local community. Opportunities for cultural development come from engaging with the local Jewish and Christian communities, through welcoming visitors into school. Children begin to discuss, be aware of and use correct religious vocabulary.
During Key Stage 2, children develop their religious understanding from KS1 and study a wider range of significant people, events and places. Children practice religious enquiry skills, including asking philosophical and theological questions, collecting and recording information and discussing different viewpoints.
They learn about and reflect on their own and others’ beliefs about God and worship. Children consider how people express what matters to them in different ways and develop their understanding of important stories, practices, journeys and festivals from different traditions. They consider how others have overcome difficulties and consider issues about what is good and evil, standing up for the oppressed and putting others before yourself. Children research people who have inspired others or made financial or family sacrifices and reflect on what circumstances might lead them to do the same.
Throughout their RE journey at Ashurst children take part in roleplay and discussions, they research and present reports to their peers. Children engage in a variety of detective or problem-solving activities. Wherever possible, children take part in ‘real’ religious activities, e.g. interviewing visitors who have specific faith knowledge in person or via zoom calls, viewing and visiting relevant places of worship and carrying out fieldwork.
Withdrawal
When parents request that their child be withdrawn from Religious Education parents are interviewed by the head teacher to clarify the beliefs and practices that they wish their child to be excluded from. Because of the need to assure their safety, pupils, when withdrawn, will complete suitable material brought from home in their classroom.
SEN Provision and Equal Opportunities
There are children of differing ability at Ashurst. We recognise this fact and provide suitable learning opportunities for all children by matching the challenge of the task to the ability of the child.
Children identified as needing extra support in English will be given appropriate help to access the RE curriculum in the classroom. Planning in RE takes into account the targets set for individual children in their Individual Support Plans (ISPs). Their learning will be supported and incorporate specific approaches to enable them to learn, make progress and be successful. Children will be provided with challenges matched to their needs through a range of teaching strategies including:
• using texts that children can read and understand
• using visual and written materials in different fonts and colours
• using different coloured overlays
• using ICT, other technological aids and taped materials
• using alternative communication such as signs and symbols
Ashurst CE Aided Primary School, has universal ambitions for every child, whatever their background or circumstances. Children learn and thrive when they are healthy, safe and engaged. To engage all children cultural diversity, home languages, gender and religious beliefs are all celebrated. Our curriculum includes a wide range of texts and other resources which represent the diversity and backgrounds of all our children.
Assessment:
Teachers use a variety of means of assessing pupils work in line with the whole school assessment policy. This will include: the regular reviewing of pupils work as part of Subject leader book scrutiny, teachers’ assessment of units of work, observing the work of groups and individuals and recording the outcomes, reporting to parents and reporting to Governors
All children are tracked using the in-school tracking system. After each unit of work, class teachers assess children based on their knowledge and understanding linked to the objectives identified on the school planning documents.
As with other curriculum areas, pupils’ achievement in Religious Education is reported in the annual report to parents.
At Ashurst we strive to enable our children to be fully literate and articulate; children who are prepared for their secondary education and later life.
Through engaging lessons, we aim to foster a love of RE and for children to develop an awareness and understanding of their place in the world. Children develop the skills to work independently or collaboratively, and to ask, as well as answer, philosophical and searching questions. Children engage freely and respectfully in discussions with guests to elicit more information and are respectful of other people’s experiences.
Children are encouraged to consider how religious artefacts are used and their importance to those who use them. They consider the views of eyewitnesses and secondary sources through interview and research when discussing events, people and civilisations.
Ashurst children are encouraged to have a growth mind-set and to develop the skills of perseverance and resilience. Through the study of RE, children can develop their understanding of their own and others spiritual and religious beliefs.
Mental Health and Wellbeing
All children deserve the opportunity to experience happy, fulfilled and successful lives. At Ashurst CE Aided Primary we acknowledge that mental wellbeing is a normal part of daily life, in the same way as physical health.
At Ashurst CE Aided Primary we nurture our bodies, minds, each other and our environment. By providing opportunities for learning outdoors, we aim to connect children and staff with their natural environment. We embrace the benefits this brings for mental health and physical and emotional wellbeing.
We promote pupils’ self-control and ability to self-regulate and recommend strategies for doing so. This will enable them to become confident in their ability to achieve well and persevere even when they encounter setbacks or when their goals are distant, and to respond calmly and rationally to setbacks and challenges. This integrated, whole-school approach to the teaching and promotion of health and wellbeing has the potential to positively impact on behaviour and attainment.
Pupils are also taught about the benefits of hobbies, interests and participation in their own communities. We encourage children to recognise that they are social beings and that spending time with others, taking opportunities to consider the needs of others and practising service to others, including in organised and structured activities and groups, are beneficial for health and wellbeing. Engaging in activities that promote mental well-being can indirectly contribute to improving overall health by alleviating stress, improving sleep patterns, improving attention span and boosting the immune system.
Children are inspired to follow their dreams when they leave school, whether that be to secure a job, begin vocational training or go on to further education.
At Ashurst CE Aided primary School we recognise that we have a shared responsibility to prepare our children to achieve mental, physical and economic wellbeing in a local, national and global context.
In RE, there are genuine opportunities to work on enhancing pupils' self-esteem, confidence and emotional literacy skills. As children increase their awareness of religious beliefs and practices and the influence this has on individuals and community they develop skills of understanding, empathy and connectivity. Through RE we can engage further with understanding what it means to live well and be well- also known as ‘Human Flourishing’. Human flourishing: what it means to be truly happy, and the pursuit of this happiness are questions that have compelled thinkers since ancient times.
Religious and philosophical traditions differ profoundly in how they refer to human flourishing and especially how to attain it. The different responses help children to understand and gain insights into the beliefs and practices of various religious and non-religious world views. Learning in RE moves below the surface and begins to grapple with issues surrounding ultimate meaning and the purpose of life – issues that constitute the “very core of our beings, very marrow of our humanity”.
It helps young people develop their own beliefs and values in a safe environment, and promotes respect and empathy, which are important in our diverse society. It fosters civilised debate and reasoned argument and helps students to understand the place of religion and belief in the modern world.
Cultural Capital:
At Ashurst we aim to support every child to gain the confidence and the ability to understand and contribute to a varied cultural awareness. We believe that taking children’s learning experiences beyond what they already know is a fundamental part of becoming an educated citizen in society.
RE contributes to this through:
• engaging children on a journey beginning with their own spirituality and faith and then developing an understanding of those of others.
• providing rich opportunities for personal development, through its teaching of world knowledge, cultural diversity and understanding others’ values through listening to their views and beliefs
- enabling children to understand how different individuals and groups’ decisions have affected the world as we know it today, to reflect on these and be able to make informed choices of their own in the future.
• enabling children to acquire core knowledge and understanding of the beliefs and practices of the religions and worldviews which not only shape their history and culture, but which guide their own development. • Visits and visitors to inspire and encourage pupils to question what is important and what is valuable.
• providing children with opportunities to identify people and groups who have been guided by faith and through questioning and research, to understand the role of persecution, resilience and faith in achieving their aims.
Roles and Responsibilities
Subject Leader - To have an impact on raising standards of attainment for RE across the whole school.
- Adapt and use resources including The Emmanuel Project across the whole school to meet the needs of our children.
- To ensure that the other faiths identified within the scheme of work are taught with the same enthusiasm and integrity as Christianity.
- To monitor the whole schools and individual needs.
- To be able to assess individual professional development opportunities and needs.
- To monitor and maintain high quality resources.
- To maintain an overview of current trends and developments within the subject.
- To ensure, together with staff an effective programme of moderation and assessments.
- To ensure a regular and effective programme of analysis of short-term planning is in place.
Health and Safety
Visits are an essential part of the RE Curriculum and help to develop high quality discussions and reflection alongside religious enquiry and skills. Children learn best when the learning environment is ordered and they feel safe, so every visit is well organised and provides a stimulating and valuable experience. The children prepare for their visits and, on their return, use their experiences to good effect in the classroom.
Monitoring and Evaluation
This policy will be reviewed by the RE subject leader, in consultation with the staff, as and when elements of RE are identified or prioritised within the School Development Plan.
This policy was adopted in : July 2020
This policy was last reviewed in: September 2025
This policy is to be reviewed in : September 2027