Our intent for RE is that children at Straits are given the opportunity to explore a wide range of religious and non-religious worldviews, which reflect the diverse nature of British culture. We believe that RE plays an integral role in providing our children with a broad and balanced curriculum, which not only enables them to develop a sense of appreciation, respect and tolerance for others, but also to develop their own views about the world around them.
Our curriculum is designed so that children will be introduced to new faiths when they are ready, whilst also revisiting those taught previously. This aims to enable our pupils to draw respectful comparisons and to build their understanding and cumulative knowledge over time, giving them the tools they need to develop their own set of beliefs and values by which to live their lives.
Our approach to RE gives pupils the chance to explore the main principles of the world’s biggest faiths whilst also formulating their own questions and debating the meaning and significance behind specific religious stories, symbols and messages. The important question should always be why, not what.
We aim to support our children to make links with faiths in the local community as well as that of wider Britain. Our RE lessons aim to provide a positive context in which the diversity of religious culture can be celebrated and in which children feel empowered to be reflective, developing their own moral compass which they openly accept may differ from that of others.
Our RE curriculum has been designed alongside the Dudley Agreed Syllabus for RE published in 2013, which is based upon two key attainment targets:
- Learning about religion (knowledge and understanding, including lines of enquiry)
- Learning from religion (evaluation and appreciation)
At Straits, we teach RE through a thematic approach which enables pupils to build on prior learning and to draw comparisons between different faiths. This ensures that our curriculum is progressive and that children are given the tools they need to establish an in-depth understanding of religion by the time they leave us.