Religious Education

Intent:

At Lenthall Infant and Nursery School, our Religious Education (RE) programme aims to help children affirm and develop their beliefs, values, and attitudes through diverse experiences and activities. We believe every child should gain insight into different religions and worldviews, enabling them to reflect on their own ideas and embrace diversity.

This aligns with our BE PROUD values: belief, equality, perseverance, respect, open-mindedness, understanding, and dreams.

We recognise the importance of challenging inequalities and discrimination related to race, religion, culture, gender, or socio-economic background. Our RE curriculum is sensitive to the social and cultural contexts of our pupils and acknowledges their varied experiences and faith backgrounds.

RE is integrated into our behaviour policy and enriched through visits, diversity assemblies, weekly celebrations, and an annual events calendar. It plays a key role in promoting Spiritual, Moral, Social, and Cultural (SMSC) development.

Implementation:

At Lenthall Infant and Nursery School, we adhere to the Derbyshire Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education (RE), supplemented by resources from Understanding Christianity and RE Today. Our RE curriculum invites children to explore big questions about life, helping them understand beliefs and their impact on lifestyles while reflecting on their own thoughts and values.

The syllabus mandates that all pupils learn about Christianity at each key stage, as well as principal UK religions: Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism, and Judaism. We also represent non-religious worldviews like Humanism, reflecting the diversity within our classrooms.

• Reception: Children engage with Christianity and other faiths, fostering their sense of self and community.

• Key Stage 1: Focus on Christians and Muslims.

To effectively deliver the syllabus aims, we allocate a minimum of 5% of curriculum time for RE:

• Reception: 36 hours (approx. 50 minutes weekly or integrated into continuous provision).
• Key Stage 1: 36 hours annually (around an hour weekly or concentrated RE days).

Due to copyright, we cannot publish the full scheme on our website.

We've structured our RE curriculum progressively. Early units focus on specific religions, while later units adopt a thematic approach, integrating knowledge from both the current and previous years. Some units are designed in two parts, ensuring key concepts are revisited to deepen understanding.

Impact:

At Lenthall Infant and Nursery School, Religious Education (RE) is assessed through various methods:

• Informal judgements made by staff during lessons.
• Immediate next steps provided through verbal feedback.
• Pupil and peer assessments.
• Formal skills assessments and checklists.

At the end of each RE unit, teachers make summary judgements regarding each pupil's work against the success criteria. The RE subject leader monitors class assessments and analyses data on a termly basis to ensure continual improvement and effectiveness.

Our Ultimate End Goal:

When our pupils leave Lenthall Infant and Nursery School, they will be able to:

• Recall knowledge and understanding of Christian beliefs and practices, recognising the Bible's importance and the role of the church in shaping a Christian perspective on life.
• Understand the beliefs and practices of key religions in Britain, including Hinduism, Judaism, and Islam.
• Comprehend how belief influences culture, relationships, values, and lifestyle.
• Recognise that belief can be expressed in diverse forms, such as art, dance, music, and rituals across various cultural settings.
• Reflect on personal feelings and relationships through an understanding of spiritual, cultural beliefs, and moral frameworks within Christianity and other religions.
• Appreciate how religious values and teachings inform the actions and decisions of people of faith.