Religious Education
RE Intent, Implementation and Impact
At St. George’s, we believe that it is fundamental that our children learn from, and about, the Christian religion and other world faiths, so that they can understand and appreciate the world around them. We want our children to be respectful and considerate of other religions and world practices and views, through meaningful and informed dialogue and critical self-reflection. We believe that thoughtful and responsible modelling of questioning, encourages our children to engage in this open dialogue, thus giving them opportunities to reflect on their own ethical, spiritual and moral views. By giving our children a theological and thoughtful Relgious Education, we show our Christian faith as diverse, accepting and welcoming. This ethos filters through everything we teach and do at St. George’s and we actively encourage all members of our strong school community to do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Phillipians 4:13).
How we implement our RE curriculum:
- We follow the Diocesan Syllabus for Religious Education in the Diocese of Southwark
- We teach two thirds Christianity and one third other principle world faiths (Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism and Sikhism). This equates to four half terms of the school year for Christianity and two half terms of one of the principle world faiths
- In Key Stage 1, children receive at least 45 minutes of Religious Education per week, and in Key Stage 2 they receive at least 90 minutes per week
- We meet for Collective Worship as a whole school for 15 minutes each day
- George’s Incumbent (also Vice Chair of Governors) works very closely with our school to guide the RE curriculum, deliver Collective Worships (in school and at St. George’s Church) and lead Diddy Disciples for our EYFS and Key Stage 1
- We share morning, lunchtime and end of day prayers in our class, as well as prayer in our daily Collective Worship
- Trips and visits to local churches, synagogues, mosques and temples enhance our children’s experiences and understanding
- RE enrichment days enhance children’s understanding of the Bible and Christian values and teachings
Through a carefully sequenced and progressive RE curriculum, we measure children’s progress against the intended planned outcomes. We use three lenses to assess the children; Living, Thinking and Believing, looking at the impact through what children write, say, draw and explain. Through our religious curriculum, our children will be able to make links between religions, show acceptances of other cultures and beliefs, and be critically self-reflective of their own religious and philosophical views.
You can find out more about the Southwark Diocese Board of Education (SDBE) by clicking on the image below:
Religious Education Curriculum at St George's
Throughout the school year pupils in KS1 and KS2 will study religious topics that equate to 4 half-term units of Christianity and 2 half-term units of the other principal world faiths, in accordance with recommendations from SDBE.
For Foundation Stage (EYFS) the curriculum involves:
6 half-term units with wider themes that fit in with Early Learning Goals and have a strong Christianity focus, but are flexible enough for other faiths to be included as appropriate to the pupils' and schools' context.
St George's CE Primary Curriculum Units
'Ways of Knowing'
Pupils encounter core concepts in religions and beliefs in a coherent way, developing their understanding and their ability to handle questions of religion and belief. The teaching and learning approach also has three disciplinary lenses or ‘ways of knowing’ (believing, thinking, living), which are woven together as golden threads to provide breadth and balance within teaching and learning about religions and beliefs, underpinning the aims of RE. Believing, relating to theological approaches, thinking, relating to more philosophical approaches and living, sociological approaches. Teaching and learning in the classroom will encompass all three elements, allowing for overlap between elements as suits the religion, concept and question being explored. (SDBE syllabus)
Whole School Religion Days
St George's holds a whole school RE Day twice a year to encourage community cohesion where each class participates in an exploration of a Christian faith concept. Pupils may participate in activities such as Godly Play, artwork creation and immersion into Christian stories. By the end of the day each class produces a display for the hall, and a school Collective Worship celebrates the children's achievements.
Diddy Disciples
St George's CE Primary School welcomes the church vicar Mother Sarah each week to lead a Diddy Disciples session for Reception Class, Year 1 and Year 2. Diddy Disciples is a form of worship which aims to encourage participation, discipleship and leadership from children’s earliest years, using storytelling, singing, colour, repetition, art and lots and lots of movement!
You can find out more about it by clicking on the image below:
School Religious Education Policy
St George's CE has developed a RE Policy in order to highlight the importance of the topic within the school. To find out more about religious education at St George's you can download it here.