What does RE look like at St Mark's?

"Where Children enjoy learning: achieving all God created us to be."

As a Church School we believe that Religious Education (RE) is vital to the children’s well-being and helps prepare children for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life.  We value RE for its contribution to the development of the children’s own beliefs and values, and sense of identity.  The principal aim of RE is to explore what people believe and what difference this makes to how they live, so that pupils can gain knowledge, understanding and skills needed to handle questions raised by religion and belief, reflecting on their own ideas and ways of living.

During their time at St Mark's  children will  study and compare a range of religions from: Christianity, Hinduism, Judaism and Islam. We feel that this will help to foster tolerance, respect and awareness of the multi-cultural world we live in.

Across the Key Stage, children will make connections between different aspects of Christianity and belief and consider different forms of religious expression.  They consider the beliefs, teachings, practices and ways of life central to Christianity.  They learn about the Bible and other sources of wisdom and consider their meanings.  They will also begin to recognise diversity in religion, learning about similarities and differences both within and between religions and the importance of dialogue between them.  They extend the range and use of specialist vocabulary.  They recognise the challenges involved in distinguishing between ideas of right and wrong, and valuing what is good and true.  They communicate their ideas clearly, recognising other people’s viewpoints.  They consider their own beliefs and values and those of others in the light of their learning in religious education.

RE is statutory for all registered pupils on the school roll.  The school follows the Gloucestershire Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education.  It is a spiral curriculum, so each religion will be taught more than once during their time here. 

Parents have the right to withdraw their child from RE and suitable alternative provision will be made.

We also see it of vital importance that the children visit other places of worship so they can see religion in practice. All Year Groups will take the children to the faith in focus place of worship: church, mosque, synagogue or temple.

Please see below for the RE Curriculum Plan, prepared by Subject Lead Mrs Bonser.

What does "Mastery" in RE look like?

Children who have mastered RE will know the key beliefs in Christianity and at least two other religions(Islam, Judaism, Hinduism). In Christianity they will be able to move from an understanding of the biblical text to an understanding of what this means for Christians in the church and in Christian living, including opportunities for pupils to examine and evaluate connections between these ideas and the wider world. They will be able to make links, being able to identify similarities and differences between religions and understand that within a religion not everybody believes the same.

Mastery requires pupils to respond to 'big questions' in a respectful manner.  They should be able to explain why they agree or disagree with someone else.

Inclusion - Every Voice Matters in RE

In an inclusive RE classroom, all children participate in the same learning and are encouraged to contribute their thoughts, ideas and questions. High expectations are maintained for every pupil, with appropriate support provided so that all learners can access key concepts and engage with meaningful discussion.

Language is central to RE. Children are supported to develop and use subject-specific vocabulary through discussion, visual prompts, vocabulary banks and modelled examples. Teachers check understanding regularly and provide opportunities for pupils to rehearse and share their thinking before expressing their views.

Lessons are structured so that all pupils can take part in exploring and reflecting on important questions about beliefs, values and ways of living. Flexible grouping, talk partners and collaborative activities enable pupils to learn from one another while respecting different viewpoints. Scaffolds such as sentence stems, key questions and visual resources help children articulate their ideas with increasing confidence and independence.

Top Tips for Parents

We encourage discussions about life's big questions.  To discuss our thoughts in a respectful way we use 'Agreeing to disagree' (see below).  This allows us to put our own ideas forward in a non-confrontational way and respect those who have different ideas to us.  Examples of big questions include; Is there a God? Why is there suffering in the world? What happens when we die?

We teach different religions discretely, however we encourage links to be made, identifying any similarities and differences. If pupils can make these connections it shows they are mastering RE.