Religious Education

Religious education in a Church school should enable every child to flourish and to live life in all its fullness. (John 10:10). It will help educate for dignity and respect encouraging all to live well together.

Religious Education in Church of England Schools - Statement of Entitlement (2018) The Church of England Education Office

We follow the Kent Agreed Syllabus which states:

The principal aim of RE is to engage pupils in systematic enquiry into significant human questions which religion and worldviews address, so that they can develop the understanding and skills needed to appreciate and appraise varied responses to these questions, as well as develop responses of their own.

Within the Kent Agreed Syllabus framework we use Understanding Christianity. This project is produced by the Church of England Education Office and allows us as a church school to develop a deeper understanding of Christianity as a living and diverse faith with a focus on the teaching of Jesus and the Church.

Religious Education is crucial in preparing children for their future by enabling them to develop respect and sensitivity to others. Units covering other major world faiths provide us with opportunities to compare and contrast the roles which religions play within Britain and around the world.  Children learn the diversity of different religions, beliefs, values and traditions, whilst still being encouraged to explore, share and affirm their own faith.

Term 1 

Reception 

Your child will explore why certain stories are special to people before beginning their first R.E. topic ‘Why is the word God so important to Christians?’.  They will be introduced to Tom and Tessa who are Christians.  They will discover why the word ‘God’ is important to them and that they believe that God is the Creator of the universe and all that is in it.  They will look at some of Tom and Tessa’s favourite stories from their special book, the Bible. 

Year 1 

In their topic ‘What do Christian’s believe God is like?’ your child will explore how Christians believe in God, and that they find out about God in the Bible.  They will look at some stories that reflect their belief that God is loving, kind, fair and forgiving, and Lord and King, and discuss how Christians try to live in ways that please him. 

Year 2 

In the topic ‘Creation - Who made the world?’ your child will discover how Christians believe that God created the universe and that the Earth and everything in it are important to God.  They will also look at the unique relationship that Christians believe God has with human beings as their Creator and Sustainer and how humans should care for the world because it belongs to God. During the term they will also be visiting the local church, Christ Church to explore these themes further. 

Year 3 

In the topic ‘People of God – what is it like to follow God?’ your child will explore how the Old Testament tells the story of a particular group of people, the children of Israel known as the People of God — and their relationship with God.   They will look at how the People of God try to live in the way God wants, following his commands and worshipping him, and that he promises to stay with them.  They will investigate whether Bible stories show how God keeps his promises.  

Year 4 

In the topic’ Creation/Fall - What do Christians learn from the creation story? Your child will look in more depth at how Christians believe that God cares for the creation, including human beings and that as  part of God’s creation, they do best when they listen to God.  They will investigate passages in the Bible which Christians believe show that God wants to help people to be close to him — keeping his relationship with them and giving them guidelines on good ways to live (such as the Ten Commandments).  

Year 5 

In the topic, ‘What does it mean if God is loving and holy?’ your child will investigate how Christians believe God is omnipotent, omniscient and eternal, and that this means God is worth worshipping.   They will look at how Christians believe God is both holy and loving, and how they have to balance ideas of God being angered by sin and injustice (such as the Fall) but also loving, forgiving, and full of grace.  

They will learn that Christians do not all agree about what God is like, but try to follow his path, as they see it in the Bible or through Church teaching and that getting to know God is like getting to know a person rather than learning information. 

Year 6 

In the topic ‘Creation/Fall - Creation and science: conflicting or complementary?’ your child will use their previous learning to look at how there is debate and some controversy around the relationship between the accounts of creation in Genesis and contemporary scientific accounts.  They will discover how these debates and controversies relate to the purpose and interpretation of the texts but that there are many scientists throughout history and now who are Christians.  They may also consider how the discoveries of science may make Christians wonder even more about the power and majesty of the Creator.