Introduction

RE is central to the purpose of Sedlescombe Church of England Primary School because, as a church
school, we see that the Christian faith informs all aspects of our life together and
commits us to a search for truth.

RE at Sedlescombe Church of England Primary School explores how individuals and communities make meaning and sense of their lives through the major religions of the world. It enables pupils to know about, understand and respond to the important and ultimate questions of life. RE is taught in such a way that it inspires pupils to explore, develop and affirm their own faith and values and have respect for the faith, beliefs and values of others. It is not the practice of this school to preach to or seek to convert children. Values education permeates the RE curriculum at Sedlescombe Church of England Primary School.

Aims

At this school, RE supports and strengthens the vision, ethos and values which are at the heart of what we aim to do in every aspect of school life. The importance placed on the development of the whole child spiritually, morally, socially, culturally and intellectually is reflected in the RE curriculum
Specifically, RE aims to enable pupils of all abilities and stages of development to:

• Develop knowledge and understanding of Christian beliefs and practices so that they understand the importance of the Bible, the role of the church and recognise that for Christians their faith provides a way of interpreting life and its meaning.
• Develop knowledge and understanding of the beliefs and practices of some of the other principal religions in Britain.
• Understand how belief may impact on culture, relationships, values and lifestyle.
• Understand how belief can be expressed in a variety of ways including art, dance, music, ritual celebration and in different cultural settings.
• Develop spiritually, morally, culturally and socially by helping them to reflect upon personal feelings, responses and relationships.
• Explore ways in which religious values and teaching have an impact on actions and decisions for people of faith
• Be supported in their own search for meaning and purpose in life.
• Develop a sense of awe, wonder and mystery.
• Explore concepts of love, forgiveness and sacrifice.
• Develop skills of reflection, empathy, communication, analysis, investigation, interpretation, evaluation and synthesis.
• Develop attitudes of respect, sensitivity, open-mindedness and self-esteem.

Legal Framework

As a voluntary controlled CE school, the East Sussex Agreed Syllabus for RE is our statutory document for the teaching of RE.
Parents have a legal right to withdraw their children from religious education lessons, but as RE is central to the life and identity of Sedlescombe Church of England Primary School, we would ask parents to discuss with the Headteacher any reasons they might have for doing this.

Teaching and Learning

• The scheme of work for RE is an enquiry based approach and will maintain a balance between three areas which are, making sense of the text, making connections and understanding the impact. This ensures that the  two attainment targets: Learning about Religions and Learning from Religions are fully met.
• There will be clear learning outcomes for all units of work, based on the appropriate expectations/levels as set out in the RE syllabus.
• The scheme of work will ensure that there is continuity and progression for pupils and opportunities for assessment in all units against the learning outcomes.
• A range of experiential teaching and learning activities will ensure that pupils learn creatively, effectively and with interest.
• Pupil progress and attainment in RE will be tracked and recorded at the end of each unit and evidence will be recorded in the children’s RE books through the use of cold and hot tasks as well as written work and photographic and video evidence.
• Progress in RE will form part of pupils’ annual report to parents.
• RE will be taught either as a discrete subject or as part of a cross curricular approach where appropriate.
• The local vicar will visit classes to support the delivery of learning in Christianity and the local church will be visited throughout the children’s time at the school.
• In this school the faiths taught in RE at KS1 are Christianity and Judaism and at KS2 Christianity, Judaism and Islam.
• RE will be given at least 5% of curriculum time i.e. 1 hour per week in the foundation stage and Key Stage 1 and 75 minutes per week in Key Stage 2.

Subject Leadership

• The RE subject leader will support and monitor the subject and will receive adequate leadership time to do this.
• The RE subject leader will ensure that his/her subject knowledge and expertise are kept up to date by means of regular training.
• The RE subject leader will ensure that staff receive adequate training in the teaching and assessment of RE.
• The RE subject leader will regularly monitor the quality of RE teaching across the school.
• The RE subject leader will liaise with the Ethos Working Group (foundation governors) which monitors the school’s Christian Distinctiveness including the teaching of RE. The Ethos Group  will report regularly to the governing body.
• The RE subject leader and Headteacher will ensure that the principles set out in the National Society’s Statement of Entitlement for RE are implemented.

Review

This policy will be reviewed on a three-year cycle. Its effectiveness will be monitored by the RE Subject Leader, SLT and Ethos Working Group and will be based upon discussions with other members of staff, lesson observations, children’s work and evaluation of teaching plans. The outcome of the review will influence the School Improvement Plan.