It is our intent that the Religious Education and Worldviews curriculum we provide offers engaging, inspiring and challenging opportunities that stimulate pupils through dynamic and relevant lessons and activities, rooted in our Christian faith. Through this, pupils will develop the knowledge, skills and confidence to explore and respond thoughtfully to high-level questions about a range of religious beliefs, values and traditions, fostering empathy, respect and understanding for others. We aim to nurture a strong sense of community and belonging, preparing pupils for the responsibilities and experiences of life in modern Britain and a diverse, multi-cultural society, while encouraging achievement and enabling our children, as a Church of England school, to live life today and for tomorrow grounded in Christian love, respect and service to others.
In a Church of England school, RE is recognised as a Core curriculum subject. Sufficient dedicated curriculum time should be committed to the delivery of RE. This should aim to be close to 10%, and certainly no less than 5% of the weekly timetable.
Christianity should be the majority religion taught in each year group, at least 50% of curriculum time.
At Elham, we follow the Understanding Christianity program and the Kent scheme of work for the other major religions and universal units. These religions are spread across all year groups, and consist of Judaism, Hinduism, Islam and Sikhism. We also use planning from the Diocese for teaching the worldview of Humanism.
Years 1-6 will follow a two-year cycle incorporating the units that the Diocese recommends teaching in those year groups. Foundation class also use the recommended long term plan of units from the Diocese.
Understanding Christianity is taught through 8 Bible concepts. They are built up over time throughout the year groups. These are:
God
Creation
The Fall
People of God
Incarnation
Gospel
Salvation
Kingdom of God
Each unit is split into 3 elements, which intertwine within each other. These are:
Making sense of the text
Understanding the impact
Making connections
Each unit contains a set of outcomes that the children are expected to achieve and are assessed against, as well as knowledge building blocks that show progress.
Through high-quality Religious Education, pupils will develop a secure theological and conceptual understanding of the Christian faith, alongside a broad and balanced knowledge of other religions and worldviews. They will acquire and apply a confident range of skills that enable them to engage thoughtfully, investigate effectively, enquire critically and evaluate reflectively, both within Religious Education and across the wider curriculum. As a result, pupils will demonstrate increased knowledge retention and enjoyment of learning, while continuing to grow spiritually, socially and emotionally, supporting their development as reflective, respectful and lifelong learners.