At Broadbottom CE (VC) Primary School, the flourishing of all our pupils and adults is at the heart or our school vision for education. We put our children at the heart of all decision making, so that they can live ‘life in all its fullness.’ Our school vision strongly underpins all our policies, curriculum design and daily practice, which are firmly built upon the Christian foundation.

“Let your light shine,” Matthew 5:16

Religious Education Statement of Intent

Our school Religious Education Intent embodies our vision statement and is fed through the whole school curriculum.  We have chosen this statement because  we are fully committed to enhancing the children’s Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural development in all we do. We want our pupils to have a strong sense of who they are and to fully respect and value the wonderfully diverse world in which they live.

Our Religious Education and wider curriculum provides knowledge and understanding of the principal religions represented within the UK. We nurture our pupils to respect and appreciate the beliefs, values, customs and traditions of individual communities, societies, and cultures from the local to the global. We want our children to have the ability to make reasoned and informed judgements about religious, moral, and ethical issues, with reference to the teaching of Jesus combined with the teachings of principal religions of the world.  At Broadbottom C of E Primary School we are committed to developing the pupil’s resilience and critical thinking skills, with the courageous advocacy to challenge injustice on every level including deprivation, disadvantage, and imbalance in our natural world.

At this school, RE expresses and strengthens our vision, ethos and Christian values which are at the heart of what we aim to do in every aspect of school life.

In our school, where pupils and staff come from all faiths and none, Religious Education (RE) is a highly valued academic subject, which enables understanding of how religion and beliefs affect our lives. The RE curriculum is rich and varied and pupils study a range of world religions and worldviews. At the heart of RE in this school, l is the teaching of Christianity, rooted in the person and work of Jesus Christ, which enables learners to acquire a thorough knowledge and understanding of the Christian faith.

We aim to provide a wide range of opportunities for learners to understand and to make links between the beliefs and practices of the range of faiths studied. Links with the Christian values of the school are intrinsic to the RE curriculum. In accordance with our vision, in every class we aim to provide suitable learning opportunities matched to the needs of all children. This may be done through providing support, live discussion and unpicking concepts, using a range of teaching, and learning styles within lessons (see appendix1). Where possible, teaching will be supplemented with visits to places of worship and/or visits from people from religious communities or from people who hold a non-religious worldview.

Pupils are encouraged to know about, understand, and respond to the important and ultimate questions of life such as ‘Who are we?’ and ‘Why are we here?’ Our curriculum inspires pupils to explore, develop and affirm their own faith and values whilst having respect for the faith, beliefs and values of others.

Encountering religion and belief includes enquiry into and investigation of the nature of religion, its key beliefs and teachings, practices, their impacts on the lives of believers and communities, and the varying ways in which these are expressed. It also includes the skills of interpretation, analysis, and explanation (See appendix 1). Pupils learn to communicate their knowledge and understanding using specialist vocabulary. It also includes identifying and developing an understanding of ‘big questions and ethical issues.

When responding to their learning encounters, Religious Education is concerned with developing pupils’ reflection on and response to their own experiences and their learning about religion. It develops pupils’ skills in applying, interpreting, and evaluating what they learn about religion, and the ability to consider and relate their learning to questions of: identity and belonging; meaning, purpose and truth; values and commitments. As pupils communicate their responses to learning, their religious literacy is developed and enhanced.

RE Long Term Plan

To view the syllabus taught please click on the MSSTT link below, which will take you to the Manchester, Salford, Stockport, Tameside and Trafford Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education. This syllabus establishes what should be taught in RE in accordance with the National Curriculum.