Miss Brailey is our RE Lead.

At Southmead Primary School the principal aim of Religious Education is to explore what people believe and what difference this makes to how they live, so that pupils can gain the knowledge, understanding and skills needed to handle questions raised by religion and belief, reflecting on their own ideas and ways of living.

The Devon and Torbay Agreed Syllabus 2019 asserts the importance and value of religious education (RE) for all pupils, with on-going benefits for an open, articulate and understanding society. The agreed syllabus aims to ensure that all children:

Make sense of a range of religious and non-religious beliefs, so that they can:

• identify, describe, explain and analyse beliefs and concepts in the context of living religions, using appropriate vocabulary
• explain how and why these beliefs are understood in different ways, by individuals and within communities
• recognise how and why sources of authority (e.g. texts, teachings, traditions, leaders) are used, expressed and interpreted in different ways, developing skills of interpretation

Understand the impact and significance of religious and non-religious beliefs, so that they can:

• examine and explain how and why people express their beliefs in diverse ways
• recognise and account for ways in which people put their beliefs into action in diverse ways, in their everyday lives, within their communities and in the wider world
• appreciate and appraise the significance of different ways of life and ways of expressing meaning

Make connections between religious and non-religious beliefs, concepts, practices and ideas studied, so that they can:

• evaluate, reflect on and enquire into key concepts and questions studied, responding thoughtfully and creatively, giving good reasons for their responses
• challenge the ideas studied, and allow the ideas studied to challenge their own thinking, articulating beliefs, values and commitments clearly in response
• discern possible connections between the ideas studied

The Religious Education curriculum is led and overseen by the R.E. lead. 

The syllabus is designed to support our school in developing and delivering excellence in RE. It responds to national calls for deepening pupils’ knowledge about religions and for developing their ‘religious literacy’. We do this by studying one religion at a time (‘systematic’ units), and then including ‘thematic’ units, which build on learning by comparing the religions, beliefs and practices studied.

The teaching and learning approach has three core elements, which are woven together to provide breadth and balance within teaching and learning about religions and beliefs, underpinning the aims of RE. Teaching and learning in the classroom will encompass all three elements, allowing for overlap between elements as suits the religion, concept and question being explored.

These elements set the context for open exploration of religion and belief. They offer a structure through which pupils can encounter diverse religious traditions alongside non-religious worldviews – which reflect the backgrounds of many pupils in our schools. The elements present a broad and flexible strategy that allows for different traditions to be treated with integrity. These elements offer a route through each unit while also allowing for a range of questions reflecting different approaches, for example, from religious studies, philosophy, sociology, ethics and theology.

At Southmead, Children are also given the opportunity to visit different places of worship, deepening their learning and understanding through experience and discussion with people, who have a different faith. Talks with religious visitors at the school are also organised to reflect current learning, which offers opportunity for high quality questioning and discussion. Regular assemblies by the ‘Open The Book’ team, a Christian group, who teach children Biblical stories through role play are also carried out, which are highly valued by our teachers and children.

At Southmead Primary School, we strive for children to become resilient and accepting young people. Our holistic approach helps pupils to develop their own understanding of the world and how to live, in the light of their learning, developing understanding, skills and attitudes. It makes a significant contribution to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, as well as providing important opportunities for exploring British values. Their learning exposes them to the challenges and responsibilities of living in a rapidly changing, multicultural world, preparing them to succeed through understanding themselves and others.

Through their study of religion and world views, children will develop the knowledge, understanding and appreciation of a range of faiths and non-faith beliefs. They will recognise that these beliefs and practices are important to people and impact the way they live. Through this understanding, children will develop compassion and accept and embrace the beliefs of others. Our active and ‘discussion based learning’ approach enables children to clearly and coherently articulate their personal beliefs, ideas, values and experiences while respecting the right of others to differ. This enables them to participate positively in our society.

There is not a statutory National Curriculum for Religion and World Views.  We follow the Devon and Torbay Agreed Syllabus for R.E. for 2019 - 2024.  This reflects that the religious traditions in Great Britain are mainly Christian, while taking account of the teaching and practices of the other principal religions represented in Great Britain. The other principal religions are: Hinduism, Islam, Judaism and Humanism.

EYFS RE CURRICULUM

We strive to ensure that all children develop respect and curiosity about their own and  others’ faiths. We support children in trying to better understand themselves and others, and educate them for living in a rapidly changing, multicultural world. We follow the Devon syllabus for RE which guides them through a series of questions that encourage the children to understand and appreciate a range of faiths and non-faith beliefs. Our children should start to recognise that these beliefs and practices are important to people and impact the way they live.