Religious Education at Shakespeare Infant School

Intent

In Religious Education, we study the diversity of the world and different religious beliefs and practices.

We follow the Hampshire Agreed syllabus and Living Difference IV, which encapsulates the key religions represented in the UK.

It is our intent for the Religious Education element of our school curriculum to engage, inspire, challenge and encourage pupils, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to answer challenging questions, explore different religious beliefs, values and traditions and develop a more rigorous understanding of the numerous religious traditions, beliefs and practices that are followed in our    multi-cultural society. We want them to know how religious education enables pupils to combat prejudice, preparing them for life-long learning.

Through RE we aim to enable children to acquire an understanding, appreciation and respect for the many different beliefs that people hold, with a specific focus on Christian and Sikh traditions.

We will help children to gain an awareness of their own feelings and develop an understanding of the needs and feelings of others.

Children make use of different resources to develop understanding and make R.E. meaningful to them.

Much of our RE teaching is carried out through exploring the children’s ideas and emphasis is given to discussion and positive, quality talk. 

Our religious education learning provides a rich and wide range of experiences which give children opportunities to develop concepts and skills that will help them to make sense of their own experiences and beliefs, and to understand the beliefs and practices of members of faith communities through open, fair minded enquiry.

Religious instruction is not part of the educational process and therefore has no place in religious education. Religious education is an educational subject in its own right, taught within an educational framework.

We believe that RE makes a unique contribution to the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils and supports wider community cohesion and we are proud to have close links with St Peter's Church in Boyatt Wood.

Implementation 

At Shakespeare Infant school we deliver the RE curriculum by following the agreed syllabus for Hampshire- The Living Difference IV. Our planning and our schemes of work reflect this for each Key Stage. The children learn through communicating, applying, enquiring, contextualizing and evaluating their thoughts in group work and class discussions.

RE is taught in discrete blocked lessons at the end of each half term. These are separate to our topic work, but allows for links to be made with specific festivals and times of the year. This allows the children to become fully immersed in RE, which is taught through concepts and allows time for the children to deepen their understanding.

Each unit of work identifies prior learning, allowing for progression throughout the school, with a focus on Christian and Sikh traditions.

We value the religious background of all members of the school and wider community and encourage children to share their own experiences freely with others.  All religions and their communities are treated with respect and sensitivity and we value the links, which are, and can be made between home, school, and a faith community.  We have a close link with St Peter’s Church Boyatt Wood.

Our RE work is underpinned by our spiritual learning value, represented by Betsy Butterfly. This encourages children to value themselves and celebrate who they are, respect the values and beliefs of others, ask thoughtful questions and appreciate the awe and wonder of the world around them.

RE makes a unique contribution to the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils and has close links to PSHE and the ideas shared in ‘We Care time’ and British Values implemented within the school as a whole.

RE at Shakespeare Infant School

All or Part Withdrawal from RE Lessons

Withdrawal from RE lessons Parents/carers have the right to withdraw their children from all or part of the Religious Education in accordance with Schedule 19 to the School Standards and Framework Act 1998. However, we hope that all parents will feel comfortable with the type of religious education being taught in our school. In the first instance, parents who may wish to exercise this right should make an appointment with the Year Leader who will explore any concerns and discuss any impact that withdrawal may have on the child. We will ensure that parents who want to withdraw their children from RE are aware of the RE syllabus and its relevance to all pupils, and respects their own personal beliefs. Parents will be made aware of the learning objectives and what is covered in the RE curriculum and will be given the opportunity to discuss this, if they wish.

At Shakespeare Infants we will review such a request each year, in discussion with the parents. The right to withdraw should be at the instigation of parents and it should be made clear whether it is from the whole of the subject or specific parts of it. No reasons need be given.

Where parents have requested that their child is withdrawn, their right will be respected, and where RE is integrated in the curriculum, the school will need to discuss the arrangements with the parents or carers to explore how the child’s withdrawal can be best accommodated.

Once a child has been withdrawn, they cannot take part in the RE programme until the request for withdrawal has been removed.

Providing an alternative to RE lessons

We have a duty to supervise any pupils who have been withdrawn from RE, but not to:

• Provide additional teaching that is not RE

• Incur extra cost

We will not ask parents/carers to supervise their children if they’re withdrawn from RE.  However we can make alternative arrangements for providing RE of the kind the parent/carer wants the child to receive. This is provided for in law, under section 71(3) of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 for maintained schools.

This might involve:

• Providing the relevant RE at our school

• Sending the pupil to another school that provides suitable RE, if practical

• Withdrawing the pupil from school for a “reasonable period of time” to attend external RE