Religious Education

Leader of RE Mr Smith

At Balby Central Primary Academy we are respectful of others' faith and beliefs.

Religious Education at Balby Central Primary Academy follows an enquiry-based approach using the scheme ‘Discovery RE.’ It provides a way of widening our children’s knowledge of the world through the wonderment of religion and beliefs.

RE aims to give children the knowledge, critical thinking skills, open minded and respectful attitude with which to investigate the world of religion and beliefs, and make their own decisions about what this means to them, whilst empathising with what it means to those who hold those beliefs. It also aims to enable children to grow spiritually by developing their awareness and skills of reflection, their experience of awe and wonder and their appreciation of stillness and silence.

RE is a statutory subject in all schools in England, except for those children withdrawn at the request of their parents. (Education Act 2002, section 80)

RE Intent Statement

Religious Education has never been more relevant, engaging or challenging as religion & religious issues are in the news every day. The events around the world are a reminder of the dangers of religious extremism and how religious education can play a vital role in addressing these matters. For pupils to be able to understand our constantly changing world they need to be able to interpret religious issues & evaluate their significance. From the pupils first day at school RE gives students valuable insights into the diverse beliefs & opinions held by people today. It helps with their own personal development & supports an understanding of the spiritual, moral, social & cultural questions that surface again & again in their lives. In tackling difficult questions it provides pupils with insight that can work to challenge stereotypes, promote cohesion, and tackle extremism. RE does important work encouraging young people to value themselves & the communities within which they live.

In Early Years, RE is taught as a stand alone lesson following the key questions of:

What makes people special?

What is Christmas?

How do people celebrate?

What is Easter?

What can we learn from stories?

What makes places special?

Special theme days are included at significant times, such as Christmas, Holi, Diwali and Easter.

How do we teach RE?

Throughout their time at Balby Central, children will study aspects of the major world faiths; Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Judaism, Buddhism and Sikhism. These are explored alongside the children’s own beliefs, values and experiences. There is an emphasis on learning about religion but also learning from religion.

Themes such as celebrations, special people, traditions, important places and our human values ensure the children are engaged with a topic that is relevant and exciting as well as building up their own personal values. We want our children to show respect, tolerance and understanding for the beliefs of others. This is promoted by allowing children to respond positively and with an enhanced vocabulary, to challenges they may face. Critical thinking skills allow them to relate the experience of others to themselves, develop curiosity, ask questions and develop an empathy and understanding of others that will take them through their future education and lives beyond the classroom. Lessons follow a 4-step enquiry approach.

The four steps are:

• Step 1: Engagement: the children’s own human experience is explored to act as bridge from their world (which may or may not include religion) into the world of the religion being studied.

• Step 2: Investigation: over approximately 3 lessons the teacher will guide the children to explore and investigate appropriate subject knowledge relevant to that question of enquiry.

• Step 3: Evaluation: An assessment activity enables each child to show their thinking and the depth of critical evaluation.

• Step 4: Expression: This refers the children back to the starting point of their own experience and allows them to reflect on whether their findings have influenced their own thinking.