Religious Education

Intent

At Churchdown Village Infant School, we are thankful for our local community and the sense of belonging which this brings. Our Religious Education curriculum supports this, enabling children to develop curiosity, understanding and acceptance for both their own faiths and values, and the beliefs and cultures of others in our community and wider world. Our goal is to appreciate and celebrate all of the differing beliefs around us!

Through our progressive curriculum, children participate in meaningful and informative lessons, enriched with real-life resources, images and experiences. We believe that understanding and celebrating the many faiths and traditions in our community can begin with our youngest children. In our early year’s classrooms, children are given the opportunity to explore and question faiths through learning about festivals in differing cultures, including Chinese New Year, Holi, Diwali and Harvest. Children are introduced to the Christian faith with visits to the church as their place of worship. As children enter KS1, other religions, including Judaism and Islam, are explored with a focus on how they live.

Religious Education brings together learning from other areas of the curriculum. For example, in PSHE where children learn about being special as individuals, as well as knowing about belonging to families, groups and faiths. Through History and Art, significant individuals from diverse faiths are celebrated. Further immersive, enrichment opportunities, such as Bollywood dance, shows how music can showcase traditions and cultures.

Explore our Religious Education learning

Religious Education in the Early Years

We understand the power RE can have on building community, respect and understanding in our classrooms. In Reception, children focus on building their sense of self and what makes themselves and others special. At Churchdown Infant School, children are given opportunities to do this through continuous provision, whereby classrooms have calming corners, book areas and role play for children to have the opportunity to express themselves and learn about others through stories, developing a sense of belonging in the local community and wider world. Through assemblies, Churchdown Village Infant School celebrate the diversity, learn about faith, cultures and British Values. Stories, and celebrations of religious events enable children to build their knowledge of the world around them.

Religious Education in Key Stage 1

In Key stage 1, children develop their knowledge and skills across three key areas: ‘understanding the impact’, ‘making sense of belief’ and ‘making connections’. Lessons build on their experiences in EYFS, introducing new knowledge, and a focus on learning about and from other religions and cultures.

Children are able to learn about Christian, Muslim and Jewish beliefs and the beliefs of other faiths from around the world. Children are exposure to the different Christian festivals which occur throughout the year and learn to compare these to festivals celebrated by other faiths. Children learn about the importance of sacred places, important artefacts as well as developing their own and community tolerances for others.

The National Curriculum

Our RE curriculum is based on the Gloucestershire Agreed Syllabus for RE and is supported in early years with Development Matters document. We have chosen to use the syllabus to support us in ensuring the curriculum is carefully mapped so that it is progressive and children build upon their learning. The unit guides support teaching with core knowledge, vocabulary and suggested resources. We use this support, alongside the knowledge of our children at Churchdown Village Infant School, to provide the RE curriculum just right for us.

We are looking forward to seeing how world views are introduced in the New Gloucestershire Agreed Syllabus, coming in 2025! Click here for the Gloucestershire Agreed Syllabus for RE.

RE is provided for all pupils, and is inclusive and broad-minded. Parents do have the right to withdraw pupil from RE: if you wish to do this, make an appointment with the Headteacher and RE subject leader, however at Churchdown Infant School, we do not support selected withdrawal from RE.