RE | Mottram C of E Primary School

RE Intent

Mottram CE Primary School is a small school situated in a beautiful environment which constantly reminds us of the power of God and the beauty of the world He created. A part of the children’s Religious Education takes place every time the children look and go outside, where they can appreciate all the wonders of the things that surround them.

Our curriculum ensures that each child can ‘live life in all its fullness’ by offering stimulating and awe-inspiring learning experiences with our Christian Values at its heart. Questful RE teaches our pupils that Christianity is a diverse global faith that brings people together to create a sense of community. We explore challenging questions of meaning and purpose to encourage pupils to think deeply and reflect about their own and other’s experiences, religion, spirituality and thinking. The curriculum allows pupils to gain a knowledge and understanding of different faiths and worldwide beliefs.

We aim to develop courageous thinkers, who will have the power to challenge injustice and be the change they want to see in the world. 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.

RE Implementation

EYFS

The Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum supports children’s understanding of Religious Education through the planning and teaching of ‘Understanding the World’. RE is taught as a discrete lesson each week and embedded throughout the whole curriculum. Children are encouraged to use their imagination and curiosity to develop their appreciation of, and wonder at, the world in which they live. Exploring others’ views, cultures and beliefs supports children in developing their views and beliefs about themselves, their family and community. Young children explore faith through observing festivals and celebrations, sharing stories and books, handling real artefacts and through roleplay and discussion.

Teaching Years 1-6

Mottram is a Church of England Voluntary Aided school; therefore, Religious Education is taught in accordance with the rites, practices, and beliefs of the Church of England.

The teaching of Religious Education makes a distinctive contribution to the school curriculum as it allows all pupils to explore, understand and express their own response to spiritual and religious approaches to life. Our Religious Education curriculum provides high quality teaching and learning, which in turn enriches the children’s learning experiences. It is planned and taught following the Questful RE materials and incorporates units from Understanding Christianity.

RE EYFS Long Term Plan

RE Y1-3 Long Term Plan

RE Y4-6 Long Term Plan

Our children are taught to understand and respect the importance of religious beliefs in the world around them. Questful RE aims to allow pupils to explore themes and concepts within religion, drawing on beliefs from other faiths and world views. We ensure that the RE curriculum is challenging, dynamic and relevant to pupils of all ages– that is why an enquiry approach is implemented, encouraging higher-order thinking, and allowing our children to explore in a way that is meaningful to them. At Mottram, Religious Education is taught in discrete weekly lessons and is embedded throughout the whole curriculum, which is enhanced by an array of teaching and learning styles.

Global Neighbours and Courageous Advocacy

At Mottram, as part of our vision, we encourage children to be the change they want to see in the world and show compassion. Therefore, we participate in the Christian Aid’s Global Neighbour’s Scheme as a platform to further develop our children’s work as leaders for change against social and global injustices. This supports and recognises the important work we already do as a school in “courageous advocacy.”

Embedded in our school’s ethos and values, we actively support our children in working towards a more fair, just, and happy world. This approach is also supported by Christian Aid, who advocate the ethos of ‘in the light of the faith we hold.’ Our school provides a safe space in which our children can begin to make sense of the world around them and our work on courageous advocacy allows our children to:

Develop their knowledge and understanding of courageous advocates past and present.
Investigate real-life contexts for learning and provide opportunities for pupils to explore topical issues.
Advocate for change and create their own social action, whilst living through our Christian values

RE Impact

By the time children leave our school, they will:

talk with confidence about their RE lessons, showing that they enjoy and are inspired by them.
demonstrate an understanding of the school’s Christian Values, to know what they look like in practice and how we can live through these is all that we do.
know about and understand Christianity as a living, global faith that influences (and has influenced) the lives of people worldwide.
feel able to talk openly about their beliefs and values in lessons and to grow in their faith and spiritual development.
develop a respect and understanding for other major world religions and world views, allowing them to celebrate the diversity of our multicultural world.
develop religious vocabulary, enabling them to express their thoughts and beliefs.
develop their understanding of the idea of advocacy, to know how they can challenge injustice and how they can help to make the world a better place.
reflect upon their own learning, identifying successes and aspects they would like to find out more about.
progress appropriately in their knowledge and understanding of Christianity.
mature spiritually, academically, emotionally, and morally to enable them to become well-rounded successful citizens in future life and have a positive impact on their friends, family, local and wider community.