Intent 
At Kirkbampton CE Primary School we teach a Religious Education (RE) curriculum that provides opportunities for spiritual development and personal reflection. It develops children’s knowledge and understanding of the nature of religion and belief, it provokes challenging questions about meaning and purpose, truth and values, identity and belonging. RE prepares children for citizenship in today’s diverse society. It enables them to develop sensitivity to, and respect for others. The quality RE that we teach helps to break down barriers and build communities. RE offers pupils authentic encounters with living faith communities equipping them with the ability to hold an informed conversation about religious beliefs and practices.

This gives pupils opportunity to investigate, reflect, evaluate and make meaning. In doing so they will discover more about themselves, their relationships with others, their relationship with the world around them and their relationship with God.

We aim to provide our pupils with the opportunities to explore RE to the fullest extent by:

•   Providing the highest quality teaching and learning experiences possible

•   Seeking the highest professional standards

•   Promoting excellence and enjoyment in RE

•   Enjoyment of discovery and new learning

Implementation 
Kirkbampton CE Primary School operates in accordance with the guidance set out in the RE Statement of Entitlement, (The Church of England Education Office 2016).  We use a highly regarded resource Understanding Christianity.  As a church school, RE is a core subject and consequently we ensure that at least 5% of curriculum time is dedicated to the subject.  The curriculum that we follow focusses on Christianity for 70% of the time and other world faiths for 30%.   With regard to non-Christian faiths, the school has decided to have a main focus on Islam and Judaism.  RE is taught by class teachers in discrete weekly lessons that are engaging, thought provoking and challenging.  

Impact 

The impact of RE will be seen through our pupils who will be able to give a theologically informed and thoughtful account of Christianity as a living and diverse faith.  They will show an informed and respectful attitude to religions and world views in their search for God and meaning as well as engage in meaningful and informed dialogue with those of other faiths and reflect critically and responsibly on their own spiritual, philosophical and ethical convictions.

The children’s learning journey in RE is assessed each term using the current assessment framework with judgements by class teachers having been informed by the contributions made by children in class discussions and work recorded in their RE book. RE is reported on formally to parents at the end of each academic year.  Progress of children is tracked throughout their time at St Wilfrid’s CE Primary.

Parental Rights of Withdrawal in a Church of England School

The Worship and Religious Education provided by the school is in accordance with the Church of England. This foundation is also reflected in the curriculum and the whole life of the school community. Since the conduct of the school as a whole reflects the Church of England ethos, removal of pupils from Worship and/or Religious Education (as parents are legally entitled to do) cannot insulate them from the religious life of the school.

Collective Worship

At Kirkbampton CE Primary School, the daily act of collective worship is viewed as an integral and important part of school life. Through this and in the general ethos of the school, we seek to promote our mission statement of: With Hope, Friendship and Compassion, We Learn Together.

It is a time where we come together to share our love of God based on promoting the Christian values which permeate the ethos of the school. As such, the contributions of staff, pupils, church clergy and other visitors are valued highly. We also actively seek to encourage the attitudes of awe, wonder and reflection. We have regular contributions to worship time. In accordance with Cumbria Diocesan Guidelines, our school ensures that every child is entitled to an opportunity for daily worship.

Withdrawing Pupils from Collective Worship

The 1996 Education Act gives parents the legal right to withdraw their children from collective worship.  This is upheld under the 1998 Act. 

As an Anglican school we hold great value in the power of collective worship to formulate, enhance and celebrate the power and wonder of our Christian faith. That said, if parents wish to withdraw their child from collective worship we request that the reasons be put in writing and submitted to the Headteacher.

Religious education and collective worship are conducted according to the Cumbria Agreed Syllabus.

At Kirkbampton CE Primary School we foster strong links with our local community in working together to provide rich learning opportunities for our pupils. The ethos of our school provides a welcoming, secure and stimulating environment and is reflected in a religious education programme that is inclusive and relevant to the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of all our pupils.

RE at our school is based on the ‘Cumbria Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education’.

What we believe

RE is fundamentally concerned with an exploration of the important aspects of life and what it’s like to be human. It provides opportunities for pupils to ask questions, to seek answers and develop ideas in a quest to discover more about their own identity and that of others. RE can provide a context for the exploration of moral and ethical opinions and dilemmas by learning about lifestyles and behaviour in real, historical and fictional situations. It can help our pupils to understand the power and meaning of belief and religion for individuals and communities in the United Kingdom and across the world.

Within their learning in RE, pupils develop specific attitudes that are open, reflective, and critical and a skill base which allows them to be curious, play with ideas, empathise, listen, imagine, question, make links and reason. They need to appreciate the ‘un-comfortableness’ of the unknown. For us at Kirkbampton CE Primary School, it is important that all our enquiries within RE relate to clearly defined concepts in order to develop purposeful and relevant learning.

Specific objectives and key aims

In RE at our school, we aim to enable pupils to:

Learn about Religion and Beliefs (attainment target 1) by:

• Developing knowledge and understanding of religious beliefs, teachings and sources;
• Developing knowledge and understanding of religious practices and lifestyles;
• Explaining meanings within different religious forms of expression; language, story and symbolism.

Learn from Religion and Beliefs (attainment target 2) by:

• Reflecting on aspects of human nature, identity, personality an experience especially in the light of one’s own beliefs and experiences;
• Identifying and responding to questions about the nature, meaning and purpose of life;
• Giving informed and considered responses to religious and moral issues, values and commitments.

Learning from religion is concerned with developing pupils’ capacity to respond thoughtfully to and evaluate what they learn about religion. Also about developing skills and attitudes that enable pupils to be well informed about the religious and non-religious responses to the big questions of life and how these are expressed through practice.

RE is carefully planned to ensure balance between the two attainment targets of the subject.