R.E. at Great Barton 

We are a Church of England school who are committed to the Christian faith, recognising and valuing every individual as special and unique in the image and likeness of God.

RE is taught at Great Barton through the Emmanuel Project which provides challenging and enjoyable material for the teaching of R.E. All the units were written and trialled by outstanding teachers. Created by the Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich, this resource is a complete RE scheme of work for schools and is used extensively by C of E schools, community schools and academies. It enables the RE curriculum to be relevant and broad. The children are able to develop their understanding of the Christian faith and have respect for those who have different faiths and beliefs.

The resource provides a complete set of 49 enquiry-based units for teaching RE across our school with clear background notes:

29 units on Christianity from EYFS to KS2; and

20 units on other world faiths for KS1 / KS2.

Intent

Religious Education has a significant role for the development of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. It promotes respect and open-mindedness towards others with different faiths and beliefs and encourages pupils to develop their sense of identity and belonging through self-awareness and reflection. The principle aim of RE is to engage pupils in an enquiry approach where they can develop an understanding and appreciation for the expression of beliefs, cultural practices and influence of principle religions and worldviews in the local, national and wider global community.

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 promotes discernment and enables pupils to combat prejudice, preparing them for adult life, employment and life-long learning.

The intent of our RE curriculum is to deliver a curriculum which is accessible to all and that will maximise the outcomes for every child so that they know more, remember more and understand more. As a result of this, they will become independent and responsible members of a society who understand and explore big questions about life, to find out what people believe and what difference this makes to how they live.

Implementation

We follow the Emmanuel Project for RE, from EYFS through to Year 6. Key vocabulary is selected from each unit, revisited and extended as children move through the school. Children are taught using an enquiry cycle to engage, enquire, explore, evaluate, express and extend their learning. Learning is recorded in class scrap books which the children can access in their reflection areas.

Great Barton has very strong links with both Freedom Church through Open the Book and Holy Innocents Church through weekly Collective Worship with Father Ben. There are also key moments throughout the year where the children visit the church e.g. for the Christingle service.

Access to religious artefacts and faith books in particular the Bible, is available to all children.

All of our knowledge organisers for the units can be found on the following link.

Each half term we have a new RE unit with a new question to answer. Children will engage, enquire, explore, evaluate, express and extend their findings in different ways. All of our learning can be found in our class scrapbooks.

NEW FOR 2023!!

We shall be introducing big questions each term to develop some philosophical thinking and encouraging the children to find links between the different faiths.

Impact