Religious Education Curriculum
Religious Education is the bedrock of our curriculum as a Church School that was establ
ished by Trust Deed. We therefore treat this as one of our priority subject areas.
The school follows the Blackburn Diocesan Syllabus released in September 2022, which is the approved and adopted syllabus by the Liverpool Diocesan Board of Education.
A copy of the current syllabus can be found here: CURRENT DIOCESAN RE SYLLABUS
We are using the national support material being released by the Church of England National Office and RE Today; Understanding Christianity. We are working with another pilot school in Blackburn Diocese to look how this biblically focussed material can impact on the work within our own scheme of work.
a. Who leads this subject?
RE Subject Specialist/Champion: Marie Taylor
Subject Team Governor: Gloria Warburton
Part of the CDH (Christian Distinctiveness and Humanities) Team)
Parents are welcome to come and meet with either Mrs Meager, our Deputy Headteacher who leads our Collective Worship and RE Team or Mrs Taylor who is our RE Subject Leader to discuss the contents of the syllabus.
Our prospectus explains how parents may withdraw their child from receiving Religious Education, however it is essential that parents meet with us in school so they can make an informed decision. It should be noted that in application to this school you have chosen for your child to attend and Anglican Church School and that the school has expectations in response to this in terms of participation in school life and the curriculum.
b. RE Curriculum Intent
Distinctively we encourage our RE curriculum to deliver the aims of the 2016 CofE RE Entitlement through fundamental questions such as:
Who am I and what does it mean to be me?
In what ways do/can I relate to others?
How/where can I encounter God?
How can I make a positive contribution to the world in which I live?
What values, attitudes, beliefs and behaviour are important to me?
What does it mean to have faith?
Who/what influences and inspires me?
We learn about
• God who reveals the truth about himself and humanity through creation, the giving of the law, his action in history and through the prophets;
• God who reveals himself ultimately in Jesus his Son, living among us and dying and rising for us;
• God who reveals himself in his Spirit working in the living faith of the Church experienced through scripture, tradition and reason.
• We learn from
• an empathetic response to the Christian faith and a critical engagement with it;
• responding personally to the stories and teachings of Jesus Christ;
• examples of Christian living which give priority to the values of unconditional love, forgiveness, reconciliation, justice, compassion and faith.
As pupils explore the subject they are encouraged to:
• Have learning opportunities and a learning environment where Christian values are central to the ethos of the school and moral development.
• Develop an awareness of spiritual and moral issues in life experiences
• Develop knowledge and understanding of Christianity and other major world religions and value systems found in Britain and the wider world.
• Develop an understanding of what it means to be committed to a religious tradition
• To be able to reflect on their own experiences and to develop a personal response to the fundamental questions of life
• Develop an understanding of religious traditions and to appreciate the cultural differences in Britain today
• Develop investigative and research skills and to enable them to make reasoned judgments about religious issues
• Have respect for other people’s views and to celebrate the diversity in society
c. RE Diocesan Approved Policy Purpose
“In Church of England schools the students and their families can expect a religious education curriculum that is rich and varied, enabling learners to acquire a thorough knowledge and understanding of the Christian faith. Church schools should provide a wide range of opportunities for learners to understand and to make links between the beliefs, practices and value systems of the range of faiths and world views studied. Church schools should use some form of enquiry approach that engages with, for example biblical text, and helps develop religious and theological literacy. Links with the Christian values of the school and spiritual, moral, social and cultural development are intrinsic to the RE curriculum and should have a significant impact on learners.” RE Statement of Entitlement: The Church of England Education Office 2016
“Christianity should be the majority study in RE in every school. In Church schools that should be clearly adhered to. KS 1 – 3 at least 2/3rds of RE curriculum is to be Christianity. Sufficient dedicated curriculum time, meeting explicitly RE objectives, however organised, should be committed to the delivery of RE. This should aim to be close to 10% but must be no less than 5%.” RE Statement of Entitlement: The Church of England Education Office 2016
d. RE Diocesan Syllabus Aims
From the RE Statement of Entitlement: The Church of England Education Office 2016
• To enable pupils to know about and understand Christianity as a living faith that influences the lives of people worldwide and as the religion that has most shaped British culture and heritage.
• To enable pupils to know and understand about other major world religions and world views, their impact on society, culture and the wider world, enabling pupils to express ideas and insights.
• To contribute to the development of pupils’ own spiritual/philosophical convictions, exploring and enriching their own beliefs and values.
Appropriate to age at the end of their education in Church schools the expectation is that
• all pupils are religiously literate and, as a minimum, pupils are able to:
• Give a theologically informed and thoughtful account of Christianity as a living and diverse faith.
• Show an informed and respectful attitude to religions and world views in their search for God and meaning.
• Engage in meaningful and informed dialogue with those of other faiths and none.
• Reflect critically and responsibly on their own spiritual, philosophical and ethical convictions.
e. RE Guidance
Religious Education enables children to investigate and reflect on some of the most fundamental questions asked by people. At St.Margaret’s School we use the Blackburn Diocese Curriculum ‘Questful RE’ supplemented by the ‘Understanding Christianity’ Scheme of work, to develop the children’s knowledge and understanding of the major world faiths, and we address the fundamental questions in life, for example, the meaning of life and the existence of a divine spirit.
We enable children to develop a sound knowledge not only of Christianity but also of other world religions. Children reflect on what it means to have a faith and to develop their spiritual knowledge and understanding. We help the children learn from religions as well as about religions.
f. Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural education in Religious Education
