St Michael’s C of E Infant SchoolReligious Education
At St Michael's we believe Religious Education (RE) should help children to become effective, resilient and curious learners by delivering a curriculum which encourages children to ask questions about their own and other people’s beliefs. We are committed to creating a secure, inclusive environment and plan our lessons so they build on the children’s prior learning meaning that by the time they leave us they have fostered a respect for themselves and others as part of their development as life long learners.
The principle aim for Religious Education:
- The principal aim of RE is to engage pupils in systematic enquiry into significant human questions which religion and worldviews address, so that they can develop the understanding and skills needed to appreciate and appraise varied responses to these questions, as well as develop responses of their own
Religious Education is a core subject at our school and our curriculum is designed to promote curiosity, creativity, challenge and independence enabling children to engage in religious texts, make connections with their own views and realise the impact of others’ beliefs in their everyday lives. As a church school, we believe every child should be educated in an environment of safety being true to their own faith yet deeply respectful of others.
'Freedom Friday'
We clear our mornings on a Friday to focus on RE and PSHE. This allows the children to use an enquiry approach to learning through the Understanding Christianity resources and the Kent Agreed Syllabus to learn about other world religions. Links with our school’s values and vision, and support for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural (SMSC) development are intrinsic to our RE curriculum and have a significant impact on learners. We provide a range of opportunities for learners to understand and make links between the beliefs, practices and value systems of a range of faiths and world views studied. We use a variety of teaching techniques such as drama, art, discussion, debate, use of artefacts, stories and reflection to provide children with opportunities to develop balanced and informed views about religions and world views. Children are encouraged to reflect critically and responsibly on their own spiritual, philosophical and ethical convictions using 'the big question' during lessons to consider how they understand the world and their own life experiences. Children discuss learning questions confidently and respect each other’s opinions on a variety of topics.
Where possible we want our pupils to have opportunities to encounter local faith communities through visits to local places of worship and visits from members of local faith communities.
Parents have the right to withdraw their children from Religious Education. However, in view of the Christian ethos and distinctive Christian character of our school, we would hope that all children admitted will participate fully in RE, and that anyone wishing to withdraw their child would discuss this with the headteacher before making a final decision.