Coleridge Primary School
Religious Education
Policy
Updated Sep 2014
To be reviewed June 2017
1
Religious Education is an integral part of the all-round education of the child.
We do not seek to urge beliefs on children or promote one religion over another.
Aims
Religious Education provides opportunities for children to:
 To give a balance in teaching about different faiths
 To give a balance between learning about religions and learning from them
 To give pupils the opportunity to explore their own thinking and beliefs,
relating them to what they learn about a range of religious perspectives
and reflecting on them
 To encourage positive attitudes and values to develop through well taught
religious education
 To provide opportunities for consideration of different beliefs and ideas
to one’s own
 To promote anti-racist education and community cohesion
 To promote the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development (SMSC)
of pupils
Curriculum
The school follows the Rotherham Agreed Syllabus for R.E.
In all areas of the R.E syllabus we promote an enquiring approach and ask
children to reflect on their own choices, religions, cultures and beliefs.
Foundation
Stage 2 RE
Plan
Autumn 1
Autumn 2
Spring 1
Spring 2
Summer 1
Summer 2
Ourselves: Are we all the same? How are we different?
Harvest: Who shall we thank for our food? How do people show they are thankful?
Festival: How do we celebrate special times? Birthdays, New Year, the seasons
Special Times: How do religious people celebrate special times? Christmas, Divali, Eid or Hannukah
Ancient Stories From The Bible:Which is your favourite? Jonah; Noah; David and Goliath, the Lost
Sheep
Our Feelings: How do these stories make you think and feel?
Being Jewish: What is important to the Jewish boys and girls? Artefacts, symbols, food, costumes, the
Almighty
Easter Time: What stories do Christians remember at Easter time? How do they remember Jesus?
Holy Places: Who uses a holy building? What for? Church, Synagogue, Mosque
Thinking About God: What thoughts and questions do people ask about God? What answers are there?
Who made our world?: What stories do Jews and Christians tell about the Creator?
Care for the Earth; How shall we look after our world?
Year 1 & 2 RE
plan
Autumn 1
Myself:Who am I? Children think about apects of identity shown in family, community & choices
Belonging to a Community: where do Jews & Christians belong? Where do I belong? How family life
shows that people belong to a religion, and make links to their own family.
Autumn 2
Spring 1
Spring 2
Summer 1
Summer 2
Celebrations:What matters at Christmas? Children learn about the stories, customs, celebrations &
beliefs of Christmas, and talk about what matters most in celebrations.
How do we say thank you for our beautiful world? Children learn about creation stories and the
questions they answer, exploring the world of nature.
Stories:What stories of Jesus do Christians love to tell? Children learn some stories told about Jesus
and stories he told.
Being fair: stories of Jesus that make you think: From stories about the Good Samaritan, the Prodigal
Son and the crucifixion, children consider fairness and its meaning.
Stories: What stories about Moses do Jews love to tell? From the baby in the bulrushes, the burning
bush, the Passover and Exodus and the ten commandments, children learn to explore Jewish ideas and
celebrations through active learning.
Symbols: what do the symbols of Easter mean to Christianity? Children learn the stories of the last
days of Jesus’ life and about the contemporary celebration of Holy week, Good Friday and Easter.
Festivals: how do Jewish people celebrate? Using personal experiences such as parties and birthdays
children develop their understanding of festivals and celebrations to include examples such as Shabbat,
Pesach and Hannukha
Leaders and teachers: Children reflect on stories from the lives of people who inspire because of their
faith. They explore: Who is inspiring to me? Who do I follow?
Churches, synagogues: What can we find out? Children discover the uses and designs of holy buildings
and enquire into them, building their knowledge of worship through visits, models and creative work
Questions About God: Where could we look for the answers? Using open ended thinking, holy writings,
and stories of leaders and teachers, children raise and talk about questions about God for themselves.
Year 3 & 4
RE plan
Autumn 1
Autumn 2
Spring 1
Spring 2
Summer 1
Summer 2
Christian Stories: what makes Jesus an inspiring Leader? Stories of Jesus’ miracles, wisdom, parables
asking why he is an inspirational leader and why He is an inspiration to people today. Reflections on
‘being inspired’ for themselves, and they are invited to identify their own source of inspiration. They
explore values and commitments and they consider what Christians believed about Jesus’ resurrection.
Christians and Hindus: how do Christians and Hindus use art, buildings and music in worship and
community? This unit of work uses cross curricular links to poetry, model making, art and design and
music to explore the architecture, worship and beliefs of Hindus and Christians, including identifying
similarities and differences.
Christian worship: why do some people find peace and strength by belonging to a Church? Children
enquire into Christian worship and sacred places, with a local focus. They might identify places of peace,
friendliness and thoughtfulness in school, then on a visit to a local church they enquire into the ways in
which worship and the Christian community show their beliefs about peace, community and reflection.
Christian values: what matters most to Christians and what matters most to me? Pupils use active
learning to explore non-religious ways of being good as well as Christian ideas, and work to express their
own ideas about rules and values. They learn about the ten commandments, the 5 rules and shared
values such as honesty, kindness, open-mindedness & compassion.
How and why do Hindu people worship their gods and goddesses at home and at the mandir? Introduce
Hindu practice to pupils. They discover how and why Hindu people worship at home and in the mandir,
considering symbolism, stories, beliefs and values for themselves.
Christian and Hindu answers to questions; what is God like? What matters most in life? What happens
when we die? This unit explores Christian and Hindu beliefs about God and about Life’s journey through
stories, examples and practices. Pupils make thoughtful and creative responses, through vehicles such
as Philosophy for Children to raise questions of wonder.
Year 1 & 2 RE
plan
Autumn 1
Autumn 2
Spring 1
Myself:Who am I? Children think about apects of identity shown in family, community & choices
Belonging to a Community: where do Jews & Christians belong? Where do I belong? How family life
shows that people belong to a religion, and make links to their own family.
Celebrations:What matters at Christmas? Children learn about the stories, customs, celebrations &
beliefs of Christmas, and talk about what matters most in celebrations.
How do we say thank you for our beautiful world? Children learn about creation stories and the
questions they answer, exploring the world of nature.
Stories:What stories of Jesus do Christians love to tell? Children learn some stories told about Jesus
and stories he told.
Being fair: stories of Jesus that make you think: From stories about the Good Samaritan, the Prodigal
Spring 2
Summer 1
Summer 2
Son and the crucifixion, children consider fairness and its meaning.
Stories: What stories about Moses do Jews love to tell? From the baby in the bulrushes, the burning
bush, the Passover and Exodus and the ten commandments, children learn to explore Jewish ideas and
celebrations through active learning.
Symbols: what do the symbols of Easter mean to Christianity? Children learn the stories of the last
days of Jesus’ life and about the contemporary celebration of Holy week, Good Friday and Easter.
Festivals: how do Jewish people celebrate? Using personal experiences such as parties and birthdays
children develop their understanding of festivals and celebrations to include examples such as Shabbat,
Pesach and Hannukha
Leaders and teachers: Children reflect on stories from the lives of people who inspire because of their
faith. They explore: Who is inspiring to me? Who do I follow?
Churches, synagogues: What can we find out? Children discover the uses and designs of holy buildings
and enquire into them, building their knowledge of worship through visits, models and creative work
Questions About God: Where could we look for the answers? Using open ended thinking, holy writings,
and stories of leaders and teachers, children raise and talk about questions about God for themselves.
Year 5 & 6
RE plan
Autumn 1
Muslims: What difference do the Five Pillars of Islam make to Muslim children’s lives? This unit
enquires into the practice of belief, prayer, fasting, giving and pilgrimage in Muslim life, with a focus on
children in the community.
Autumn 2
Can Islamic Relief and Christian Aid change the world? This unit connects elements of enterprise, ICT
and global citizenship with the work of two major faith based development charities.
Christian: How and why do Christians try to live by the Bible? By exploring the ways Christians use the
Bible to shape their values and behaviour, pupils learn from the rules, stories and commandments, and
teaching of the Bible, clarifying their own ideas.
Muslims and Christians: who is inspiring? Pupils learn from stories of the Prophet Muhammad and
Muslims alive today, and from the Lord Jesus, and Christians alive today.
Muslims: why are there now over 50 mosques in Yorkshire? This investigation uses a virtual or real tour
of a mosque to explore Muslim community life. They find out about the use and significance of the
Qur’an
What will make Rotherham a more peaceful and respectful place? Pupils bring together their learning
about the ways religions offer a path to peace. They consider how people who are different can live
together well, and create a spiritual ‘charter for peace in Rotherham’
Spring 1
Spring 2
Summer 1
Summer 2
Equal Opportunities & SEND
Legislation provides an entitlement for all pupils to a broad and balanced
curriculum. A wide range of ability and experiences exists within any group of
pupils. Teachers need to be able to provide equal opportunities in learning
through a flexible approach and skills which differentiate teaching and learning,
matching the challenge of RE work to individual learners’ needs.
Pupils have a wide range of backgrounds and needs, including learning, emotional
and behavioural difficulties. In RE these may be accentuated by differences of
home and faith backgrounds. It is important to recognise that all pupils can
achieve in RE, and teachers have the task of unlocking that potential and
facilitating that achievement.
Collective Worship
Collective worship follows themes that in the main are Christian based. Children
are presented with ideas to consider, religious stories, moral and ethical
viewpoints and religious celebrations and festivals. During assembly children will
be presented with issues that promote awe and wonder and spirituality.
Monitoring & Evaluation
The headteacher will monitor and evaluate the teaching and learning of RE by
scrutinising planning, observing teaching and learning and speaking to pupils.
Policy Updated September 2014 by J White
Agreed by governors:
To be reviewed June 2017