Mereside Academy
Learn to Love, Love to Learn
Religious Education
Intent
R.E plays an important role in defining the distinctive Christian character at Mereside. We regard it as a core subject within our curriculum and it has a vital role in supporting the children to understand the world they live in. We hope that it will inspire lifelong engagement with the study of religions and beliefs.
In line with our vision we provide an R.E curriculum that is challenging, enriching and enjoyable.
As a church School we have a duty to develop the pupils understanding of Christianity as a living faith and develop an accurate understanding of other world religions and world views. This content will help promote social inclusion and contribute to harmonious relationships within our community.
Our RE curriculum also supports pupils in acquiring the knowledge and cultural capital they need to succeed in life.
Implementation
We use the Lichfield Diocese religious education guidance as the basis for our religious education provision. This guidance covers the world’s major religions and for each religion there are teaching suggestions for EYFS up to Year 6.
Christianity is taught for two thirds of the total curriculum time and we use the Understanding Christianity resource to deliver this.
Pupils also study Judaism and the Islamic faith. The academy has a small Islamic community and works closely with the local interfaith group. Judaism, as another Abrahamic faith deepens pupils understanding of both Christianity and Islam as they move through the academy.
Twelve questions are taught over two years on a rolling programme. The curriculum is sequenced to enable pupils to build upon their prior knowledge and skills and revisit key concepts eg. Salvation to deepen their learning. (See long term overview)
Each religious question has teaching suggestions that are divided into 3 strands. These are:
Explore - This is about making sense of a text or belief
Relate - Consider how the actions of the believer relate to the beliefs.
Apply – Think about how we can apply the belief to our own life and the world around us
To enhance our R.E teaching in the classroom many different resources are used including religious texts, faith stories, photographs, artwork, artefacts, video clips, visitors and visits.
R.E contributes to many areas of our school curriculum including English, Art, SMSC development, British values, Science and PSHCE.