R.E. at Palterton Primary

As a school we have adopted the Derbyshire and Derby City Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education. The National Curriculum states that every school must offer a broad and balanced, which promotes the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils at the school and of society and which prepares pupils at the school for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life. All state schools must teach R.E. to pupils at every key stage.

R.E. Intent - What is R.E. for?

Palterton School believes the aim of R.E. is to engage pupils in the systematic enquiry in significant human questions which religion and worldviews address, so that they can develop the understanding and skills needed to appreciate varied responses to these questions, as well as develop responses of their own.

For the children this means:

A chance to consider the big questions about life, to find out what people believe and how that affects the way they live, in order to make sense of religion and worldviews, reflecting on their own thoughts, ideas and ways of living.

R.E. Implementation - What will the children learn in R.E. ?

The R.E. syllabus sets a key question for each unit of learning, these are catergorised into learning about Believing (religious beliefs, teaching and sources; questions about meaning, purpose and truth), Expressing (Religious and spiritual forms of expression; questions about identity and diversity) and Living (religious practices and ways of living; questions about values and commitments).

As the children progress through school they discover these aspects of learning, then explore them before connecting them together towards the end of their primary education. Once the children move on to secondary education they build on this by interpreting and applying their learning. The predominant monocultural and mono-religion nature of our immediate community increases the importance of learning in R.E. 

R.E. in the Early Years - Reception - Renishaw class

Learning in Renishaw stems from the children's own experiences plus the religious and spiritual experiences from families. The learning in R.E. sits firmly with the children's Personal, Social and Emotional development and Understanding of the World enabling the children to develop a sense of self, others plus explore how to form positive and respectful relationships. We expect children to begin to understand and value the differences of individuals and groups within their own community as well as develop emerging moral and cultural awareness. The learning in Renishaw is mapped out as follows in a one year repeating cycle:

R.E. in Key Stage 1 - Years 1 & 2 - Ilam class

 Learning in Ilam develops the children's knowledge and understanding of religions and worldviews, recognising their local, national and global contexts. The children will use basic subject specific vocabulary as well as raise questions about their learning. The chidlren will begin to express their own views in response to the materials they learn about. The learning in Ilam is mapped out as follows in a two year repeating cycle:

R.E. in Key Stage 2 

Learning across key stage 2 extend the children's knowledge and understanding of religions and worldviews, recognising their local, national and global contexts. The children are introduced to an extended range of sources and subject specific vocabulary. they are encouraged to be curious and ask increasingly challenging questions about religion, belief, values and human life. The children learn to express their own ideas in response to the materials they engage with, identify relevant information, select examples and give reasons to support their ideas and views. The learning across Chatsworth and Hardwick classes is mapped out as follows in two year repeating cycles:

 R.E. in Lower Key Stage 2 - Years 3 & 4 - Chatsworth class

R.E in Upper Key Stage 2 - Years 5 & 6 - Hardwick class