Religious Education Overview

Intent:
The principal aim of Religious Education (RE) is to assist children in their own search for meaning and 
purpose in life by examining those aspects of human experience which give rise to fundamental 
questions. 
RE provides, within the curriculum, a reminder that education concerns the whole person: body, mind 
and spirit. It seeks to provide children with knowledge and understanding of Christianity and other major religious traditions represented in contemporary society. The diversity of religious beliefs and practices should be appreciated. Children should be given the opportunity to develop an understanding of ultimate questions and religious and non-religious responses to them. 
For pupils with SEND, RE can enable these pupils to:
• Explore their feelings
• Enhance their sense of worth
• Help them develop positive attitudes both about themselves and others.
We value the importance of sensory awareness in RE lessons. A great deal can be learnt about the world in this way. Religious concepts may be difficult to understand but curiosity can be encouraged by letting children feel the crunch of Autumn leaves, the smoothness or acorns; the smell of freshly baked bread. 
Implementation:
We follow the Kent Agreed Syllabus and across both the Mayfield and Richmond school sites, RE is taught in a range of ways including; role-play, story telling, discussion, theme work, reflection, use of visitors and use of the local community. RE can be part of cross-curricular themes, and can be linked with acts of worship, e.g. in Science – a respect and awe for the natural world is fostered when learning about Space or Life Cycles.
Teachers offer new insights to provoke discussion and questions to help children to be more aware of 
their own worth, to respect the views of others, and to show them consideration.
RE teaching does not seek to 
• merely convey information about religions
• convert pupils to a particular religious viewpoint or tradition
• compromise pupils’ integrity by promoting the view of any one religion as superior to others.
Teachers have the flexibility to teach RE weekly or to block their lessons as they see fit. 
Impact:
By the time pupils leave our school, our aim is that their RE lessons will have provided the opportunities to develop the following skills:
Pathway 1: Pupils begin to communicate intentionally. They show anticipation in response to familiar 
people, routines, activities and actions and respond appropriately to them. They explore or manipulate objects, toys, artefacts or other equipment.
Pathway 2: Pupils express and communicate their feelings in different ways. 
Pathway 3: Pupils listen attentively and respond to religious stories or to people talking about religion. 
Pathway 4: Pupils discuss own ideas around the meaning of life and consider how religion impacts on 
world issues.
Monitoring and Evaluation
We put high value on discussion and experiences within our RE lessons. Monitoring of RE takes place 
through focus group conversations with the RE Coordinator. Outcomes of these conversations are 
feedback to teachers to inform their planning and teaching. 
Partnerships with parents
Shared experiences with parents are highly valued at Whitfield Aspen School. We endeavour to share our RE learning experiences through the Class Pages on our websites and when religious or spiritual events take place at school, where possible, parents will be invited to attend or view these.
We welcome any parents who wish to support the teaching and learning of RE at school.