Intent

‘Religious education contributes dynamically to pupils’ and students’ education in schools by provoking challenging questions about meaning and purpose in life, beliefs about God, issues of right and wrong and what it means to be human.... children learn to weigh up the value of wisdom from different sources, to develop and express their insights in response, and to agree or disagree respectfully. Teaching therefore should equip pupils and students with systematic knowledge and understanding of a range of beliefs and practices, enabling them to develop their ideas, values and identities.’ Surrey Agreed Syllabus 2017-2022

Sythwood Primary and Nursery School is home to a rich and diverse community with families from a range of religious and non-religious backgrounds. Our RE curriculum, which uses the Surrey Agreed Syllabus as a basis, incorporates other schemes and resources to ensure our children receive high quality and detailed lessons which equip children with a deep understanding of a range of religions and world views, enabling them to ask provoking questions and explore their own ideas, values and indenttities.

We value the religious backgrounds of all members of our school’s community and encourage children to articulate clearly and coherently their personal beliefs, ideas, values and experiences. All religions and their communities are treated with respect and sensitivity. We have ensured that our subject content highlights the main religions within our school’s community and their festivals are celebrated throughout the year. Children will acquire and develop a rich knowledge and understanding of: Christianity, Islam, Judaism and Hinduism.

Our holistic approach to RE subject knowledge is evident through carefully selected internal and external assemblies, visitors, trip, story books and our IPC topics. Within our school’s Reading Spine, we have carefully selected a range of stories which are used to hook, engage and ignite new learning within RE. Religious Education, as a domain, is rich in stories and Sythwood celebrates this.

Our RE curriculum aims to:

- Equip children with the appropriate tools to articulate core beliefs and traditions of a range of religions using appropriate language and vocabulary.

- Understand other people’s culture and ways of life and why they choose to live in such a way.

- Inspire and ignite our children's inquisitive and curious nature.

- Provide children with the confidence to ask challenging questions and respect views held by others.

- Ensure our children understand and promote our school value Be Respectful; as well as show empathy and understanding of religious differences.

- Develop their own identify to freely make their own choices and decisions concerning religion and belief.

- Develop interest in and enthusiasm for the study of religion & beliefs and enhance their own spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

- Use stories and picture books as a key resource to introduce and support new units of learning.

Curriculum Overview

Please click on the image below to see the overview of our RE curriculum from Reception to Year 6: