Religious Education (RE)

Vision

Here at Heybrook, we firmly believe that RE (like PSHE) is vital in reinforcing our school’s core values and promoting the spiritual, moral, social, and cultural development of our pupils. We are committed to broadening our children’s knowledge and understanding of a wide range of beliefs, religious practices and customs. We want our children to explore big questions about the meaning and purpose of life, beliefs, the self, issues of right and wrong as well as what it means to be human. We promote community cohesion and teach pupils to develop respect for others, including people with different faiths and beliefs, and help them to challenge prejudice and stereotypes. Moreover, our RE curriculum enables pupils to build their sense of identity and belonging, which helps them flourish within their communities and as citizens in a diverse society. Equally, we strive to encourage pupils to explore their own beliefs (whether they are religious or non-religious), in the light of what they learn, as they examine issues of religious belief and faith.

Aims

Heybrook Primary School follows the threefold principal aims according to the Rochdale SACRE syllabus:

A. Know about and understand a range of religions and worldviews.

• Pupils should be able to describe, explain and analyse beliefs and practices, recognising the diversity which exists within our communities.
• Pupils should be able to identify, investigate and respond to questions posed in religions and worldviews.
• Pupils should be able to appreciate and appraise the nature, significance and impact of different ways of life and ways of expressing meaning.

B. Express ideas and insights about the nature, significance and impact of religions and worldviews.

• Pupils should be able to explain their ideas about how beliefs, practices and forms of expression influence individuals and communities.
• Pupils should be able to express their personal reflections and critical responses to questions and teachings about identity, diversity, meaning and value, including ethical issues.
• Pupils should be able to appreciate and appraise varied dimensions of religion.

C. Gain and deploy the skills needed to engage seriously with religions and worldviews.

• Pupils should be able to find out and investigate key concepts of belonging, meaning, purpose and truth, responding creatively.
• Pupils should be able to enquire into what enables individuals and communities to live together respectfully for the wellbeing of all.
• Pupils should be able to articulate beliefs, values and commitments clearly in order to explain why they may be important in their own and other people’s lives.

Curriculum map

 Our curriculum map for RE clearly sets out the sequence of learning in this subject:

Heybrook RE Curriculum Map 2024-25

Policy

Our RE policy provides further details on how the subject is organised:

RE Policy 2024-25

What our children say

It's important to respect other people.

 When you meet someone new, you would know more about them.

Some religions have different cultures that can seem strange at first, but when you learn more about them they don't seem so strange anymore.

I found Hindu culture very interesting.

I enjoyed learning about Judaism and Christianity because I didn't know much about them.

RE is important so we can be kind to other people.

I learned a lot of things I didn't know about my own religion too.

It was interesting to learn about baptism in Christianity.

What it looks like