Religious Education

Religious Education

At St. Oswald’s we believe that we 'Teach children how they should live and they will remember it all their life'; Proverbs 22:6. We teach Religious Education using the RE syllabus ‘Questful RE’ by Blackburn Diocesan Board of Education.

Building on the foundation of both the 2007 and 2013 syllabuses the syllabus has been updated and redesigned to bring it in line with current best practice and pedagogical strategies. By embracing the explicit teaching of Christian concepts and God’s big salvation story, it is hoped that the content of this syllabus will give pupils a deeper understanding of Christianity.

To ensure delivery of a high quality Religious Education (RE) curriculum that is essential to meet the statutory requirement for all maintained schools to teach a broad and balanced curriculum the school regularly refers to ‘The Statement of Entitlement for RE’.

Intent

Religious Education nurtures our children and young people in cultivating their own beliefs, values, and attitudes across various religious traditions. Through exploring shared human experiences, and the place and significance of Christianity and other religions in the contemporary world, we open a path to spiritual growth.

(Diocese of Liverpool RE Syllabus)

At St Oswald’s CE Primary, we are committed to teaching Christian Values explicitly. Religious Education supports the teaching of all eight values, particularly the whole school value of ‘Community,’ as it empowers pupils to understand and empathize with members of our Multi-Cultural, Multi-Faith society.

To achieve our aims, we follow Questful RE Online, as recommended by the Liverpool Diocese.

Through the RE curriculum, we guide our pupils in developing a deep knowledge and understanding of different religions, their historical contexts, sacred texts, rituals, and symbols. This enables them to engage thoughtfully and respectfully with diverse religious perspectives.

Aligned with our school vision of valuing all individuals as children of God and fostering an inclusive school community, the RE curriculum will cultivate respect for religious beliefs and promote tolerance and understanding among individuals from different cultures and religious backgrounds.

We embrace pupils' critical thinking skills, encouraging them to explore moral and spiritual issues and to ask profound questions that challenge their perceptions of the world. By engaging in spiritual inquiry and reflection, pupils will gain a deeper understanding of themselves and their place in the world.

This short animated clip unpacks the concept of worldviews, inviting pupils to consider their unique perspective on the world and what shapes their identity.

We believe Religious Education plays a vital role in promoting social cohesion. Pupils will explore themes of justice, equality, and human rights and will be encouraged to engage in constructive dialogue. Through this, they will learn to show empathy by truly listening to others' points of view.

Implementation

The Liverpool Diocese recommends approximately 5% of the total curriculum should be allocated to RE. The majority of the time should be RE with a Christian emphasis (66-80%) the balance being allocated to other world faiths. The teaching of other faiths is essential to support diversity in the local community and create acceptance of all.

The school has allocated one session per week (5% of the total teaching time) for the teaching of RE. Lessons are planned and delivered in a variety of ways so that all children can participate fully. There is a wide range of interactive and practical activities linked to the units of work.

RE topics and themes may be explored in other areas of the curriculum, such as Harvest, Inter Faith Week, Christian Aid Week, visits to Liverpool Cathedral and also visits to our local Church for Experience Christmas and Easter Events. Where this is the case weekly planning will refer to the RE objectives and outline where work is recorded.

Impact

Questful RE promotes the explicit teaching of Christian concepts and God's big salvation story.

Through delivering this curriculum at St. Oswald's CE Primary it develops our pupils:

spiritual growth and well being
resilience and sense of purpose
cultural understanding
academic excellence
critical thinking, curiosity and open mind-fullness
respect, acceptance and empathy
ability to become agents of change within their local and global community

Teacher assessment takes place 3 times a year. All staff assess at the end of first unit of work, Christmas unit and Easter unit based on the ‘Ladder of expectation of achievement in RE’. Data is then shared with Governing Board termly during the Vision and Value Sub Committee meetings.