RE is an opportunity to ask big questions about belief, rituals, actions and faith. RE offers a key to children to help them understand and accept similarities and differences in belief globally. RE provides space to express and discuss their own and others opinions and allows for agreeable disagreement.
We aim to help every child:
Let our Light Shine (Matthew 5:16)
on everyone, everywhere, everyday
RE is a statutory part of the curriculum and a core subject. We follow the locally agreed syllabus, using Understanding Christianity and The Emmanuel Project. The principal aim of RE in Dorset is to engage pupils in enquiring into big questions arising from the study of religion, belief, philosophy and ethics. In so doing Religious Education will support pupils’ own personal moral, philosophical, ethical and spiritual development and promote respect for others.
By addressing big questions, Understanding Christianity encourages pupils to explore core Bible texts, examine the impact for Christians and consider possible implications. Each unit incorporates the three elements:
Making sense of the text – Developing skills of reading and interpretation; understanding how Christians interpret, handle and use biblical texts; making sense of the meanings of texts for Christians
Understanding the impact – Examining ways in which Christians respond to biblical texts and teachings, and how they put their beliefs into action in diverse ways within the Christian community and in the world
Making connections – Evaluating, reflecting on and connecting the texts and concepts studied, and discerning possible connections between these and pupils’ own lives and ways of understanding the world.
RE provides pupils with an opportunity to study global religions and worldviews. Lessons are carefully planned to ensure that acceptance and respect are central in our lessons. RE facilitates children’s understanding not only of how belonging to a faith can shape the daily lives of believers; it also encourages our pupils to understand their own world view and how this has been shaped by their experience. In RE we positively encourage ‘Big Questions’ to develop a deep understanding.
Click the links below to see how the children at Buckland Newton are engaging with the curriculum for R.E.
Emmanuel-Project-with-Understanding-Christianity RE Policy 2024-27