RE lenses

Holly

"We think about everyone in the world and know that everyone is special.  People in our world may look different and think differently, but we are all human and we respect everyone by treating them kindly and listening to what they have to say. This helps us to understand the difference in people and the world we live in. Some people, including Christians, believe that God helps them to make the right choices and listens to them when they pray. We are 21^st Century thinkers!"

Larch

"We think about everyone in the world and know that everyone is special. People in our world may look different and think differently. Some people, called Christians, believe their God created the world and sent Jesus to Earth to help them make the right choices in how they live and act. A symbol of Christianity is the cross. Some people, called Jews, also believe that their God created the world. A symbol of Judaism is the Star of David. Some people may not believe in a God at all, but we are all human and we respect one another by treating them kindly and listening to what they have to say. This helps us to understand the difference in people and the world we live in. We are 21^st Century thinkers!"

Willow

"We think about everyone in the world and know that everyone is special. People in our world may look different and think differently; Christians believe that their God sent Jesus to Earth to help them make the right choices in how they live and act. They read the Holy Bible to learn about God and express their commitment to God by worshipping at church. Jews believe that their God created the world. They read the Torah to learn how God expects them to behave and worship at their Synagogue. Muslims believe that their God – Allah - created the world and they worship Allah in a Mosque. Some people may not believe in a God at all, but everyone is human and we respect one another by treating them kindly and listening to what they have to say. This helps us to understand the similarities and differences in people and the world we live in. We are 21^st Century thinkers!"

Ash

"We consider the similarities and differences in beliefs across the world religions, evaluate what is right and wrong, think for ourselves and respect our own and others’ opinions in a world that is changing. People in our world belong to different faiths, such as Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism and Islam, or are secular, with no faith. People look different and think differently in what they believe, and how they act. They express this through prayer, worship and way of life but everyone is human and we respect one another by treating them kindly and listening to what they have to say. We can evaluate what is right and wrong, respect our own and others’ opinions, and recognise that our world is changing. We are 21^st Century thinkers!"

Oak

"We will explore challenging questions about the meaning and purpose of life by processing information, reasoning, questioning and evaluating issues of truth, belief and ethics. This will prepare us to appreciate our own and others’ beliefs and cultures in world religions such as Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism and Islam, as well as humanism, in order to see how these impact on individuals, communities and society in a world that is changing. Although people believe in different things, everyone is human and we respect one another by treating them kindly and listening to what they have to say. We are 21^st Century thinkers!"

Intent

We intend for our children to be religiously literate through providing:

• A curriculum that enables pupils to have the ability to hold balanced and well-informed conversations about religion and worldviews.
• Pupils with the knowledge to be able to make sense of religion and worldviews around them and begin to understand the complex world in which they live.

 We intend for our children to be 21^st century thinkers through promoting:

• Free thinking, tolerance and informed children who are able to make academically informed judgments about important matters of religion and belief which shape the world we live in.
• Compassion and understanding, so they can be aware of each other's values about what is important in life and how to get on together as a caring and supportive community, society, country and world in an ever changing society.

Implementation

RE is celebrated on a whole-school basis, with additional learning, study, trips and enrichment occurring across our Key Stages over the year. We help all our children - those who follow a faith at home and those who do not - to develop their learning and appreciation of living a life of faith, as it is a massive factor in how billions of people on our planet live their lives.

Belonging to a faith may mean dressing in a certain way; eating (or not eating) certain foods; recognising special people, places & dates; reading/writing/singing in a particular language or following certain traditions or commitments. The biggest part of following any religion is the values and principles that such religions instil in their followers.  This will affect how they treat others, view charity, respond to those in needs, set aspirations on their lives and interact with others.

At The Belfry we focus on 4 religions that are progressively explored through the Reception to Year 6 whilst also considering a further 2 religions and other world faiths.

• EYFS focus on Christianity whilst exploring other religions such as Diwali, Islam Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Humanism, through their Early Learning Goal of  ‘Understanding the World’.
• KS1 focuses on Christianity and Judaism.
• KS2 focuses on Christianity, Islam and Hinduism.
• Other world religious are woven through the units such as Buddhism and

By studying a breadth of religions, we seek to recognise the very best in each one of them - their kindness, generosity, forgiveness, welcoming, support, love and respect - and what they all share in common. 

Each unit is taught through an enquiry process that begins with the question we will be considering and endeavouring to answer. The questions revolve around the multi-disciplines of theology, social sciences and philosophy, which are explored through the five step enquiry process of engaging, enquiring, exploring, evaluating and expressing.

Each lesson begins with a Religious Education lens and moves onto our learning following the Norfolk Agreed Syllabus (2019). We use three schemes to support our RE teaching:

1. Understanding Christianity
2. The Emmanuelle Project
3. RE Today

Impact

Year 2 and 3 RE, learning about the Christams story, Winter 2, 2020

In Larch Year 1 and 2 have been learning about ‘What life may be like if you are Jewish’. They have been learning about different aspects of a Jewish person’s life, such as identifying symbols and artefacts that are significant to Jews, how they worship God at the Synagogue, follow the 10 Commandments and understanding how they use the Torah, yad, yarmulke and tallit. They visited the Norwich Synagogue and expanded their knowledge on what life is like if you’re Jewish by experiencing Shabbat and coming back to school to bake their own Challah!

This term in Ash they have been enquiring about Why Christians call the day Jesus died ‘Good Friday’. Through studying the crusification and resurrection from The Children’s Illustrated Bible. They discussed images of The Last Supper considering what they saw noticed from the events and any thoughjts it provoked for them. They portrayed their knowledge of Holy Week thouigh their diary entry writen in Mary’s point of view.