RE

At Drake, we believe that our pupils need a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of religions, beliefs, philosophies and views of the world. We help children to learn about religions and worldviews, and also learn from these. We examine the values arising from beliefs and practices and how these influence societies and communities today.

We follow the Norfolk Agreed Syllabus for R.E 2019 (https://www.schools.norfolk.gov.uk/-/media/schools/files/teaching-and-learning/religious-education-agreed-syllabus/norfolk-religious-education-agreed-syllabus-2019.pdf) , which requires that we spend the most time investigating Christianity, though children also learn about Judaism and encounter other faiths and worldviews.

The Norfolk Agreed Syllabus states that high-quality R.E will support pupils’ ‘religious literacy.’ Being religiously literate means pupils will have the ability to hold balanced, well-informed conversations about religion and worldviews. They will be able to make sense of religion and worldviews around them and begin to understand the complex world in which we live. R.E is primarily about enabling pupils to become free thinking, critical participants of public disclosure, who can make academically informed judgements about important matters of religion and belief which shape the global landscape.

Pupils’ progress is assessed in relation to the purpose and aims set out in the syllabus. Therefore, we primarily consider how well pupils are able to hold balanced and well-informed conversations about religion and worldviews. In other words, are pupils becoming more religiously literate?

R.E is seen as a multi-disciplinary subject, rooted in three key disciplines or disciplinary fields. These are theology, philosophy and the human/social sciences. Effective R.E will balance these three disciplinary lenses in order for pupils to become more religiously literate.

The syllabus sets out an enquiry-based approach to the teaching of R.E. Lessons are planned around core questions, such as: Why is light an important symbol for many religious believers? How do people decide what is right and wrong? What questions do religious stories make us ask? What do Christians learn from the creation story? How do Humanists make sense of the world? How do Buddhists explain suffering in the world? Does religion bring peace, conflict or both?

In the Early Years Foundation Stage, pupils are prepared for the multidisciplinary approach. They begin to explore religion and worldviews in terms of important people, times, places and objects, as well as visiting places of worship. Pupils listen to – and talk about – religious stories which may raise puzzling and interesting questions. They are introduced to specialist words and use their senses in exploring religious beliefs, practices and forms of expression.