Religious Education

Religious Education (RE) plays a vital role in a child’s development by helping them explore the beliefs, values, and traditions of different religions and worldviews. It encourages children to ask questions, think critically, and develop a respectful understanding of others—skills that are essential in our diverse and ever-changing world. 

At primary school, RE helps children build empathy, reflect on their own beliefs and values, and appreciate the similarities and differences between people. It also supports personal, social, and moral development, laying the foundation for respectful, thoughtful, and informed citizens. 

At Queensgate Foundation Primary School, RE is an important part of our broad and balanced curriculum, contributing to a well-rounded education for every child.

A Message from Mrs Gibbins, our RE Subject Leader

Our Religious Education (RE) curriculum is a vibrant and integral part of school life. It is carefully designed to be fun, engaging, and age-appropriate, ensuring that every child feels included and inspired. RE days are not only interesting and enjoyable but also rooted in real-life relevance, helping students make meaningful connections between beliefs, values, and the world around them.

Intent

Religious education builds children’s sense of identity and belonging within the world in which they live.At Queensgate, we aim to encourage deep thought and personal reflection on big questions and ideas.We want children to share their own thoughts but be open-minded to the views of others. Children are encouraged to ask questions about the world and to reflect on their own beliefs, values and experiences.Our aim is to develop children’s respectful attitudes towards others including people with different faiths and beliefs. We want to foster an understanding of diversity within the school, local community and wider area. Through a creative and ambitious RE curriculum, we aim for all children to develop their thinking and knowledge.

Implementation

At Queensgate we follow the ‘Living Difference 4’ syllabus, which is the agreed syllabus for religious education in Hampshire. RE is taught as one whole day each half term to allow for consistency of learning. To help pupils retain knowledge between RE days, pupils are given the opportunity to revisit, explore and enrich their learning during mid term ‘Pondering Time’ opportunities and collective worship.

Our syllabus reflects the fact that religious traditions in Great Britain are in the main Christian, while taking account of the teachings and practices of other principal religions in Great Britain.

Children will learn through an enquiry-based process which is driven by concepts. These concepts are common to all people, for example celebration, specialness and remembering. Children will explore the concepts through a cycle of five skills:

• Communicate
• Apply
• Enquire
• Contextualise
• Evaluate

This cycle allows children to think about their own experience of a particular concept before thinking about a religious way of living.

Impact

All children make the best possible progress through an inclusive curriculum that provides challenge and engagement for all. During RE learning, children are able to make links between their own lives and those of others in their community and in the wider world. Our children are developing an understanding of other people’s cultures and ways of life, which they are then able to communicate to the wider community.

RE offers our children the means by which to understand how other people choose to live and to understand why they choose to live in that way. As such, RE is invaluable in an ever-changing world.

Children with SEND

Children with SEND are given the opportunity to demonstrate their thinking and knowledge without being hindered by literacy skills. During RE days, children will be able to respond to a concept in various ways including group discussion, drawing, role play, music, and dance. This will give teachers the opportunity to assess the learning of ALL learners in a variety of ways.

Religion and belief have become more visible in public life in recent years, making it important that all pupils should have an opportunity to engage in RE. However, the parent of a pupil at a community, foundation or voluntary school (or pupils themselves if they are aged 18 or over) may request that they be excused from all or part of the religious education (RE) provided.

Parents who wish to withdraw their children from RE should be aware of its aims and what is covered in the RE curriculum and that they are given the opportunity to discuss this if they wish. It should be made clear whether the withdrawal is from the whole RE curriculum or specific parts of it. No reasons need be given.

Important - Limitations to Withdraw

• If pupils are withdrawn from RE, schools have a duty to supervise them, though not to provide additional teaching. A pupil may be required to work in another area of the school, such as library or break out area.
• Whilst parents or carers have a right to withdraw children from RE, they should note that children may also encounter religions and beliefs and wider aspects of faith in other areas of the curriculum from which there is no right of withdrawal.
• On occasion, spontaneous questions about religious matters are raised by pupils or issues related to religion arise in other curriculum subjects such as history or citizenship (PSHE) For example, schools promote community cohesion and help pupils to understand ideas about identity and diversity, feelings and emotions within both religious and non-religious contexts.

Managing the Right of Withdrawal

If pupils are withdrawn from RE, schools have a duty to supervise them, though not to provide additional teaching or to incur extra cost. Pupils will usually remain on school premises where it is feasible and appropriate.

Where a request for withdrawal is made, the school must comply and excuse the pupil until the request is rescinded. Though not legally required, it is good practice for a head teacher to invite parents to discuss their written request.

(Section 71(3), School Standards and Framework Act 1998).

RE Curriculum

The RE curriculum forms an important part of our school’s spiritual, moral and social teaching.

Our RE curriculum is based on the Isle of Wight Local Authority’s (LA) Agreed Syllabus (Living Difference) and it meets all the requirements set out in that document. The Education Act 1996 states that an Agreed Syllabus must reflect the fact that the religious traditions in Great Britain are in the main Christian, whilst taking account of the teachings and practices of the other principal religions represented in Great Britain. It must be non-denominational and must not be designed to convert pupils to a particular religion.

We have used the locally agreed syllabus and added additional aspects to ensure that it meets the needs of the children at Queensgate We have ensured that there is progression throughout the school and that each concept studied follows a cycle of important elements and skills. These are:

• Communicate - where children have a chance to listen and share ideas.
• Apply - where children take the information they have learned and apply it to their own lives and experiences.
• Inquire - where children ask questions and try to find out additional information.
• Contextualise - where children explain their learning to their own lives and experiences or a specific religion.
• Evaluate - children debate and come to their own conclusion about the concept learnt.