Religious Education
Our syllabus for R.E. is 'Questful R.E.' and contains a clear Christian emphasis. Many of the learning objectives within each unit of learning have been written from the point of view that “we believe”, because this is a Church school syllabus and we do believe. However, it is recognised that teachers will have to be sensitive to the other faith backgrounds of their pupils.
Taught within an environment where Christianity is witnessed and experienced in action, pupils in R.E. experience, explore and encounter a wide range of creative and challenging activities that will help them to discover the answers to fundamental questions such as these: -
Who am I and what does it mean to be me?
In what ways do/can I relate to others?
How/where can I encounter God?
How can I make a positive contribution to the world in which I live?
What values, attitudes, beliefs and behaviour are important to me?
What does it mean to have faith?
Who/what influences and inspires me?
The units of work studied in each year group are:
| Year 1 |
1.1 Harvest 1.2 God and Creation 1.3 Christmas 1.4 Jesus was special 1.5 Easter new life 1.6 Why is Baptism special? 1.8 Joseph 1.9 My World Jesus World |
| Year 2 |
2.1 The Bible 2.1 Christmas good news 2.3 Jesus friend to everyone 2.4 Easter signs and symbols 2.5 Why is the church a special place for Christians? 2.6 Ascension and pentecost 6.7 Christmas the journey to Bethlehem |
| Year 3 |
3.1 Called by God 3.2 Christmas God with us 3.3 Jesus the man who changed lives 3.4 Exploring the sadness and joy of Easter 3.5 Which rules should we follow? 3.6 Harvest |
| Year 4 |
4.1 God David and the psalms 4.2 Christmas exploring the symbolism of light 4.3 Jesus son of God 4.4 Exploring Easter as a story of betrayal and trust 4.5 Are all churches the same? 4.6 What is prayer? |
| Year 5 |
5.1 How and why do Christians read the Bible? 5.2 Christmas the Gospels of Matthew and Luke 5.3 Jesus the teacher 5.4 Why do Christians think that Easter is a celebration of victory? 5.5 Exploring the lives of significant women in the Old Testament 5.6 Loss Death and Christian hope 5.7 Christmas around the world 5.8 Daniel 5.9 Pentecost what happened next? |
| Year 6 |
6.1 Life as a journey 6.2 How do Christians prepare for Christmas? 6.3 Why do Christians celebrate Eucharist? 6.3a Why is the Exodus such a significant event in the Jewish and Christian history? 6.4 Easter who was Jesus? 6.5 Ascension and Pentecost 6.6 Ideas about God 6.7 People of faith |
At St. John's we also use the 'Understanding Christianity' resource to support pupils in developing their understanding of Christianity, as a contribution to their understanding of the world and their own experience within it.
The following core concepts are explored in the Understanding Christianity approach, as part of the ‘big story’ of salvation, as understood within Christianity.
Some examples of pupils' work in R.E.
We enrich our R.E. curriculum with visits, visitors and enrichment days focusing on various aspects, including exploring other influential world faiths.
Here are some photographs from our annual Belief Boulevard enrichment day:
Our approach to teaching R.E. and the associated resources we use make a positive contribution to wider school priorities, including:
- Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development
- Promoting British Values and handling diversity, specifically through developing pupils’ skills in interpreting texts and handling controversy
- Developing values, character and virtues.
Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural (SMSC) development in our church school is distinctive because these four aspects of the school curriculum are inextricably rooted in the reality of God the Holy Trinity - Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The R.E. curriculum at St. John's is the place where excellent and distinctive SMSC is seen most clearly.
Take a peek at this inspirational movie, created by two Y5 pupils inspired by the book 'Only One You'
https://leighstjohns-ceps.primarysite.media/media/only-one-you