Religious Education

At The Blue School, where children come from all faiths and none, religious education enables every child to flourish and to live life in all its fullness – John 10:10.

RE helps to educate dignity, respect and courageous advocacy, encouraging all to live well together. Religious education is a highly valued academic subject that enables an understanding of how religion and beliefs affect our lives. At the heart of RE at The Blue School, is the teaching of Christianity and through our sequenced curriculum children also learn about other faiths and worldviews, preparing children for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences in modern society

Aims

At our school, religious education supports and strengthens our vision, ethos and values that are at the heart of what we do in every aspect of school life. Throughout their time at The Blue School, we seek to develop every child spiritually, morally, socially, culturally and intellectually. This aim is embedded in our religious education curriculum. As a Church of England primary school, we follow the agreed syllabus provided by the London Diocesan Board for Schools.

To help children grow in their spiritual development.
To help children develop a knowledge and understanding of the Christian faith and the relevance of its teachings and practices in our everyday lives.
To help children consider and express their own values and commitments.
To enable children to study other world religions, and in order to gain a knowledge of and develop a sensitivity to the values and commitments that other people have.
To help children gain skills and attitudes that will enhance their personal social, spiritual and moral development.

Religious Literacy

Religious literacy supports children to understand themselves and one another, and the world in which we live. Religious literacy interconnects religious text, beliefs and practices with the world of the children, by viewing religion through three disciplines, theology, philosophy, and humans and social sciences. It promises a richer, deeper, wiser understanding of Christianity for both Christians and non-Christians, and an exploration of learning for all children who through delving deeper into Biblical text, can comprehend the meaning behind the written word.

Aims of Religious Literacy

To enable children to know about and understand Christianity as a living world faith by exploring core theological, philosophical and sociological concepts.
To enable children to develop knowledge and skills in making sense of biblical texts and other world faith stories, by understanding their impact in the lives of believers.
To develop children’s abilities to connect, critically reflect upon, evaluate and apply their learning to their own growing understanding of Christianity and other world faiths; of religion and belief more widely; of themselves; the world and human experiences.

Prom Praise 2020 at the Royal Albert Hall

At The Blue School, Collective Worship underpins the Christian vision, values and ethos of our school and allows for the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of our pupils. Opportunities to gather together in worship are provided daily.

All Collective Worship is based on Biblical teachings and uses a thematic approach for the week. The school uses resources from the London Dicosian Board (LDBS) alongside working with local clergy to plan, prepare and deliver Collective Worship. It covers a key, universal theme such as one of our school values (wisdom / hope/ dignity/ community). Collective Worship (as directed by the Church of England) is inspiring, inclusive and invitational, so that it can be delivered and enjoyed by those of all faiths and none.

We seek to reflect the community that we live in as part of our Collective Worship and incorporate different styles of Christian worship within our practice.

Collective Worship Aims at The Blue School

To explore the school’s vision and how that underpins shared values and virtues
To reflect on moral values such as compassion, gratitude, justice, humility, forgiveness and reconciliation; and develop virtues such as resilience, determination and creativity that develop character and contribute to academic progress
To be inspirational, fostering feelings such as awe, wonder, thankfulness, mystery and joy
To be inclusive, recognising and respecting that people hold different beliefs and commitments
To enable pupils to appreciate their own worth and value to God
To celebrate the gifts, talents and achievements of ourselves and others
To share Biblical stories and Christian teaching, giving them the encouragement to explore their own beliefs and understanding of God and improve everyone’s Biblical literacy
To teach about the nature of Jesus Christ, explaining the central position He occupies in the Christian faith
To focus on developing an understanding of all aspects of the Trinity: God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit
To focus on developing an understanding of the ‘Bible Big Story’ and to give pupils an opportunity to explore what the message of the Bible means to them today

To establish, explore, and reinforce common Christian principles, inspiring spiritual and moral reflection on the school’s values and how these relate to their own lives
To establish, explore, and reinforce our school values and how they are rooted in Biblical truth, whilst reflecting on how these relate to their own lives
To provide opportunities to understand and celebrate Christian festivals reflecting the local Anglican practice of our linked churches, All Saints’, St John’s, All Soul’s, St. Mary’s and St Francis of Assisi
To provide an opportunity for pupils to worship in a variety of settings, becoming acquainted with people from the local and wider community, particularly local churches
To provide an opportunity for pupils to worship in a variety of settings, becoming acquainted with people from the local and wider community, particularly local churches
To foster an environment where pupils contribute to prayer in worship, encompassing reflection, contemplation, meditation, silent prayer and collective prayer
To understand the value of personal prayer and reflection, providing opportunities to bring before God personal needs and those of others

An Integral Part of Life

As a Church of England school Religious Education is at the centre of our school’s beliefs and this is reflected not only in RE lessons but through assemblies, links with the local churches in our community and through our pupils and teachers morals and values. We ensure that RE teaching follows the national curriculum, and is open and instils respect for different views and interpretations enabling all young people to become successful learners who enjoy learning, making progress and achieving.

As a church school we support our children to understand the Christian faith, its values and ethos which we embed through discussion, collective worship, in lessons and through modelling in the way we treat each other and through our behaviour within our school and local community. Through this strong Christian ethos we strive to meet all our children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural needs.

This page provides prospective parents and visitors with a glimpse into our curriculum. Parents of Blue School pupils are provided with detailed guides to subject planning in the form of ‘Knowledge Organisers’ in Parent Zone.

RE Sequence

EYFS

Our children in EYFS will be able to explain who God is and why he is important to Christians. They will delve into the role God plays in rescuing people, including some of his miracles. Finally, as an introduction to school worship, they will visit one of our local churches, experiencing a service being led by our year 6 children.

Key Stage 1

At the end of KS1, children will be able to express an understanding of creation, discuss the importance of the Lord’s Prayer and begin to recite it, identify important individuals in God’s life and their role in Christianity. To build on our children’s faith, they will take part in a trip to a local church to learn about and participate in a baptism. Children will be introduced to Judaism, and will be able to compare symbols and practises to Christianity.

Lower Key Stage 2

In LKS2, the children will explore some of the big stories within The Bible, discussing their significance, while starting to appreciate the important role the Ten Commandments play within Christian life. As their journey continues, the children will deepen their understanding of Judaism, and begin to investigate Hinduism and its similarities and differences to Christianity. The children will finish their time in LKS2 by investigating the importance of Holy Communion and its symbolism.

Upper Key Stage 2

By the end of KS2 children will have had numerous opportunities to learn through and learn about our Christian faith, developing an understanding and appreciation of the morals, values and the ways in which our faith can guide us in our life journey. Each child will also have the opportunity to learn about other world faiths, what makes their faith special to them and explore the similarities to Christianity. All children will have the opportunity to take part in the Year 6 church services – a spiritual highlight in the school calendar.