Religious Education

Miss Rachel Pope

Religious Education Subject Leader

Mrs Laura Ellis

Multiculturalism leader

At Telford Infant School our RE curriculum aims to inspire children’s curiosity and fascination about the world’s religious and non-religious traditions. Children experience religious ideas and concepts through immersive and experiential learning. They engage in religious celebrations and  festivals, investigate religious artefacts, use drama to re-tell special stories and visit places of worship that are local to their own community. We teach respect and tolerance for different beliefs and expand on our own views as we learn to become ‘worldview explorers’. Children learn listening and speaking skills as they engage in discussions about their own ideas and values in relation to others. They build on their own personal knowledge in both religious and non-religious contexts as they learn about specific religious traditions and engage in philosophical dialogue. Our aim is that children develop a depth of knowledge and understanding of diversity within religions through oracy, enabling children to develop their own beliefs and questions about the world.

 

Telford Infant School follow the locally agreed syllabus, SACRE for our teaching of religious education. This curriculum encourages children to embrace different cultures and to learn about the communities within our local area and school. 
In Reception, children will encounter Christianity and other faiths, as part of their growing sense of self, their own community and their place within it. In year one and year two,  children will gain an understanding of all the six principal religions. They also learn and recognise that many people, particularly in our school community, hold secular (non-religious) views. Children learn about Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism and Sikhism. This helps them develop an understanding of the role of religion in encouraging forgiveness, bridgebuilding and reconciliation.
The principal aim of RE is to engage pupils in systematic enquiry into significant human questions. Religions and different worldviews address these questions and children explore them in thoughtful ways. This develops their understanding and skills needed to appreciate and appraise varied responses to these questions, as well as develop responses of their own.

As a non-religious school, we are inclusive of both religions and non-religious worldviews. We ensure that the content and delivery of the RE curriculum are inclusive in this respect.

Harvest Celebrations 2024
 
Year 1 and 2 visited St Mary Magdalene's Church to celebrate Harvest Festival.  Year 2 led the readings about why Harvest Festival is an important date in the Christian calendar.   We thought about how important it is to care for others regardless of religious beliefs.  
 
The generous donations of food that our families provided where taken to the Church and passed onto the Leamington Food Bank where they will help many people. 
 
Harvest Festival is an important community event which helps the children experience and learn about caring for others.
Diwali Celebrations 2024
 
Children enjoyed learning all about the festival of lights that is celebrated by many people around the world. 
 
Throughout the week, children in Reception learned about how Diwali is celebrated for Hindu's.  They explored questions such as, 'what special times have you had?' 'What do others celebrate?' 'What do Hindu people remember at Diwali?' and 'what happens at Diwali and why?'
Some children shared their own experiences of firework displays and lighting diya lamps with their families. They enjoyed talking about their own communities and the special times they celebrate. 
Children role played the story of Rama and Sita and enjoyed creating rangoli patterns and diya lamps out of clay. They also learned a dance routine in the hall to Indian music, using scarves. 
In year 1, children learned more about Hinduism and explored the following questions, 'what ideas do Hindu people have about God?' 'What do Hindu people learn from stories about the gods and goddesses?' and 'What do Hindus do at Diwali and why do they celebrate this festival?' They explored some Hindu artefacts including murti's and the Aum symbol. 
In year 2, children explored Sikhism and learned about their festival of lights. They learned about the story of 'the struggle for freedom' and explored these important questions, 'What stories do Sikh people love to remember?' 'What happens at the Gurdwara?' 'Which values are particularly important to Sikh people?'