RE is a non-statutory subject, however the school as referred to the Department for Education’s guidance on this and developed a curriculum for RE that aims to ensure that all pupils:

• provokes challenging questions about the meaning and purpose of life, beliefs, the self, issues of right and wrong, and what it means to be human. It develops pupils’ knowledge and understanding of Christianity, other principal religions, and religious traditions that examine these questions, fostering personal reflection and spiritual development

• encourages pupils to explore their own beliefs (whether they are religious or non-religious), in the light of what they learn, as they examine issues of religious belief and faith and how these impact on personal, institutional and social ethics; and to express their responses. This also builds resilience to anti-democratic or extremist narratives

• enables pupils to build their sense of identity and belonging, which helps them flourish within their communities and as citizens in a diverse society

• teaches pupils to develop respect for others, including people with different faiths and beliefs, and helps to challenge prejudice

• prompts pupils to consider their responsibilities to themselves and to others, and to explore how they might contribute to their communities and to wider society. It encourages empathy, generosity and compassion.

We use RE Discovery scheme of work here at Bedford Drive. It is an enquiry based curriculum. Christianity is taught in every year group, with Christmas and Easter given new treatment each year, developing the learning in a progressive way. Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism and Sikhism are also covered. Humanist perspectives are added when appropriate in some enquiries.

Our lessons also encompass SMSC (Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural) development, help our children with knowledge and understanding which can lead to tolerance and respect for others and their beliefs through British Values and also include mindfulness techniques which helps to support our children’s personal spiritual development.

We would like to share our work and learning

Foundation 1

In F1 the children have been looking at houses from around the world and thinking about what all homes need. They had fun making lots of different houses for Bertie Owl to live in.

The children have also learnt about places of worship. They talked about what a church is and shared experiences of times they had been to church. The enjoyed working in groups to make churches using different construction materials.

As part of ‘The Travelling Suitcase’ project, F1 looked at some beautiful books and artwork from our Year 6 children. They enjoyed the story ‘All are Welcome’ and talked about how we make everyone feel safe and welcome in our class.

Foundation 2

During our R.E lessons Foundation 2 have been learning about people who help us in the community. We have also been learning all about Spring and new life. 

Year 1

In Year 1, we have been exploring the religion of Judaism. We have looked at the key festivals of Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah and how Jewish families celebrate Shabbat. We discussed traditions and the role different family members play during these occasions. We have also considered the importance of forgiveness and what we want to achieve in the future.

Year 2

In Year 2, the children have been learning about Islam. They have enjoyed finding out about the Five Pillars of Islam and what they mean to Muslim people. They thought about special journeys and associated feelings and preparations for a special journey.

Year 4

In Year 4, we revisited our knowledge of Buddhism. We consolidated our learning about the Bhudda’s teachings of how to lead a good life, with a specific focus on the Noble 8 fold path that all Bhuddists try to follow. We had many insightful discussions about how best we could lead a good life and what lessons we could learn from the teachings of the Buddha. We then revisited Christianity and discussed whether Christians need to go to church in order to show they are Christians. We also explored the importance of baptism and marriage to Christians.

Year 5

In Year 5, we have continued to explore the religion of Hinduism. We have looked at Samsara, karma and Moksha. We have learnt all about karma, samara and Moksha. We have discussed reincarnation and how people can have good and bad karma. To help us understand this we devised a Moksha game of snakes and ladders. We had to think about both positive and negative karma and what this might look like in our daily lives.

Year 6

In Year 6, we have been exploring the question: Does belief in life after death help Muslims live a better life? We began be looking at motivation and what drives us to behave in the way that we do. We then looked at what it means to lead a good life, whether everyone can lead a good life and why it might be hard for Muslims to always lead a good life. We discussed what Muslims believe will happen after they die and how their belief in life after death motivates them to live a more righteous life.

At Christmas time, the children listened to The Christmas Story and used puppets to retell the story. They talked about how it felt to receive a gift and what grateful means. They sang Christmas songs and performed for a recording for their families.

There are a number of ways that you can support with your childs learning at home in RE, please click here to look at the suggestions that we have made for you.

www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/subjects/zxnygk7  Have a look at the BBC website. There are clips, games and activities for all main religions that we learn about in school.

www.topmarks.co.uk/Interactive.aspx?cat=111 A variety of stories, animations and interesting information.

www.uri.org/kids/world-religions

At Bedford Drive Primary School, we have constructed an ambitious Science curriculum, which follows the content of the EYFS statutory framework and the National Curriculum. These documents, along with our school policy, are available below.