Religious Education

‘Be strong and courageous; do not be discouraged for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go’ (Joshua 1:9).

When Joshua became leader of the Israelites and took over from Moses; he had big shoes to fill. Joshua became a leader with huge challenges to overcome. God gave Joshua instruction and advice which led him to success. Our community at Leadenham CE Primary Academy believes in the advice that was given to Joshua and has adopted it as our own vision to develop belief and achievement for ourselves and our community.

At Leadenham we want to grow young people who believe in themselves so they are confident and courageous and not discouraged from exploring their path. They are resilient when faced with challenge. We want our pupils to believe in each other and to feel supported; never alone on their journey.

Our pupils will have the strength of character to set themselves aspirational goals in learning and life. They will achieve their best and create their own inspirational story and memories

Religious Education Syllabus at

Leadenham Church of England Primary Academy

RE: Intent

The aims of Religious Education are to help children:

Develop an awareness of spiritual and moral issues in life experiences;
Develop knowledge and understanding of Christianity and other major world religions and value systems found in Britain;
Develop an understanding of what it means to be committed to a religious tradition;
Be able to reflect on their own experiences and to develop a personal response to the fundamental questions of life;
Develop an understanding of religious traditions and to appreciate the cultural differences in Britain today;
Develop investigative and research skills and to enable them to make reasoned judgements about religious issues;
Have respect for other peoples’ views and to celebrate the diversity in society;
Grow in awareness of others, and to develop satisfactory relationships with others;
Become more aware of how we relate to other people, and to develop skills of personal relationships; and
Develop an interest in and reflect upon the world around them, both as a place and a society to which they belong.

R.E. will also contribute to the Personal, Social, Moral and Spiritual education of children and the Christian distinctiveness of our Church school.

Good R.E. should:

Develop pupils’ knowledge and understanding of Christianity as well as other principal religions and world views;
Focus on concepts as well as content, within the context of enquiry based learning;
Explore authentic religious material, e.g. sacred texts;
Reflect diversity in terms of the changing religious landscape of the UK so that the children are prepared for life in modern Britain;
Engage and challenge pupils;
Reflect pupils’ own experiences and provide a safe space for discussion;
Present religious belief as a real, live phenomenon, not something exotic or belonging to the past;
Take into account the increase in the number of people with non-religious beliefs and identities;
Provide opportunities for personal reflection and spiritual development; and
Help to prepare pupils for adult life, enabling them to develop respect and sensitivity for others.

Parents/carers may withdraw their children from all or part of the R.E. curriculum. They do not have to provide a reason for this and the school must comply with the request. School have a responsibility to supervise any pupils who are withdrawn from R.E. but are not required to provide additional teaching or incur extra costs. If parents/carers wish their child to receive an alternative programme of R.E., it is their responsibility to arrange this. This could be provided at the school in question or another local school. The pupil may receive external R.E. teaching provided that this does not significantly impact on his/her attendance.