Religious Education
Our vision draws inspiration from the Parable of the Sower which is found in the gospel of Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23 in the New Testament. It supports our Mission Statement of 'Sowing excellence, harvesting enjoyment'.
Statement of Intent
As a Church of England school, our Christian vision and values underpin everything we do at Heddington. We aim to promote an environment where children have the best opportunities to learn and grow while feeling secure and valued.
We believe our strong Christian values enable our children to explore Christian beliefs, to ask questions and to further their understanding. Our RE curriculum is designed to meet the content requirements of the Wiltshire Agreed Syllabus supported by Understanding Christianity and Discovery RE teaching resources. This includes studying the five main world religions and non-religious beliefs. At least fifty percent of our RE teaching will be on Christianity, in line with the Church of England statutory requirements.
What do we want Children to Gain from Religious Education?
We want children to…
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Gain knowledge and understanding of Christianity, other principle world religions, religious traditions and non-religious world views.
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Understand the influence of faith and belief on individuals, communities, societies and cultures.
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Consider challenging questions of meaning and purpose of life.
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Learn from different religions, beliefs, values and traditions while exploring their own beliefs and responses to questions of meaning.
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Learn about religious and ethical teaching enabling them to make reasoned and informed responses to religious, moral and social issues.
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Develop their sense of identity and belonging, preparing them for life as citizens in a plural global society.
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Develop their own creativity and spirituality, and an appreciation of the creativity and spirituality of others.
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Learn to enquire and respond, using religious vocabulary, questioning and empathy.
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Reflect, express, interpret, apply, analyse and evaluate issues of truth, belief, faith and ethics.
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Communicate personal responses to these issues of truth, belief, faith and ethics.
How we Implement
The school follows the Wiltshire locally agreed syllabus which we deliver using Understanding Christianity and Discovery RE in our teaching of Religious Education. Discovery RE explores 6 principle world religions while Understanding Christianity focuses on Christianity. This helps to ensure a balanced coverage across the RE Curriculum.
Discovery RE follows four steps to explore each term: engagement (linking content to children’s own lives), investigation (exploring and learning about the religion), evaluation (use critical thinking skills to consider the over-arching question posed) and expressions (allow children to express their personal opinions and beliefs).
Understanding Christianity begins the term linking to children’s previous knowledge and recapping appropriate Bible stories. It then explores Bible stories and how Christians engage with this and allows children to reflect on their own understanding of these.
The RE overview covers a range of both Discovery RE and Understanding Christianity modules whilst ensuring children develop an understanding of ‘The Big Story’ (Understanding Christianity) to learn about the main events within the Bible. Links are also made between religions to compare and discuss further in line with Wiltshire’s agreed syllabus.
Parents have the right to withdraw their child from Collective Worship and RE lessons - please contact the Headteacher if you should wish to do so. RE coverage is shown in our termly newsletters to parents. Should you be considering withdrawal from RE, please feel free to discuss the term’s content with the class teacher.
How we Assess Impact
Through Religious Education, children are able to learn about and understand Christianity and other religious and non-religious views. As part of this, children explore religious stories and consider the values shown in these. Through lessons, children are able to ask questions and critically reflect on religious and non-religious beliefs to allow them to consider the impact on their own lives.
Our Religious Educaton co-ordinator is Mrs Goodswen.