Religious Education

At Benhall St Mary's Primary School, we believe that RE provides children with the opportunity to learn from, as well as about, religion. It enables them to appreciate the principle religions in a diverse United Kingdom and to gain an understanding of the beliefs, cultures and influences that shape people’s lives and behaviour. We believe this is the best way to prevent racism and combat prejudice. RE lessons provide opportunities for self-reflection and for children to think about their own identity within a rigorous curriculum. Both substantive and personal knowledge are key as children learn about concepts which are religion-specific as well as those which are fundamental to many religions. The clear progression of our planning ensures a depth and breadth of curriculum which includes accurate representations of faith, people and artefacts. It also enables us to focus on the disciplinary aspect of RE so that children can understand how to learn about religion effectively.

We work closely with our two nearest churches: St Mary's, Benhall and St Mary Magdalene, Sternfield. We have services in these churches to mark Easter, Christmas and the end of the academic year. Members of the clergy lead Collective Worship every week and are regular visitors to school events.

Purpose: Why is this subject important at Benhall Primary School?

Religious Education has a significant role for the development of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. It encourages pupils to develop their sense of identity and belonging through enquiry and reflection and promotes respect and open-mindedness towards others with different faiths and beliefs.
As a Church of England School with a Christian foundation, we aim to give children the opportunity to learn from the Bible’s teaching each term within the school year. This links with the Christian values that underpin Benhall's ethos.
The principle aim for RE is “to enable pupils to hold balanced and informed conversations about religion and belief”. This aim incorporates the following aims of RE in Church Schools as taken from the “Statement of Entitlement 2019”. For pupils to: know about and understand Christianity as a diverse global living faith through the exploration of core beliefs, using an approach that critically engages with biblical text; gain knowledge and understanding of a range of religions and worldviews, appreciating diversity, continuity and change within the religions and worldviews being studied.

Key Principles: What are the distinctive ways of knowing, working and learning in this subject at Benhall Primary School?

At Benhall Primary School beliefs are kept central to RE teaching. We use The Emmanuel Project, a high-quality curriculum developed by the Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich. There are teaching units for Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism and Judaism. The coverage is around 60% Christianity, reflecting our Church of England status.
We aim to increase religious literacy: Religious Education teaching is more than labelling pews and places of worship. Instead we take an approach that enables learners to understand what drives people of faith to live the way they do. This builds each child’s ‘religious literacy’ helping them understand the nature of religion and belief in the world in which they live. Pupils then have the opportunity to learn from this religious belief and put this into practice in their own lives.
The Emmanuel Project uses big questions as central to its approach, with an enquiry approach to every unit. It looks at the experience of believers from the point of view of a child, using characters in the scheme, such as Tom and Tessa, to enable pupils to relate to their experiences.
We aim to keep RE balanced, with opportunities to explore a religious key concept through the following areas: Text or Narrative, Community Practice, Living. This teaching and learning approach enables learners to look first at a religious text before moving on to looking at the impact of this concept in the religious community and on the life of the individual. This reflects the SIAMS requirement for a religious curriculum which reflects a good balance of theology, philosophy and human sciences.
The Emmanuel Project has clear outcomes for each key stage which build on each other year on year so children know more and can do more.

Expectations: What does success look like in this subject?

We expect that our children will:

Ask and offer possible answers to challenging questions about the meaning of life, beliefs, nature of reality and morality.
Have a secure understanding and knowledge of the religions studied and be confident to answer questions.
Have the ability to ask significant and reflective questions about religion and demonstrate a good understanding of issues relating to the nature, truth and value of religion.
Have a sense of self, identity and belonging to flourish within the community and be responsible citizens.
Show respect, tolerance and understanding of all religions and beliefs.
Have a strong understanding of how the beliefs, values, practices and ways of life within any religion come together.
Have the ability to explain and exemplify Benhall School’s Christian values in all aspects of life that are rooted in the teachings of the Bible.