Religious Education

Our vision for Religious Education at St Helen’s Primary school is to promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and to prepare all pupils for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of the present and the future. To become courageous advocates for themselves and others and develop knowledge and understanding of a range of religious faiths.

Our aim when teaching RE is to promote openness of respect to others, scholarly accuracy, objectivity and critical enquiry. We aim to ensure our children are religiously literate which means they can hold a balanced and informed conversation about religions and beliefs.

Curriculum

At St. Helen’s, we follow the Hartlepool Agreed Syllabus for RE.2020. These units are used to deliver the core teaching and learning about Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Islam. Thematic units within the agreed syllabus are used which enable pupils to compare beliefs and practices between different faiths and beliefs as well as exploring non-religious worldviews. Each class has a set curriculum which is built upon over their time in school and enables sequential learning of RE. This also enables the development of key understanding through building on previous knowledge and supporting children in linking key ideas, religious understanding and theory.

Religious education is taught through belief, the expression of belief, the impact of belief and authority.

RE is provided for all pupils, and is inclusive and broad minded. Parents do have the right to withdraw pupils from RE: if you wish to do this, make an appointment with the head teacher / RE subject leader. The school does not support selective withdrawal from RE’.

Statement for SEND

Religious Education promotes a curriculum that puts all pupils, regardless of their needs, at the heart of what we do. By building mutual respect, we accept others for their differences believing that everyone is special and everyone has something to offer. Our inclusive and enriching curriculum, written for all children, provides pupils with meaningful and aspirational experiences as well as promoting personal growth for life-long learning. When the curriculum needs adapting, to suit the needs of individual children, appropriate modifications are made by the class teacher with support of the SENDCo and the Curriculum Subject Lead.

Cultural Capital

Every child and family who join our school will have their own knowledge and experiences that will link to their culture and wider family. This might include: languages, beliefs, traditions, cultural and family heritage, interests, travel and work. Research shows that when children and families’ cultures are valued, both the child’s experience of learning and progress can benefit (Husain et al., 2018, p. 4 and Gazzard, E. 2018 in Chalmers, H. and Crisfield, E. 2019)

Cultural capital in RE is the accumulation of knowledge, behaviours, and skills that a child can draw upon which demonstrates their cultural awareness, knowledge and competence; it is one of the key ingredients a pupil will draw upon to be successful in society, their career and the world of work.

Curriculum Overview

Please click here for our RE curriculum overview.

Useful link for parents

Please click here for the Hartlepool agreed syllabus.