Religious Education
Children at Abacus THRIVE because they are deep thinkers, philosophers and teachers. They ask and answer questions and understand how the beliefs, values, practices and ways of life within any religion cohere together.
Families from Abacus come from all four corners of the globe- allowing us to share and share in a wide-range of religious celebrations and learning more about the diverse and rich community we are all part of.
"I like that we are inclusive and don’t just learn about one religion." - Year 3 pupil.
Intent
At Abacus, we understand and recognise the important role that Religious Education plays in promoting our children's engagement and interactions in a multicultural society, while giving them the knowledge and confidence to truly show their inclusive and respectful qualities as they become valued members of society.
Learning about the different faiths and cultures in the world not only gives them a wider lens in life but gives them the opportunity to reflect on shared histories and cultures, using this knowledge to guide their development as they grow older.
Our pupils foster the British values of tolerance and respect throughout our curriculum and are able to show individuality within the classroom as well as showing engagement with the beliefs and traditions of others.
Throughout our Religious Education sessions, we provide a balanced curriculum, allowing pupils to have informed discussions about philosophy, varying faiths, world views and community cohesion. As with all our learning, the message does not stop at school, we strive to continue these messages at home and outside of school through our partnerships and relationships with parents and carers.
Our job is to provide a curriculum that inspires inclusive thinking and action. We're not here to persuade, only to promote learning, acceptance, empathy and personal expression.
Implementation
Religious Education is taught in every year group throughout each term from Reception up to Year 6. Each year group will cover varying world faiths throughout the year, however they will each have a key faith in which they will take a school trip to focus further on it. The trip could be anything from a place of worship to an exhibition, anything that lets the pupils learn more about their focus key faith.
Impact
Assessment
Children's development of RE understanding is split into three areas: believing, thinking and living. Children's progress through the curriculum is tracked on assessment grids using teacher knowledge and pupil voice. Children's outcomes are shared in a class RE floor book. To enhance understanding and tolerance, children visit a key place of worship each year - making links between places of worship, celebrations and religious practices of the religions they have studied.
Children explore the themes of:
- Religious texts and stories
- Beliefs
- Rights of Passage
- Festivals and Celebrations
- Religious Figures
- Worship
- Places of Worship
THRIVE-ing in RE
"I enjoy learning about other religions that aren’t my own. We have children that are from lots of different faiths at our school." - Year 2 pupil.
"In Year 1, we learned about why Christians give gifts at Christmas and in Year 2 we learn about Christmas Celebrations, so we can build on our knowledge." - Year 2 pupil.
"I like that we are inclusive and don’t just learn about one religion." - Year 3 pupil.
"I like that we are told that everyone can think about Jesus in their own way so there are no restrictions." - Year 3 pupil.
"We have review questions at the start of every lesson which helps us to learn more." - Year 5 pupil.
"I enjoy sharing things about my own religion with my friends in RE lessons." - Year 6 pupil.
EYFS
Children in reception investigate RE through the specific area 'Understanding the World'.
Through focus groups, and free-play activities in the learning environment, children learn about how others celebrate and what people do on different celebration days. Children learn that people believe different things to one another and the ways we celebrate have similarities and differences. Children are able to talk about places that are special to them.
In Reception we share celebrations with our families: sharing doughnuts and spinning dreidels for Hannukah, eating special food for Ramadan, dancing for Chinese New Year and putting on a nativity play at Christmas. We are keen to celebrate and share in special days for all religions and will always invite families in to teach us about days that are important to them.
We pride ourselves on our inclusive curriculum that celebrates and teaches about all faiths and we do not support selective withdrawal from parts of the RE curriculum. However, parents do have the right to withdraw their children from RE. If you would like to discuss this with school, please contact the admin team who will organise a meeting with senior leaders to discuss your concerns.