Religious Education
RE AT ST PAUL’S
At St Paul’s, we are proud to be a Church of England Primary School, and we place great value on Religious Education (RE) as an essential part of our broad and balanced curriculum. RE enables children to explore questions about life, faith, and morality, supporting their spiritual, moral, cultural, and social development. As a diverse school, we also celebrate learning about different religions and beliefs, helping our children grow in understanding, empathy, and respect for others.
Our vision underpins everything we do, including RE. Through our teaching, we aim to nurture children’s wisdom, hope, trust, respect, and compassion, encouraging them to reflect on their own beliefs while appreciating the faith and values of others. Children are encouraged to investigate the similarities and differences and draw comparisons between their beliefs and the beliefs of others. RE lessons highlight and celebrate the development of our school vision and values within each pupil.
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We believe that every child, whatever their background, ability, or religious tradition, benefits from the experiences offered through RE at St. Paul’s. Our curriculum is designed to be relevant to life in a multicultural society, giving children opportunities to understand their own motivations and those of others. RE at St Paul’s encourages thoughtful reflection, knowledge and understanding of religious beliefs and practices, and the development of personal skills for forming reasoned opinions based on evidence and discussion.
RE makes a distinctive contribution to our children’s spiritual, moral, social, and cultural growth. It helps them understand the foundations of our culture, develop empathy, and reflect on their own faith and values. Through RE, children learn to live thoughtfully, show tolerance, and appreciate the beliefs of others, preparing them for life in a diverse world.
In RE lessons, children explore major world religions as outlined in the NATRE Syllabus, developing knowledge and understanding while reflecting on the impact of beliefs on daily life. Children are encouraged to discuss their ideas, ask questions, and share their thoughts respectfully, fostering confidence in expressing their views and appreciation for the views of others.
Through Religious Education at St Paul’s, we aim to:
- Encourage children to respond thoughtfully to life experiences and the questions they raise.
- Develop knowledge and understanding of religious beliefs, practices, and values.
- Enable children to evaluate and express the significance of religious ideas, using evidence and reasoned argument.
- Foster a reflective, caring, and compassionate approach to life inspired by the teachings of Jesus.
- Promote respect for Christianity and other principal religions, helping children develop care, understanding, and empathy for people of all faiths.
We have strong links with our local parish church and celebrate key festivals within the Christian calendar together, such as Harvest, Easter, Remembrance, and Christmas. Father Julian leads whole-school worship every Monday, which is centred around British Values, our school values and a message, story or reading from the Bible that links to our focus value. Collective worship throughout the week (led by school leaders and class teachers) continues and develops the theme established at the start of the week – enabling children to have a rich opportunity to think and reflect.
At St Paul’s, RE is more than a subject—it is a vital part of our school community, helping children grow in wisdom, hope, trust, respect, and compassion, while inspiring them to live purposeful, meaningful lives through faith.
RE LONG TERM PLAN
BEING A THEOLOGIAN
As well as equipping pupils with a ranging knowledge of relation, worldviews and faith, we also aim to provide pupils with the skills to apply this knowledge in the context of RE lessons. Our disciplinary knowledge is progressive and centres around the below concepts.
