RE

St. Michael’s is a flourishing, forward-thinking and outstanding Church school where the leadership and management are a driving force behind the school community, embracing and celebrating being a faith school and fulfilling our combined Mission and Vision which underpins all that we do.

The leadership and management are strategic in fulfilling of the school’s Mission and Vision and in so doing, shapes the direction of the school community for the future. As a school we believe in educating the whole child and teaching children to be good citizens which firmly is underpinned by the Gospel values.

Please refer to the following tab to find out more about being a Church School:

• Church & RE at St. Michael’s

Please click on the link to read the Statement of Entitlement and the school responses.

• St. Michael’s CE School: Statement of Entitlement

Please also read our Teaching and Learning Principles. In this document you will see that our first core intention is that RE teaching is theologically challenging and RE worship supports children in their spiritual development. RE, theological literacy, spirituality and collective worship are at the heart of all we do.

At St. Michael’s we follow the Board’s RE syllabus and schemes of work. Our RE curriculum ensures that teachers deliver a curriculum where RE is seen as an integral part of our curriculum and is taught with the same level of importance as the national curriculum core subjects and reflects the two attainment targets –  Learning About Religion (AT1) and Learning From Religion (AT2). By following these targets we ensure as a school that we develop the skills, understanding and knowledge that pupils at different stages of their learning at our school are expected to have.

Through high-quality teaching and delivery of RE, the pupils of St. Michael’s CE School feel inspired and recognise that they have the opportunities to explore their own and others religious, spiritual and philosophical beliefs and cultural traditions in a positive and constructive way showing respect for all faiths.

The Senior Leadership Team and RE Faculty have an overview of the teaching of RE across the school. The school RE policy and Curriculum Offer is reviewed annually to ensure that the school is compliant.

Pupil Voice: Why is it important to have RE lessons and what do we gain from it?

“The most important aspects of RE is learning about God, exploring different topics to do with their lives and studying other religions.”

“Studying other religions helps us respect and understand other people and was an aspect of RE that we particularly enjoy. The different topics we cover help us to reflect on our own lives and prepare us for the future.”

Aims of Religious Education

At St. Michael’s Religious Education is a distinct area of the curriculum at our school and so we aim through our Religious Education, linked with our School Mission and Vision and the underlying Gospel values, to enable pupils:

• To acquire and develop a knowledge and understanding of the Christian faith and other world faiths;

• To develop the ability to make reasoned and informed responses to religious and moral issues with reference to the teachings of Christianity;

• To develop an understanding of the influence of beliefs, values and traditions on individuals and the wider community and to reflect upon their beliefs, values and experiences;

• To develop a positive attitude towards all people, through laying foundations of knowledge about world faiths;

• To develop a greater awareness of the cross-curricular links with as many of the Articles as possible during the child’s time at school (as set out in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child: Unicef)

These aims are achieved through daily acts of Collective Worship, classroom debate and discussion and developing cross-curricular link and the teaching of the agreed scheme for Religious Education.

Legal Requirements

In the Early Years Foundation Stage, RE is taught under the area of ‘knowledge and understanding of the world’. At Key Stage 1 one hour per week is allocated to RE and at Key Stage 2, 1.25 hours per week and this also includes the opportunity to share views and faith.

As a Church of England voluntary aided school and in accordance with the legal requirements, parents do have the right to withdraw their children from RE lessons.  We are pleased to record that the children at our school play an integral part in the development of RE and Worship and to date, no child has been withdrawn from this aspect of the school life and that parents encourage the children to embrace this very important strand of our school.