RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

Curriculum Approach

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.

RE is a core subject at St. Michael’s, taught weekly with the same rigour as other core subjects. Our curriculum:

• Encourages theological understanding and respect for all faiths.

• Explores Christian teachings alongside other world religions.

• Promotes reflection and critical thinking through “Big Questions.”

• 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)

We encourage staff and children to collaborate with each other in a philosophical enquiry, we are passionate about encouraging children to think about the world around them by asking questions about what they see, hear and experience. We do this by thinking of ‘Big Questions’; this approach allows children to acquire and embed a range of skills across the curriculum areas through one motivating topic. As with Philosophical enquiry -there are no right or wrong answers to these questions. This enables them to grow in understanding, not only of the material world, but also of the personal and ethical world around them. Furthermore, through asking the ‘Big Question’  it enables the children to explore their own values and to share these thoughts with their peers. The children learn negotiation and tolerance and become articulate, confident individuals through active discussion.

As a school we ensure that the RE curriculum is enriched by regular off-site visits, theatre workshops as well as and visitors in to school. There are strong cross curricular links with other subjects such as art, technology, music and drama. 

At St. Michael’s we follow the Board’s RE syllabus and schemes of work. Using this the exploration of RE takes place by view the concepts and beliefs through three ‘lenses’:

• Philosophical (thinking - head)

• Theological (believing - heart)

• Human and social sciences (living - hands)

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.

Pupil Voice on RE

“RE helps us think about our faith and understand others.”

“It prepares us for the future by teaching respect and compassion.”

Wider Community

At St. Michael’s we pride ourselves on being recognised by the wider community as a centre of reconciliation and support. It is a place where pupils are given opportunities to reflect and ‘move on’ positively. Our pupils are confident and articulate and can talk about forgiveness and reconciliation as one of life’s skills.  Below are some pupil voice quotes:

“I think it’s important to be part of a school community like ours because we learn more about the Bible and we have worship assemblies. I like that we have a worship theme each week as it helps us to reflect on how we behave and think of others.” 

“It is important  to be part of a Church school as we get opportunities to connect with the community through church services. We also have many opportunities to reflect and spend time in worship to think about the less fortunate and how we can make a difference.”

“I like the RE lessons as they help me to think about my faith and also develop a greater understanding of other faiths in our world. Our school helps us to learn about other faiths”.

“I know that our school helps us to think of others, to forgive and show compassion.  The school helps me to do all these things through worship and the RE lessons which teachers make enjoyable.”

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.

There is an RE Link Governor who works closely with the RE Faculty and Leadership and supports the development of RE across the school as well as ‘challenging’ and ensuring progress towards the next SIAMS inspection.

St. Michael’s is a very proactive school in terms of supporting schools beyond our community. The Leadership work closely in partnership with Wandsworth Church Schools within a cluster and meet regularly to share best practice, share new developments, ideas and initiatives.

Achievements

St. Michael’s holds the RE Quality Mark Gold award, reflecting our commitment to excellence in teaching RE. “The school was exceptionally well prepared which made the assessment process very straightforward. Staff were well informed and had a clear vision on the impact of quality RE on the whole school community.” (REQM Assessor: March 2019)