The Holme Church of England School

Religious Education

At the Holme C of E Primary School, we believe that Religious Education is central to providing the pupils with the knowledge, values and skills that they will need in order to participate as individuals in their community life and also to understand the world better as global citizens. Our RE lessons encourage our pupils to develop a strong sense of who they are and what they believe, enabling them to express viewpoints thoughtfully and respectfully. The RE curriculum is intrinsic in helping them to understand and live out our school values of love, courage and wisdom and we constantly reflect upon how these values are shown by the religions that we study. As a Church of England school, we dig deep into Christianity and we aim to ensure that children understand the impact of Christianity on western society as a whole and how it provides a rhythm to our calendar through the festivals that we celebrate. RE is unique as a subject as it gives us the opportunity to examine difference and appreciate everyone’s beliefs and worldviews. We ensure that our children leave with a good understanding of other world religions; Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism.

This is underpinned by:

· High expectations - All children are expected to succeed and make progress from their starting points. We expect all pupils to become confident and articulate thinkers and we don’t shy away from difficult concepts like the Trinity. Instead we expect pupils to think deeply and wrestle with these ideas in a supportive environment.

· Modelling - Teachers teach the skills needed to succeed in RE providing examples of good practice and metacognition and model sharing opinions, excellent listening skills and effective group work.

· Vocabulary rich lessons - We intend to create a vocabulary rich environment, where talk for RE is a key learning tool for all pupils.

· Making connections – Our pupils will perceive connections between religions across the world and be able to draw comparisons.

· Reflection and evaluation – Our pupils will learn the skills of reflection and evaluation developing their wisdom.

· Creative expression – pupils will have the opportunity to express their learning in a variety of creative ways including art, music, drama and writing.

As a whole school from Year R to Year 6 we follow the Guildford Diocese Guidelines for RE. This exciting and diverse curriculum was new for September 2023 and covers in-depth understanding of Christianity and golden threads exploring and linking other world religions. Wrens Class (Year R) have a set of units to help them explore foundational concepts through play and investigation

We supplement this core teaching through occasional Pause Days. These are whole school opportunities to stop for a day and deepen our understanding of key Christian festivals. These happen twice a year and we choose from

Harvest, Christmas, Easter and Pentecost to ensure that all our children leave with a good understanding of the reasons for these festivals and how Christians, from a variety of denominations and countries around the world, might celebrate them. We support children’s learning by organising virtual and real trips and welcoming visitors of all faiths to bring these religions to life. We believe that hearing personal testimony from all faiths enables our children to evaluate and formulate their own as they grow.

Right to Withdraw

We expect all pupils to experience the full breadth of our curriculum, but should parents or carers wish to exercise the right of withdrawal for all or part of RE, they should consult the Headteacher.

Our Local Church

We have strong links with All Saints Church in Headley. Rev. Yann Dubreuil is on our local governing committee and leads a weekly assembly in school. The team at All Saints Parish Church welcome us to have school services in church to celebrate Harvest, Christmas and Easter. For further information, visit the All Saints Church website or find them here on Facebook

Year 2 acting out the Parable of the Lost Sheep

Years 5/6 explore Easter in different ways

Godly Play to understand Easter better

Years 5/6 visiting different churches in Portsmouth

Years 1/2 explore the Easter Story in different ways

Rev. Marion tells to Years 2/3  why the Bible is important to her

Year 4 Easter Pause Day, exploring the Easter Story