Religious Education

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Exploring faith, understanding others and reflecting on life's big questions

At Bosley St Mary's CE Primary School, Religious Education is at the heart of our curriculum and plays an important role in bringing our Christian vision of Every Learner Flourishing to life.

We believe that high-quality RE helps children develop not only knowledge and understanding, but also curiosity, empathy, critical thinking and spiritual awareness. It provides opportunities to explore some of life's most important questions about faith, identity, belonging, purpose and meaning.

As a Church of England school, Christianity has a central place in our RE curriculum. Alongside this, children learn about other religions and worldviews, developing an appreciation of the diversity of beliefs, traditions and experiences within our communities and the wider world.

Our ambition is for every child to develop religious literacy, respect for others and the confidence to explore and express their own beliefs, values and questions.

How We Teach Religious Education

Our RE curriculum combines secure subject knowledge with enquiry, discussion and reflection, encouraging children to explore religious and philosophical questions thoughtfully.

We place particular emphasis on:

• Knowledge and understanding: Developing an understanding of Christianity and other principal religions and worldviews, including their beliefs, practices, traditions and sacred texts.
• Religious enquiry: Exploring important questions about belief, meaning, identity, morality and the human experience.
• Religious literacy: Developing accurate vocabulary and the ability to explain, compare and discuss religious ideas confidently.
• Reflection and critical thinking: Encouraging children to consider different perspectives, ask thoughtful questions and develop reasoned responses.
• Respect and understanding: Appreciating diversity, recognising similarities and differences, and engaging sensitively with the beliefs and experiences of others.
• Spiritual development: Providing opportunities for reflection, wonder and exploration of children's own values, beliefs and sense of purpose.

Through explicit teaching, discussion, storytelling, religious texts, artefacts, creative activities and reflection, children build knowledge and develop increasingly thoughtful responses to questions of faith and belief.

Our Curriculum Approach

At Bosley St Mary's, we have developed a carefully sequenced, two-year rolling RE curriculum based on the Cheshire East Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education.

Our curriculum has been adapted to reflect the needs of our children, our mixed-age classes and our distinctive Christian foundation, ensuring progression in knowledge, understanding, vocabulary and religious enquiry.

Christianity is studied in depth throughout the school, alongside other principal religions and worldviews. Children develop an understanding of religious beliefs and practices, their significance to individuals and communities, and how faith influences people's lives.

Our approach ensures that RE is academically ambitious, inclusive and thought-provoking, providing opportunities for every child to explore questions of faith and meaning whilst developing respect for different perspectives.

Exploring Life's Big Questions

Religious Education encourages children to explore questions that help them understand themselves, others and the world around them.

These include:

• What does it mean to believe?
• Who am I, and what makes me unique?
• How do different people understand God and the world?
• What gives life meaning and purpose?
• How do our beliefs influence our choices and actions?
• Why is it important to respect people with different beliefs?
• How can we make a positive difference in the world?

As children progress through school, they develop the knowledge and confidence to explore these questions with increasing depth, sensitivity and independence.

Religious Education Beyond the Classroom

Our close relationship with St Mary the Virgin Church and the wider parish community enriches children's understanding of Christianity as a living faith.

Through visits to church, engagement with the Christian calendar and opportunities to learn from clergy and members of faith communities, children develop an understanding of how religious beliefs are expressed and lived.

We also recognise the importance of learning about other religions and worldviews through meaningful encounters, visits, visitors and authentic resources.

Religious Education contributes to children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and complements our wider Christian ethos. Although RE and collective worship are distinct, both play important roles in the life of our school.

Religious Education for Every Learner

We believe that every child should have the opportunity to explore religious beliefs and worldviews in a safe, inclusive and respectful environment.

Through carefully planned teaching, explicit vocabulary, appropriate scaffolding and opportunities for discussion and reflection, we ensure that all children can participate meaningfully in RE.

Children are encouraged to ask questions, express their views and listen respectfully to others. Our approach recognises that children and families may hold different beliefs, including non-religious worldviews, and that these perspectives should be treated with dignity and understanding.

Regular assessment, discussion and reflection help us understand children's developing knowledge, religious literacy and ability to engage thoughtfully with different perspectives.

Our ambition is for every child to leave Bosley with a secure understanding of Christianity and other religions and worldviews, the confidence to explore life's big questions and the compassion, respect and understanding to flourish in a diverse society.