Intent statement for RE:

We can be religiously literate.

At St Matthew’s we teach RE to help children to make sense of beliefs, understand their impact, and make connections with their own lives. 

Through our RE curriculum, we strive for children to be able to give a theologically informed and thoughtful account of Christianity as a living and diverse faith.  We encourage them to show an informed and respectful attitude to religions and non-religious worldviews in their search for God and meaning. We give them opportunities to engage in meaningful and informed dialogue with those of other faiths and none and we provide them with the skills to reflect critically and responsibly on their own spiritual, philosophical and ethical convictions.

RE lessons will enable children to make sense of beliefs and understand their impact by:-

• knowing about and understanding Christianity as a living faith that influences the lives of people worldwide and as the religion that has most shaped British culture and heritage.

• knowing and understanding about other major world religions and non-religious worldviews, their impact on society, culture and the wider world.

RE lessons will enable children to make connections by:-

• Developing their own spiritual/philosophical convictions, exploring and enriching their own beliefs and values.

At St. Matthew’s our aim is to provide an atmosphere in which the children can extend their understanding of themselves and the world in which they live so that they can develop both spiritually and morally. In R.E. we shall explore religious beliefs, values and practices of World Religions as well as Christianity to enable our pupils to make their own personal response to life whilst respecting the beliefs and practices of other people.   Parents do have a right to withdraw their children from R.E. after discussion with the headteacher.

Collective Worship
Collective Worship is seen as a natural part of school life. It is a time within the day that provides for an opportunity to reflect upon the realities of life and of the spiritual truths proclaimed by the world's major faiths. Moral Issues can be raised and feelings sensitively explored.
 

As a voluntary aided church school our acts of worship also reflect the practice and traditions of the Church of England, however, respect is shown to other religious beliefs and

Reflection Time

Once a week, each class has Reflection Time. This is a period of time, when children can explore a Christian based theme for a half term. These sessions are designed to be a little more interactive than collective worship, and allow for discussion with the class teacher.