The Religious Education Curriculum

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Religious Education enables children to explore some of the big questions about life, to find out about what people believe and what difference this makes to the way they live so that pupils can make sense of religion, reflecting on their own faith and ways of living. Learning about different faiths and beliefs enables us to live in a harmonious society filled with kindness and compassion.

At Kentmere, we develop the children’s knowledge and understanding of the major world faiths, and we address fundamental questions concerning, for example, the meaning of life and the existence of a divine spirit. We enable children to develop sound knowledge not only of Christianity but also of other world religions, especially those that are the main faiths of children within our school. We encourage children to reflect on what it means to have faith and to develop their own spiritual knowledge and understanding. We help the children to learn from religions as well as about religions so that they can articulate clearly and coherently their own personal beliefs, ideas, values and experiences whilst respecting the rights of others to differ.  All of our pupils are empowered to think at increasing levels of challenge and at greater depth.

We follow the Rochdale Syllabus (2019 - 2024) for our teaching of Religious Education. The principal aim of RE is to engage pupils in systematic enquiry into significant human questions which religion and worldviews address, so that they can develop the understanding and skills needed to appreciate and appraise varied responses to these questions, as well as develop responses of their own.

We intend for all our pupils to find out about different religions, beliefs and faiths and use this knowledge to better understand themselves and their communities. This knowledge enables us to become diverse, open minded and welcoming members of society. The children will become confident in discussion and debate of concepts and ideas through the development of the following key skills: enquiry, investigation, interpretation and reflection. They will confidently explore their own beliefs and values whilst understanding and respecting those of others.

The Rochdale syllabus is based upon a key question approach, where the questions open up the content to be discussed. For example, which people are special and why? How should we care for others and the world and why does it matter? These questions along with the knowledge and skills progression have been mapped out across the school to ensure an incremental build.

The religions are taught in the following structure:
Reception - Children will encounter Christianity and other faiths, as part of their growing sense of self, their own community and their place within it.

Key Stage 1 - Christians and Muslims or Jewish people
Key Stage 2 - Christians, Muslims, Hindus and Jewish people

This prepares them with the foundations to continue their education in Key Stage 3, focusing on Christians, Muslims, Sikhs and Buddhists.

In addition to the main religions taught, we hold celebration dates which are mapped out for the academic year to recognise and celebrate festivals and holidays.  We utilise our local community to involve the church at St Andrew’s and the mosques within Rochdale. Similarly, we arrange for visitors to come to our school to deliver assemblies and to talk to the children about their religion.

We know our children have been successful in their Religious Education when they are open minded, confident and welcoming members of society. Most importantly our children are kind. They treat one another with respect and have an understanding of the impact of their interactions with others.