'Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.' Proverbs 22:6

Religious Education

Intent

At St. Nicholas we promote a Christian setting in which children can realise their full potential and maximise their academic achievement. The school encourages and promotes the spiritual development of all in the school community, providing a firm grounding in the Anglican faith for all its children.

We aim to motivate and inspire children through an engaging Religious Education curriculum (based on the syllabus written by the Blackburn Diocesan Board of Education) that challenges all learners and ensures that our school Christian values are at the heart of this Religious Education curriculum.

We aim to deepen knowledge and develop skills that ensure effective progression within each subject discipline and across all year groups.

We aim that our school’s distinctive Christian ethos will permeate throughout all aspects of school life and impact positively on pupils’ personal development.

This personal development is seen through the established strengths of:

The focus on Christian Values which leads to the spiritual, moral and academic development of all pupils.
The outstanding relationships within the school family, based on Christian love and care for each individual.
The quality of relationships with parents and the positive Christian impact the school has in the wider community.
The schools procedures for evaluating its effectiveness as a Church School.
The quality of worship within the school setting which makes a significant impact on pupils’ spiritual development.

Our School Mission Statement is at the heart of our curriculum and all that we do at St. Nicholas’.

Implementation

Our implementation of the RE curriculum is grounded in best practices and is designed to engage pupils meaningfully. At St Nicholas we use Questful RE and ensure it is carefully structured to ensure progression and depth. Our teachers possess a strong subject knowledge and receive ongoing professional development to enhance their pedagogical skills in delivering RE lessons. We provide support and resources to help educators teach sensitive topics with confidence and competence.

RE lessons incorporate a variety of teaching strategies, including hands-on projects, discussions, and the use of multimedia resources. We utilise trips, speakers and community engagement to enrich pupils' learning experiences and promote contextual understanding.

We employ robust assessment methods, including formative assessments and self-reflection opportunities for pupils, allowing them to demonstrate their understanding of core concepts. Regular feedback from teachers helps guide pupil learning and informs future planning.

Impact

The impact of our curriculum at St Nicholas is for children to give a theologically informed and thoughtful account of Christianity as a living and diverse faith. Be able to show an informed and respectful attitude to religions and world views in their search for God and meaning. Children can engage in meaningful and informed dialogue with those of all faiths and those of none and children can reflect critically and responsibly on their own spiritual, philosophical and ethical convictions.

Home Learning

‘Off the Shelf Picture Posts RE Ideas’ is a set of resources that are designed to be used at home or school and do make reference to the current lockdown situation. The diocese have tried to ensure that anything needed is easily available in the home.

The children can choose any picture they find interesting to look at and discuss. They follow this by reading and exploring a bible story, it’s meaning and impact through a variety of activities that are of course ‘Questful’! They are suitable for children from Year 1 – year 6. The children can decide which activity suits them best. This hopefully makes the resource all age/family friendly and therefore can be enjoyed by siblings together.

The file is too large to fit on the website, but can be accessed by clicking on the link:

Home Learning Resources

Right to withdrawal

The parental right to withdraw a child from receiving RE should be freely exercisable and our school will give effect to any such request. Parents are not obliged to state their reasons for seeking withdrawal.

There will be occasions when spontaneous enquiries made by pupils on religious matters arise in other areas of the curriculum. Circumstances will vary, but responses to such enquiries are unlikely to constitute RE within the meaning of the legislation and a parent would not be able to insist on a child being withdrawn every time issues relating to religion and spiritual values are raised.

To avoid misunderstanding, the head teacher will establish with any parent wanting to exercise the right of withdrawal:

The religious issues about which the parents objects to his or her child being taught;

The practical implications of withdrawal;
The circumstances in which the school can reasonably be expected to accommodate parental wishes; and
Whether the parent will require any advanced notice of such RE and, if so, how much.

The school will continue to be responsible for the supervision of any child withdrawn by its parent from RE.