Religious Education
At Earlsfield, we recognise the importance of giving young people the opportunity to reflect on how different beliefs affect them and those around them. This is particularly significant when living in a society filled with a variety of culture and different belief systems. We aim to ‘equip students with knowledge and understanding of a range of religious and non-religious beliefs and worldviews, whilst encouraging them to simultaneously develop their own ideas, values and identities’, as stated in the Wandsworth syllabus.
Our RE lessons help children learn both about religion and beliefs as well as from them. In addition to acquiring a knowledge of the different religions, we provide opportunities for our children to explore how beliefs can shape an individual’s identity and form moral values.
RE lessons at Earlsfield foster a sense of excitement about learning RE and will encourage engagement through thoughtful class discussions. We promote excitement by inviting guest speakers, planning workshops and organising trips to places of worship.*
Subject overview
How is Religious Education taught?
At Earlsfield Primary School, we study Religious Education for two full days every term. During this time the children come away from their regular daily timetable and spend two days focusing on one religion. The religions are rotated meaning that the children revisit a religion every two years, each time provoking more challenging questions and deepening their understanding.
The religions we teach are Christianity, Islam, Sikhism, Judaism, Hinduism, Humanism and Buddhism. For each religion, we learn about the main values; how they worship; their holy books and key celebrations and festivals. These are taught using a variety of learning activities such as drama, art, ICT, P4C and literacy.
We encourage the children to learn from different religions by asking them to reflect on personal experiences as well as comparing these to others’. For example; what is special to me? Where is my special place? What rules do I follow?
We are very privileged to have formed strong links with many different places of worship in and around our community. Throughout the children’s time at Earlsfield they will visit at least one place of worship for each main religion. This enables the children to have a rich, first-hand experience of these special places and to bring their learning to life. In some cases, we are fortunate to have visitors in to share and teach us about their religion and beliefs. The children are encouraged to ask thought provoking questions to develop their understanding.*
What would you expect to see in an RE lesson at Earlsfield?
- Children engaged in a range of learning activities such as drama, art and literacy to enhance their understanding of the different religions and beliefs and promote cross curricular links
- Children using a range of resources to explore and research such as artefacts, ICT, information books, video clips
- Children expressing their personal reflections and critical responses to questions and teachings about identity, meaning and value
- Children explaining their ideas about how beliefs and practices influence individuals and communities and making comparisons between different faiths
- Children showing tolerance, mutual respect and a genuine interest through our whole school values such as ‘Respect’ and ‘Inspire’
What do pupils tell us about RE?
What do you think about the RE days ?
‘I think they’re really fun. I like learning about new religions’ (Girl, 3B)
‘I like them because they are interesting’ (Boy, 4H)
I love RE days, they’re the best days of the whole term’ (Boy, 4H)
What did you enjoy the most about the RE days?
‘I’ve most enjoyed learning about the gods’ (Girl, 3J)
‘I enjoyed comparing Hinduism to Christianity and sharing more about comparisons with Islam’ (Boyl, 4H)
‘It’s a good way to learn about what other’s do in their religious lives’ (Boy, 6AH)
‘I think that they’re interesting as I like to learn about different religions’ (Boy, 5P)
