Intent

At Millbrook Primary School we follow the Telford and Wrekin Agreed Syllabus as the main tool to support our planning and teaching of Religious Education. We believe it provides our children with a progressive RE education to promote social, moral, spiritual and cultural development of all learners. At Millbrook we promote respect and open-mindedness towards others with different faiths and beliefs whilst encouraging pupils to develop their sense of identity and belonging through self-awareness and reflection. One of the principle aims of RE is to engage pupils in an enquiry approach where they can develop an understanding and appreciation for the expression of beliefs, cultural practices and influence of principle religions and world views in the local, national and global community. Here at Millbrook, we understand RE is a vital component in developing a well-rounded British citizen and provide an RE curriculum which reflects this.

The religions we focus on are Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Sikhism, Hinduism and Buddhism. However, the journey of RE at Millbrook explores and celebrates multiple religions, creating a harmonious community that encourages children to learn from one another about their own beliefs. Our Religious Education curriculum is designed to equip children with the life skills to make them well-rounded citizens by promoting the British values of mutual respect and tolerance.

Implementation

At Millbrook, we teach Religious Education in a way that provides pupils with valuable opportunities to develop their knowledge of our six main religions by following the guidance in the Telford and Wrekin SACRE.

We ensure that children are exposed to a breadth of religions and have carefully selected units to teach in each year group that reflect our diverse school and community and consider our own children’s backgrounds, religions, and experiences. We achieve this by teaching different units and topics through key questions for children to consider. These key questions are reviewed and altered if needed to ensure learning is appropriate and effective. Visits and real-life experiences are also a fundamental element to our RE curriculum. Children experience a visit to a sacred place each year, ensuring that children visit six religious buildings or places of worship by the time they leave us in Year 6. Throughout the year, we invite visitors in to share their own knowledge, wisdom and experiences with our children which, especially around significant celebrations including Christmas and Eid.

We are passionate in supporting children to share their own experiences, beliefs and opinions whilst fostering a safe environment that promotes mutual respect and tolerance towards their peers and all religions.

Impact

We measure the impact of our curriculum by the following methods:

• Class discussions, being able to draw upon similarities and differences between different religions.

• Using the enquiry-based approach and assessing their progress against the key questions.

• Real life experiences of visiting places of worship within our local community.

• Their fundamental skills they have developed during their time at Millbrook making them into a well-rounded British Citizen for them to become a positive member of the community.