RE at Elkesley Primary and Nursery School

Religious Education in  Nottinghamshire schools contributes dynamically to children and young people’s education, provoking challenging questions about human life, beliefs, communities and ideas. Our teaching of Religious Education follows the guidance given in the latest Agreed Syllabus for Nottinghamshire:-
Religious Education for All - The Agreed Syllabus for RE in Nottingham City and Nottinghamshire
2021-2026. 

Using this Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education, we will enable our pupils to discover more about religion as well as other world views as we assist them to apply their learning to a range of topics. Our pupils are encouraged to express ideas and insights into key questions which face all human beings as we travel through life. They will take part in lessons, and could also receive visitors to school sharing a range of religious viewpoints and undertake their own visits to varied places of worship.

Through these experiences they will gain insights and knowledge to help equip them as responsible citizens, ready to contribute positively to our society and the wider world.

The three-fold aims of RE will ensure that our pupils:
1. Know and understand a range of religions and world views which will allow them to recognise the diversity which exists in our city and wider society.
2. Can express ideas and insights about the nature, significance and the impact of religions and world views as they develop their own personal views on a range of issues.
3. Develop and use skills which will assist them to engage seriously with religions and world views
By following the Agreed Syllabus, RE will also contribute to a whole range of school priorities. Study of religious and world views will also promote spiritual, cultural, social and moral development, and will support pupils’ understanding of British Values such as acceptance and respect for others who hold different world views.

If you would like to know more about the Agreed Syllabus a copy can be made available for you to read in school. 

We are dedicated to providing every child with a broad and balanced RE curriculum. From the pupils' first day at Elkesley Primary and Nursery School, our RE syllabus gives students valuable insights into the diverse beliefs & opinions held by people today. It helps with their own personal development & supports an understanding of the spiritual, moral, social & cultural questions that surface in their lives.

RE in the Early Years Foundation Stage (taken from the Nottinghamshire Agreed Syllabus 2021-2026)
Pupils will encounter religions and worldviews through special people, books, times, places and objects and by visiting places of worship. They will listen to and talk about stories. Pupils will be introduced to subject specific words and use all their senses to explore beliefs, practices and forms of expression. They will ask questions and reflect on their own feelings and experiences. They use their imagination and curiosity to develop their appreciation of and wonder at the world in which they live.

Religious Education is, unlike the subjects of the National Curriculum, a legal requirement for all pupils on the school roll, including all those in the reception year.

In line with the DfE’s 2013 EYFS Profile RE should, through planned, purposeful play and through a mix of adult-led and child-initiated activity, provide these opportunities for pupils.

Communication and Language

• children listen with enjoyment to stories, songs and poems from different communities and traditions and respond with relevant comments, questions or actions;
• use talk to organise, sequence and clarify thinking, ideas, feelings and events;
• answer ‘who’, ‘how’ and ‘why’ questions about their experiences in response to stories, experiences or events from different traditions and communities;
• talk about how they and others show feelings;
• develop their own narratives in relation to stories they hear from different communities.

Personal, Social and Emotional Development

• children understand that they can expect others to treat their needs, views, cultures and beliefs with respect;
• work as part of a group, taking turns and sharing fairly, understanding that groups of people need agreed values and codes of behaviour, including adults and children, to work together harmoniously;
• talk about their own and others’ behaviour and its consequences, and know that some behaviour is unacceptable;
• think and talk about issues of right and wrong and why these questions matter;
• respond to significant experiences showing a range of feelings when appropriate;
• have a developing awareness of their own needs, views and feelings and be sensitive to those of others;
• have a developing respect for their own cultures and beliefs, and those of other people;
• show sensitivity to others’ needs and feelings and form positive relationships.

Understanding the World

• children talk about similarities and differences between themselves and others, among families, communities and traditions;
• begin to know about their own cultures and beliefs and those of other people;
• explore, observe and find out about places and objects that matter in different cultures and beliefs.

Expressive Arts and Design

• children use their imagination in art, music, dance, imaginative play, rôle-play and stories to represent their own ideas, thoughts and feelings;
• respond in a variety of ways to what they see, hear, smell, touch and taste.

Literacy

• children access a wide range of books, poems and other written materials to ignite their interest.

Mathematics

• children recognise, create and describe some patterns, sorting and ordering objects simply.

These learning intentions for RE are developed from relevant areas of the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile (DfE,2013).