Religious Education

At Brierley, Religious Education helps children understand the religious and non-religious worldviews that shape people's lives, communities and cultures. Through RE, children develop knowledge of different beliefs, practices and traditions. They learn to ask thoughtful questions, listen to different perspectives, make meaningful comparisons and explain their ideas with increasing confidence. We want children to understand that people may hold different beliefs and worldviews and that these differences should be approached with curiosity, knowledge and respect.

RE is taught in a balanced and respectful way. Its purpose is not to tell children what to believe, but to give them the knowledge and understanding they need to engage thoughtfully with the diverse world in which they live. Our values of Nurture, Aspire, Believe and Achieve are reflected naturally through this learning. Children are encouraged to listen carefully, think deeply, respect others and develop the confidence to express their own ideas while recognising the right of others to think differently.

Strong Foundations from the Beginning

The foundations of Religious Education begin as soon as children join Brierley. In Little Bears Nursery, children begin by thinking about belonging and asking, "Where do we belong?" They encounter a range of celebrations and traditions, including Rosh Hashanah, Diwali, Christmas, Lunar New Year, Holi and Eid. They consider how people celebrate and why particular times, stories and experiences may be special.

In Reception, this learning develops through Understanding the World. Children begin with questions that are meaningful to them, including "Who and what is special to me?" They begin to understand why the word God is important to Christians and explore celebrations and traditions including Diwali, Hanukkah, Ramadan, Eid and Lunar New Year. They also consider why people celebrate together and why we should look after the world. Stories, artefacts, photographs, celebrations, conversation and children's own observations help bring this learning to life.

At this stage, we want children to become curious about different people and communities, recognise that some things are special or important to others and begin to talk respectfully about similarities and differences. These experiences provide strong foundations for the increasingly detailed study of religions and worldviews from Year 1 onwards.

How We Teach Religious Education

Our RE curriculum is designed in line with the Cheshire East Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education. Learning is carefully sequenced so that children do not simply encounter a collection of disconnected festivals or facts. They progressively develop their understanding of beliefs, practices, communities and ways of viewing the world.

Our long-term plans organise learning through important threads including God, the world and self, belonging, celebration, personal belief, authority, marking life's journey and religious worldviews. Children encounter Christianity throughout school alongside Judaism, Islam, Hindu Dharma, Humanism, Buddhism and opportunities to consider several religious and non-religious perspectives together. Lessons use stories, sacred texts, artefacts, photographs, discussion, visits, visitors and carefully chosen questions to help children develop secure knowledge. Teachers model how to use evidence from learning, make comparisons and construct thoughtful responses. Children then practise these skills with support before becoming increasingly independent.

Learning About Religions and Worldviews

Children learn that a worldview can influence how a person understands the world, makes choices, celebrates important events and lives their everyday life. They encounter religious and non-religious perspectives on questions about God, belonging, identity, right and wrong, authority, celebration, the natural world, life's important moments, suffering and what may happen after death. Children learn about places of worship, religious leaders, stories, sacred texts, symbols, artefacts, celebrations and practices, but our curriculum goes further than simply naming these things.

We want pupils to understand why they may be important and how beliefs can influence the way people live. Children also learn that there can be diversity within a religion or worldview. There is rarely one answer that describes what every Christian, Muslim, Jew, Hindu, Buddhist, Humanist or other individual believes or does. As their understanding grows, pupils learn to use words such as "some", "many" and "different traditions" carefully rather than making broad assumptions about groups of people.

Questions, Discussion and Reasoning

Questions are at the heart of RE at Brierley. Children are encouraged to investigate ideas rather than simply receive information. They consider questions about belief, identity, belonging, meaning, morality and how people choose to live their lives. As pupils mature, these questions become increasingly challenging. They learn to draw on what they know, listen carefully to different perspectives and explain the reasons behind their conclusions.

Children may also consider their own responses to some of the questions they explore. Having a personal view is welcomed, but pupils learn that a thoughtful response also requires an understanding of perspectives beyond their own. Nobody is expected to adopt or express a particular religious or non-religious belief. We want children to leave discussions knowing that it is possible to disagree with an idea while continuing to treat the person expressing it with dignity and respect.

Christianity

Christianity is encountered throughout Brierley's RE curriculum so that children's knowledge develops progressively over time. In Reception, children begin by considering why the word God is special to Christians and explore Christian celebrations. In Year 1, pupils consider questions such as "What do people believe about God?", "What is God like for some people?" and how people celebrate important occasions, including the different ways Christians may mark Easter. In Year 2, children consider how people decide what is right and wrong and explore the importance of Christian leaders, symbols and artefacts. In Year 3, children consider how Christian beliefs about God may influence the way Christians live as disciples.

Year 4 explores the question, "What do different Christians believe God is like?" This deliberately helps children recognise diversity within Christianity. In Year 5, children explore forgiveness and reconciliation and consider why these may be important for people of faith. By Year 6, pupils are ready to consider more challenging theological and philosophical questions. They explore how Christians may respond to the problem of suffering and consider how beliefs about death and the afterlife can influence the way a person lives. This progression allows children's understanding of Christianity to deepen rather than beginning again each year.

Judaism

Children encounter Judaism at several points within the curriculum. In the Early Years, children encounter Jewish celebrations and begin to recognise that celebrations, stories and traditions may have particular significance for different communities. In Year 1, pupils explore belonging and consider what it means to be part of a community. In Year 2, children learn about the importance of a synagogue and consider how Jewish festivals can bring people together. Year 3 develops this understanding through the question, "What does it mean to be part of a religious community?" In Year 4, pupils consider how Jewish people may celebrate key moments in life's journey. Judaism is also included within wider comparative enquiries as children become older, allowing pupils to draw upon knowledge gained in previous years when considering wider questions.

Islam

Children's knowledge of Islam also develops progressively. Early Years children encounter Ramadan and Eid as part of their growing awareness of different celebrations and communities. In Year 3, pupils consider an important idea within our Religious Worldview thread: why there can be diversity among people who follow the same religion. In Year 4, children explore how Islamic beliefs may shape the lives of Muslims. By Year 5, pupils consider authority and leadership through the question, "What made Muhammad a good leader, worth following?" Children therefore move beyond recognising festivals towards understanding how beliefs, leadership and religious identity may influence people's lives.

Hindu Dharma

Hindu Dharma forms part of children's developing understanding of religious worldviews in Key Stage 2. In Year 5, pupils consider how Hindus may make sense of the world and explore the importance of light. In Year 6, this develops further through the Authority thread as pupils explore how and why Hindus may show respect for living things. This helps children connect religious belief with choices, attitudes and actions in everyday life.

Humanism and Non-Religious Worldviews

At Brierley, RE includes non-religious as well as religious worldviews. This is important because we want children to understand the diversity of beliefs and perspectives within modern society. In Year 1, pupils begin to consider how Humanists may mark and celebrate new life. In Year 2, children consider how non-religious families may show that they belong. Year 3 develops this through the question, "Why do non-religious people still celebrate life's milestones?"

Humanism is later included within broader enquiries in which pupils draw together learning from Christianity, Hindu Dharma, Islam, Judaism, Humanism and other perspectives. This helps children understand that people may reach different conclusions about meaning, morality, belonging and how to live a good life.

Buddhism

In Year 6, pupils extend their knowledge of worldviews through the study of Buddhism. Children consider representations of the Buddha and compare these with depictions of other religious leaders. By this stage, pupils have sufficient knowledge and experience of studying different traditions to make increasingly meaningful comparisons rather than simply noticing surface-level similarities and differences.

Comparing Religions and Worldviews

As children's knowledge becomes more secure, they increasingly draw different perspectives together. Comparison is used carefully. We first make sure children know enough about the religion or worldview being considered. This means comparisons are based on meaningful knowledge rather than stereotypes or superficial features. In Year 4, for example, pupils undertake a cross-religious worldview enquiry considering, "What kind of world do we want to live in?" and "What impact can I have?" In Year 5, a wider enquiry draws on Christianity, Hindu Dharma, Islam, Judaism and Humanism while considering questions of authority and beliefs about the origins of the world. These opportunities help pupils recognise connections while also respecting important differences between traditions and individual perspectives.

RE in Our Diverse School Community

Brierley is a diverse school community, with many children speaking English as an additional language and families whose experiences and connections reach across different parts of the world. This diversity enriches Religious Education. Our children may encounter religions, worldviews, languages, celebrations and traditions that connect with their own family experiences as well as those that are completely new to them.

Where children choose to share their experiences, these are valued and treated with respect. However, we never assume a child's religion or worldview from their language, nationality or family background, and no child is expected to speak on behalf of an entire religion, country or community. Teachers use this richness to encourage curiosity, respectful discussion and an understanding that diversity exists both between and within religious and non-religious worldviews. We want pupils to recognise that the diversity they encounter through RE is not something distant. It is part of the community around them at Brierley and part of the wider world in which they are growing up.

Revisiting and Remembering

We know that important RE knowledge needs to be revisited if children are to remember it and use it confidently. RE lessons regularly begin with a short Flashback activity, giving pupils opportunities to retrieve previous learning, revisit important vocabulary and make connections with what they are learning now.

Religions, worldviews and important concepts are revisited in increasingly sophisticated ways. For example, early learning about belonging develops into understanding religious communities and identity. Early discussions about celebrations develop into considering how beliefs influence practices. Children's first questions about God develop into increasingly complex discussions about belief, suffering, the origins of the world and life after death.

A Sequenced Curriculum

Our RE curriculum is carefully sequenced from the Early Years through to Year 6. In Nursery and Reception, children develop foundations through belonging, celebrations, special people and places, stories, communities and early questions about belief. In Year 1, children explore Christianity, Judaism and Humanism through questions about God, celebration, belonging and important moments in life. Year 2 develops children's understanding of Judaism, Christianity and Humanism through belonging, personal belief and authority. Year 3 deepens knowledge through Christianity, Islam, Judaism and Humanism, including questions about God, religious diversity, community and life's milestones. In Year 4, pupils study Judaism, Islam and Christianity before bringing different perspectives together through a cross-religious worldview enquiry.

Year 5 develops learning through Islam, Christianity and Hindu Dharma and includes a wider enquiry drawing upon Christianity, Hindu Dharma, Islam, Judaism and Humanism. By Year 6, pupils are ready to consider increasingly complex questions through Christianity, Hindu Dharma and Buddhism, including suffering, death and the afterlife, respect for living things and religious leadership. This progression helps children build connected knowledge rather than learning isolated facts about different religions.

Supporting Every Child

RE is for every child. We maintain high expectations while considering carefully how pupils can best access unfamiliar vocabulary, abstract ideas and different perspectives. Teachers may use photographs, artefacts, stories, diagrams, vocabulary prompts, structured discussion, oral rehearsal, additional modelling and alternative ways for children to record their understanding. For children learning English as an additional language, visual resources, explicit vocabulary teaching and opportunities to rehearse ideas through talk can be particularly valuable.

Where appropriate, children's home languages and experiences can support understanding and enrich classroom discussion.

We also recognise that some children may have detailed personal knowledge of a religion or worldview while others may have very little prior experience. We never assume that personal experience automatically means secure curriculum knowledge. Every child is supported to engage with the same important ideas and questions. Our aim is to remove barriers while keeping RE ambitious, thoughtful and inclusive.

Assessment and Feedback

Assessment in RE considers both what children know and how effectively they can use that knowledge. Teachers use questioning, discussion, Flashbacks, children's work and pupil voice to understand whether pupils can recall important knowledge, use appropriate vocabulary and explain beliefs and practices accurately. As children progress, we also consider whether they can make meaningful comparisons, recognise different perspectives and use their learning to construct increasingly reasoned responses.

Assessment is not about judging a child's personal beliefs or whether they hold a religious or non-religious worldview. Instead, it helps teachers understand whether important curriculum knowledge is secure, identify misconceptions and decide what needs to be revisited or developed next.

RE Beyond the Classroom

Experiences beyond the classroom can help children understand that religions and worldviews are lived experiences rather than simply topics in a textbook. Where possible, we make use of visits, visitors and people from different communities to bring children's learning to life. Our long-term plans include links with our local church, and pupils have opportunities to encounter church leaders and places of worship as part of their wider learning. For example, local church visits or visitors feature within our Key Stage 2 plans.

Experiencing a place of worship or listening to someone explain how their beliefs influence their life can give children valuable context for what they have learned in class. Visits and visitors complement curriculum teaching rather than replacing it, and children are encouraged to approach these experiences with thoughtful questions and respect.

RE and Collective Worship

Religious Education and collective worship are separate parts of school life. RE is curriculum learning about religions and worldviews. It develops children's knowledge and understanding and gives them opportunities to investigate different perspectives. Collective worship has a different purpose and is organised separately.

Children may encounter some common stories, celebrations, values or themes in both, but collective worship is not used as a substitute for planned RE teaching. Our assemblies and collective worship also provide opportunities to come together as a school community, reflect on our values of Nurture, Aspire, Believe and Achieve and consider themes such as kindness, respect, responsibility and belonging.

Right of Withdrawal

We recognise and respect parents' and carers' rights in relation to Religious Education and collective worship. Parents and carers may request that their child is withdrawn from all or part of Religious Education. Parents may also request withdrawal from collective worship. If you are considering withdrawal, we ask that you contact Mrs McIntosh, the Headteacher, in the first instance. This gives us an opportunity to discuss the RE curriculum, understand which aspects you wish your child to be withdrawn from and explain the practical arrangements that would apply.

How You Can Help Your Child at Home

Families can support children's RE learning through simple conversations that encourage curiosity and respect.

You can help your child by:

• talking about celebrations and traditions that are important to your family

• discussing why some places, objects, stories or occasions may be special to different people

• encouraging children to ask respectful questions about beliefs and worldviews

• talking about similarities and differences without assuming that everyone within a group believes or behaves in the same way

• discussing questions about kindness, fairness, belonging and responsibility

• visiting places of cultural or religious significance when appropriate

• noticing different places of worship within your community or when travelling

• reading stories from different cultures and traditions

• encouraging children to explain what they have learned rather than simply remembering names or facts

• sharing your own family experiences where you feel comfortable doing so

• reminding children that it is possible to respect another person's beliefs without having to share them

Some of the most valuable conversations begin with children's questions. You do not need to have every answer. Exploring a question together can be an important part of learning.

Useful RE Resources

Families who would like to explore Religious Education further may find the following organisations useful.

NATRE, the National Association of Teachers of Religious Education, provides information and resources about Religious Education.

NATRE https://www.natre.org.uk/

BBC Bitesize provides age appropriate resources about religions, beliefs and practices.

BBC Bitesize Religious Education https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/subjects/z7hs34j

Understanding Humanism provides educational resources about Humanism and non-religious worldviews.

Understanding Humanism https://understandinghumanism.org.uk/

Most importantly, we encourage families to talk to us. If you have questions about our RE curriculum, please contact school.

Knowing Our Curriculum Is Working

We work closely with staff to make sure that the curriculum remains ambitious, coherent, balanced and inclusive. Children's work, assessment information, discussions with pupils, lesson visits and curriculum monitoring help us understand what children know and remember. We consider whether pupils can recall important knowledge about religions and worldviews, use subject vocabulary accurately and explain how beliefs may influence people's lives.

We also look at whether children can make meaningful connections with previous learning, recognise diversity within traditions, listen to different perspectives and develop increasingly reasoned responses to challenging questions. We want to know not simply that a religion, celebration or question has been covered, but that children have developed knowledge they can remember, connect and use.

Knowledgeable, Thoughtful and Respectful Learners

By the time children leave Brierley, we want them to have developed secure knowledge of a range of religious and non-religious worldviews and understand that beliefs can shape people's identities, choices and ways of life. We want children to be curious enough to ask thoughtful questions, knowledgeable enough to avoid stereotypes and confident enough to explain their ideas. We want them to listen carefully to people who see the world differently, disagree respectfully when appropriate and recognise that diversity exists both between and within communities.

Our diverse Brierley community gives children a particularly valuable opportunity to see that different languages, cultures, religions and worldviews are part of the world around them. We aim to develop knowledgeable, open-minded and respectful young people who can participate positively in a diverse society while developing their own ideas, values and understanding of the world.