Religious Education

 
As a Church of England primary school, at Winwick CE, we believe that Religious Education is the core of the core subjects and acts as a window to the wider world.  As such, it is important that our children experience a high quality curriculum offer and, because of this, we follow the the Questful RE Scheme of Work.  Whilst this is rooted in Christianity, we also ensure that our children learn about wider world religions and have the opportunity to explore and understand different faiths to promote harmony and equality.
 
Our wider experiences in our Worships, educational visits and other curriculum opportunities - such as World Faiths Day - ensure our children have a broad understanding of the world, whilst experiencing the richness that Christianity has to offer.
 
Below you will find a range of information that links to Religious Education and Worship.  Please also see the section of our website devoted to Christian Character and Distinctiveness.
 
 
 
Policies
 
 
Church of England Documentation
 
 

Church of England's Vision for Education

Our vision for education is deeply Christian, with Jesus' promise of 'life in all its fullness' at its heart.

In line with the Church of England's role as the established Church, our vision is for the common good of the whole community.

 

Educating for wisdom, knowledge and skills: enabling discipline, confidence and delight in seeking wisdom and knowledge, and developing talents in all areas of life.

Educating for hope and aspiration: enabling healing, repair and renewal, coping wisely when things go wrong, opening horizons and guiding people into ways of fulfilling them.

Educating for community and living well together: a core focus on relationships, participation in communities and the qualities of character that enable people to flourish together.

Educating for dignity and respect: the basic principle of respect for the value and preciousness of each person, treating each person as a unique individual of inherent worth.

 
 

Our RE Curriculum         

 

At Winwick, we follow Questful RE curriculum (Blackburn Diocese), details of which can be found on the ‘Our Curriculum’ page. Questful RE Questful RE is an enquiry based, balanced RE Curriculum for primary schools and is an exploration of Christianity and World Faiths enabling pupils to discover the ways in which faith influences people’s lives. 

 

Questful RE has been updated and redesigned to ensure that it is in line with current best practice and pedagogical strategies. Questful RE promotes the explicit teaching of Christian concepts and God’s big salvation story, therefore the content of this syllabus gives pupils a deeper understanding of Christianity. Through an open, investigative, enquiry approach, pupils are given the opportunity to explore major religions and world views. The large number of questions included in each unit is a key feature of the syllabus. As pupils explore these questions they will discover more about themselves, their relationships with others, their relationship with the world around them and their relationship with God.

 

At the beginning of a new academic year, there will be a recap ‘The Big Story’ display of The Bible, to ensure that children are aware of the structure of The Bible and know where the stories covered in previous years fit.

 

In addition to work across the curriculum, we also use theme days/weeks across the academic year to explore World Faiths (e.g. World Faiths Day, Diversity Week), giving children the opportunity to learn about and explore other World Faiths and their impact of people’s lives.

 

In addition, the world religion covered in the previous year will also be recapped at the beginning of each new academic year so that children can make links and comparisons throughout the upcoming Christian Units. In KS1 and KS2, work for RE is recorded in either the “RE Big Book” or individual RE books. Within the EYFS, RE sessions will be recorded in the class book and observations will be captured using the Evidence Me app and will be assigned to the People and Communities area of learning.

 

Enrichment Opportunities: Educational Visits

Our educational visits in RE will alternate as follows:

Cycle 1- Children will visit Liverpool Cathedral to explore an important time of the year

Autumn: UKS2 (5/6) Visit for Remembrance Day experience

Autumn: KS1 (1/2) Visit for Christmas experience

Spring: LKS2 (3/4) Visit for Easter experience

Cycle 2- Children will visit a place of worship linked to the other faith they have studied.

KS1: Judaism: Synagogue

LKS2- Buddhism: Buddhist temple

UKS2- Islam: Mosque

 

Enrichment Opportunities: Clubs

In school, our Ethos Champions meet across each half term to focus on key issues. In addition to our Ethos Champions in school, we also have an after-school Ethos Club too.

 

 
 

T​he Right to Withdraw from Religious Education

In England, parents and carers have the right to withdraw their children from Religious Education. This right of withdrawal exists for all pupils in all types of schools. Parents and carers also have the right to withdraw their child from part of RE and can do so without giving any explanation.

Parents who wish to withdraw their children from RE should be aware of what is covered in our RE curriculum and will be given the opportunity to discuss this if they wish. It should be made clear by the parent whether the withdrawal is from the whole RE curriculum or specific parts of it. No reasons need be given

If you wish to withdraw your child from RE, or parts of RE, please contact our Headteacher, Mrs Laura Duckett through the school office:  01925 630 995 or winwick_primary@sch.warrington.gov.uk

 

Important – limitations to withdraw

If pupils are withdrawn from RE, schools have a duty to supervise them, though not to provide additional teaching.  A pupil may be required to work in another area of the school or another classroom.

Whilst parents or carers have a right to withdraw children from RE, they should note that children may also encounter religions and beliefs and wider aspects of faith in other areas of the curriculum from which there is no right of withdrawal.

On occasion, spontaneous questions about religious matters are raised by pupils or issues related to religion arise in other curriculum subjects such as history or citizenship (PSHE)  For example, schools promote inclusivity and help pupils to understand ideas about identity and diversity, feelings and emotions within both religious and non-religious contexts.