Rooted in our mission to 'Shepherd our school community to enrich God’s world and flourish,' our Religious Education curriculum seeks to nurture each child as part of God’s family. Drawing inspiration from John 10 – The Good Shepherd – we aim to guide pupils towards deep theological understanding, respect for others, and spiritual development.

Our RE curriculum develops the whole child through theologically grounded, enquiry-based learning. Pupils are taught about Christianity as a living faith while gaining respectful understanding of world religions. Through this, children are empowered to explore big questions about belief, values, purpose, and community. Our values of Compassion, Joy and Respect are embedded through the lens of RE, giving every child the opportunity to be heard and known.

Implementation

RE is taught weekly in all key stages using the Understanding Christianity framework and the Canterbury Diocese Agreed Syllabus. Learning builds upon a progression of eight key threads: Creation and Responsibility; Incarnation; Gospel; Salvation; Trinity; Kingdom of God; Worship and Symbolism; and World Faiths.

Through rich experiences including visits, visitors, artefacts, storytelling, sacred texts, and the expressive arts, children explore religious beliefs and practices from both Christian and global perspectives. Lessons are enquiry-based, with clear links to prior knowledge and key questions to deepen understanding. Cross-curricular links with PSHE, literacy and history enhance reflection and relevance.

Our RE curriculum actively promotes inclusive discussion, reasoning, and respectful disagreement. Regular visits to the local church and links to Collective Worship allow children to encounter faith in action.

Impact

Through RE, children leave Frittenden with a broad and respectful understanding of Christianity and world faiths. They demonstrate a well-developed moral compass, asking thoughtful questions and engaging with issues of identity, belief, justice, and community.

They can make connections across the Bible’s 'big story', showing progression in theological literacy. They express personal responses to faith through written, spoken, and creative outcomes.

Our children develop the skills to become compassionate, responsible global citizens – reflecting the Good Shepherd's care by valuing themselves and others, and showing that they too can enrich the world around them.

What our children say about RE:

• I love RE
• We get to be creative with the way that we respond
• We have learned about some big concepts, like incarnation… when something or someone takes on another form… like the Trinity
• I liked learning about Judaism, which is closely linked to Christianity
• We have looked at different interpretations of the same story told by different disciples
• We have been reading and interpreting the views of Christians about events in the Bible
• I really enjoyed creation: we made a rainbow using natural materials.
• We listened to ‘A Wonderful World’ when thinking about creation. It was a spring board to help us think about God creating our world.
• RE is interesting. We like our voices and views to be heard.

Our threads:

The following key theological and pedagogical threads are revisited throughout the RE curriculum:
1. Creation and Responsibility – Understanding the world as God’s creation and the responsibility of humans to care for it.
2. Incarnation and Jesus’ Identity – Exploring Jesus as God incarnate, developing from simple nativity stories to theological interpretations of the Messiah.
3. Gospel and Christian Living – Investigating what Jesus’ teachings mean for Christian life and values.
4. Salvation and Resurrection – Understanding the Easter story as central to Christian faith, progressing to deeper interpretations of sacrifice and hope.
5. Trinity and God’s Nature – Moving from basic knowledge of Jesus and God to nuanced understanding of the Trinity.
6. Kingdom of God and Discipleship – Exploring what it means to live as part of God’s kingdom and to follow Jesus' example.
7. World Faiths and Mutual Respect – Understanding key practices and beliefs of Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, and Sikhism, promoting interfaith respect.
8. Worship, Celebration, and Symbolism – Exploring how different faiths express belief through rituals, worship, and festivals.

Frittenden CofE Primary’s Essentials for this Subject:

• We ensure our pupils are taught to be respectful and tolerant of all beliefs and cultures, demonstrating the British Values we aim to help instill.
• We encourage pupils to engage in respectful debate and discussion about faith and beliefs.
• We teach religious education in every key stage, including Foundation Stage.
• Children are introduced to our school values (Compassion, Respect and Joy) and these form an integral part of our curriculum, including explicit teaching linked to collective worship and Christian Bible stories.