Religious Education

The documents below outline Grove Road’s approach to teaching Religious Education through a thematic approach underpinned by the Hertfordshire Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education. This document will outline the key concepts and themes we teach here at Grove Road and how we ensure that the pupils develop in their understanding of the world around them. 

RE is a statutory entitlement for all pupils registered in a Hertfordshire school, including Reception year and post-16. It is locally determined rather than nationally stipulated within the national curriculum, allowing for variation in local faith and belief communities. The Hertfordshire Agreed Syllabus for RE aims to enable schools to achieve high quality Religious Education for all.

(Hertfordshire Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education 2017-2022)

Intent Statement

Religious Education plays an important role, along with all other curriculum areas, particularly PSHE, in promoting social awareness and understanding in our children. Our RE curriculum aims to provide our pupils the opportunity to learn from and about religion, so that they can understand the world around them. Through Religious Education, pupils develop their knowledge of the world faiths, and their understanding and awareness of the beliefs, values and traditions of other individuals, societies, communities and cultures.

We encourage our pupils to ask questions about the world and to reflect on their own beliefs, values and experiences. Religious Education is taught throughout the school in such a way as to reflect the overall aims, values, and philosophy of the school, through topics such as Belonging, Special Places and Leaders. We include and promote British Values, ensuring that children are aware of their rights and responsibilities as UK citizens. Our curriculum is designed to encourage creativity, imagination, enquiry, debate, discussion and independence.

Intended Impact

During the children’s learning journey at Grove Road, our intended impact of the Religious Education Curriculum is to ensure that children will:

• Be able to make links between their own lives and those of others in their community and in the wider world.
• Gain valuable insights into the diverse beliefs and opinions held by people today. It helps with their own personal development and supports an understanding of the spiritual, moral, social & cultural questions that surface again & again in their lives.
• Engage in civilised debate and reasoned argument, which will help pupils to understand the place of religion and belief in the modern world.
• Have a systematic knowledge and understanding about Christianity, principal religions and world views, which give life value. 
• Become religiously and theologically literate so they can engage in life in an increasingly diverse society. 

Pupil views

''I like RE because it teaches us how to look after our world” - Joshi, Year 1

''I feel very excited and happy during RE. I like learning about different religions - Dylan, Year 1 

''I enjoy RE because it is interesting learning about the different religions'' - Orson, Year 2 

''Religious Education means learning about different religions like Christianity, Islam and Judaism’’ Year 2 Pupils

''We need to know about religions. Different people might have a different opinions and we need to know about this’’ - Year 2 Pupils 

''I enjoy RE because it is cool and I like the different stories” - Noah, Year 5

''RE is about learning about other people’s cultures and I enjoy listening to lots of interesting stories from different religions” - Sam, Year 5

''RE is about respecting other religions and not judging others’ beliefs” - Lauren, Year 5

''I like RE because it helps me to understand other religions so I know how to be respectful” - Thomas, Year 6 

''I enjoy learning RE because we get to learn about people’s cultures and what different groups believe and why” - Lucie, Year 6 

''I like RE because you find out about different people other than yourself” - Ollie, Year 6