RE

 
 

Our Vison and Aims for RE

The principal aim of Religious Education (RE) is to explore what people believe and what difference this makes to how they live, so that pupils can gain the knowledge, understanding and skills needed to handle questions raised by religion and belief, reflecting on their own ideas and ways of living.

RE often provokes challenging questions about the meaning and purpose of life. It helps us to understand how different religions approach different issues thus promoting compassion and respect. At Olive Hill, we support children to develop their knowledge and understanding of a range of religions and religious beliefs. We aim to equip children with the relevant enquiry, reasoned argument and reflection skills needed to begin to challenge prejudice, develop respect for others and become independent thinkers, helping them to flourish within their communities as citizens in a diverse society.

By building on the Early Years Framework looking at understanding the world, we aim to support children to develop their knowledge of a variety of religions, festivals, rituals, teachings, holy books and buildings. We follow the Dudley Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education where there is a clear focus on providing children with opportunities to become curious about different religions and religious beliefs. We aim to spark this curiosity by supporting the children to answer a ‘big question’ for each topic that is covered within our RE curriculum.

Our RE curriculum is split across the six half terms. In each half-term, each year group will follow the same theme:

  • Autumn one theme: Giving Thanks and Commitment

  • Autumn two theme: Celebration

  • Spring one theme: Unity and Compassion

  • Spring two theme: New Life and Learning

  • Summer one theme: Religious Teachings

  • Summer two theme: Beliefs, Books and Buildings

As children continue their learning journey through our school and move from year to year, they deepen their knowledge and understanding of each topic and have the opportunity to develop different and progressive skills. Through a broad range of cross-curricular opportunities, our children experience world religions and learn to live respectfully together.