IMMANUEL AND ST ANDREW CHURCH OF ENGLAND SCHOOL

Religious Education Policy

Mission Statement

The aim of Immanuel and St Andrew school is to ensure the aesthetic, moral, physical,
social, emotional and spiritual development of each child in a caring atmosphere that
recognises and values the Christian foundation and ethos of the school.

At Immanuel and St Andrew school, Religious Education is an integral part of our school life.
We are a Voluntary Aided Primary School with a Christian foundation and, as such, Christianity
forms the basis of all the teaching in the school and how we treat each other.

The aims of this policy are to:

• establish a clear and workable framework for the learning and teaching of Religious
Education at Immanuel and St Andrew;
• show a common purpose amongst staff and pupils, which may be clearly understood by
parents, Governors, Southwark Diocese and External Agencies.

Aims of RE subject
High quality Religious Education will develop:
• knowledge and understanding of Christianity and other major world religions;
• an understanding of what it means to be committed to a religious tradition and to
appreciate the cultural differences;
• an awareness of spiritual and moral issues in life experiences;
• awareness of the fundamental questions of life raised by human experiences and how
religious teaching relates to them;

Learning and Teaching

Religious Education will be taught and learned as a discreet, timetabled subject. However it is
not an isolated area but must be seen in the context of the whole curriculum. We recognise
that all children in our school have differing learning styles, and therefore the teaching of
Religious Education will meet the standards set in our published Learning and Teaching Policy
which aims to ensure that all children will reach their potential.

Planning is based upon the Southwark Diocesan Board of Education Scheme of Work. The
scheme provides a continuous and progressive outline for the development of Religious
Education through the school from Nursery to Year 6. Within this framework the teaching of
Religious Education is supported by topic themes specified for each year group and ensures
effective coverage of all areas and concepts.

It is widely acknowledged that the Spiritual and Moral development of a child is difficult to
assess. However, the theoretical / written side of RE is more straightforward. The class
teacher will use assessment strategies throughout the topic to ascertain the children’s learning
and modify future sessions to ensure progress is made by all. At the end of each topic, the
children will assess what they have learned both for themselves and for the class.
In addition, the class teacher will also note any children who have either exceeded or fallen
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short of both the AT1 and AT2 the attainment expectations.

Visits to local places of worship of different faiths are encouraged so that the children can
develop greater understanding of other faiths and cultures. Speakers are also welcomed into
our school as a further source of information as appropriate to the development of the RE
curriculum.

Inclusion
We live in a multi-cultural, multi-racial society and encourage the respect and understanding of
other religions and cultures within the community in which we live. We intend to follow Jesus’
example to love and serve one another so that all may be included, regardless of race & culture.
We believe that all children irrespective of race, ability and gender should have equal access to
the RE curriculum. Children with special educational needs will work on the same content but
there will be differentiation in accordance with the Inclusion policy.

Study of other faiths at Immanuel and St Andrew

Although the SDBE scheme of work is mainly Christian, we believe that it is important for all
children to learn about a range of different faiths. At Immanuel and St Andrew we explore the
religions of Islam and Judaism in addition to Christianity since these are major world religions.
The content will be based on the idea of developing an awareness of other faiths and cultures in
the community in which we live and encouraging interfaith dialogue.

The Role of the Religious Education Subject Leader

• To show by example good RE practice.
• To monitor the effectiveness of the planned and delivered curriculum specifically in RE.
• To guide and support teachers in this subject, and to provide, where necessary,
appropriate training and development.
• To audit and monitor the quality of RE resources, including online and other web-based
technologies, to ensure effective learning and teaching across the school.
• To work closely with the link Governor, the Incumbent and the School Chaplain.

The Role of the RE link Governor

• To be a critical friend to both the RE co-ordinator and the senior management team, to
ensure high quality RE provision.
• To liaise closely with the RE co-ordinator, the Incumbent of Immanuel and St Andrew
Church and the School Chaplain.
• To attend appropriate training linked to RE.
• To feedback to Governors, keeping them informed of RE across the school.

Right to Withdrawal
The recent Education Acts establish the parent’s right to withdraw their children from
Religious Education if they wish. However, by the fact that the parents have opted to send
their children to a church school it is hoped that this will not be necessary.

Policy reviewed and revised: June 2007

Ratified by Governors: July 2007
Currently under review since July 2009

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