At LMPS, Religious Education follows an enquiry-based approach. This begins with the children’s own experiences which leads into learning about and from religion. We use the Jigsaw RE Scheme of work which encourages children to think deeply about life’s big questions, for example: ‘What matters the most?’, ‘What do people believe?’ and ‘How do we decide what’s right and wrong?’. Lessons develop pupils’ knowledge and understanding of Christianity, other principal religions and religious traditions while fostering personal reflection and spiritual growth.
Our R.E. curriculum encourages pupils to explore their own beliefs (religious or non-religious), in the light of what they learn, as they examine issues of faith and how they affect their choices and beliefs. Through enabling pupils to build their sense of identity and belonging, they will then flourish within their communities and as citizens in a diverse society. We teach pupils to develop respect for others, including people with different faiths and beliefs, and to challenge prejudice. By prompting pupils to consider their responsibilities to themselves and to others, we encourage them to explore how they might contribute to their communities and to wider society. Our R.E. curriculum encourages empathy, generosity and compassion and enables children to develop a sense of awe, wonder and mystery whilst nurturing their spiritual development.
Jigsaw R.E. is an enquiry-based scheme of work, covering the principal world faiths progressively and sequentially from reception to Year 6. In the Early Years, the learning is closely matched to teaching to support the children’s Knowledge and Understanding of the World. Throughout all the enquiries, the children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural education is carefully considered.
Each topic lasts for half a term and begins with a “big” question such as “What is the best way for a Christian/Jew/Muslim to show commitment to God?”. The children then start discussing the theme of the enquiry (in this case, commitment) from their own experience: ‘What have they shown commitment to? Brownies? Cubs? Their sporting team? Playing an instrument?’
Once children understand the concept they are considering, they then move on to investigating what the people following the studied religion or worldview believe about it. They will spend around 3 lessons learning in different ways, so they can think carefully and come to their own conclusions. Towards the end of each unit, they will complete an activity which can assess their learning. The assessment activities are child friendly and can be answered in a variety of ways. This helps to develop critical thinking skills and to reflect on their learning to support long term knowledge acquisition.
At the end of every enquiry, the children have time to reflect on what they have learnt about the concept and apply to it their own lives, thus allowing them to form their own beliefs and identity. For example: ‘Learning that Hindus believe actions have consequences has taught me to think about how my behaviour affects others’. Lessons are often active and promote creativity, providing the children with the chance to express themselves through art, drama or other hands-on activities.
At LMPS, as well as Christianity we have chosen to focus on Judaism, Hinduism and Islam as we feel this creates a cohesive approach to our topic planning and best meets the needs of our children. Our R.E. curriculum reflects our ‘Thriving Together’ vision at LMPS and incorporates the four key principles:
Laetitia – Joy: We make R.E. joyful by studying and celebrating real events within our community as well as key religious stories to engage the children in a meaningful way.
Mollitiam – Resilience: We help children develop resilience by teaching them to understand and respect different beliefs as well as of key stories from different religion where resilience has been modelled.
Proventus - Growth: We support pupils to build their sense of identity and belonging, which will help them thrive in a multi-cultural society.
Solidatus - Companionship: We are a multi faith community and our curriculum reflects this. Our R.E. curriculum promotes respect, understanding and social harmony.
Right to Withdraw
R.E. is provided for all pupils. It is taught in an inclusive and open-minded manner, with pupils taught about beliefs, traditions and worship of different religions objectively and without prejudice or bias.
In line with government legislation, parents / carers retain the right to withdraw pupils from religious education lessons and / or collective worship. If you wish to do this, please contact the school in writing either through email to office@lmpsdorset.co.uk or through posting your request to the school directly.