RE

Our Christian Vision

To ensure every child receives an excellent education focusing on aspiration, high expectation and personalisation, underpinned by the Christian ethos of valuing every child as a unique child of God – the future adult members of our society.

 
Behold children are the gift of the LORD, The fruit of the womb is a reward. PSALM 127:3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RE Long Term Plan 2023-2024

Christian and British Values

Our Christian and British Values are at the heart of all we do and this links to our central focus of valuing each child as unique in God’s eyes. Each year our Worship Committee work with pupils to select which Christian and Bristish Values we will explore in depth. We base our daily worship around these values, with different children, classes and adults leading on specific days.

Our display in the main entrance hall changes termly and is a reflection of how we live out our values within school and within our church and wider community; always ‘Growing in God’s Love.’

We incorporate the values of the school within our Positive Behaviour policy, focussing on the importance of following the Golden Rules’, both in and out of school. The Golden Rules are simple to understand and promote kindness, care and respect.

Adults in school always seek to live out these values – acting with integrity, compassion and wisdom as they go about their daily work. We model for our children a fair and just society where it is safe to discuss, debate and challenge. Children are not afraid to express themselves and to share their beliefs in a thoughtful way, which makes for a calm, peaceful and understanding learning environment. This links in with our belief that the spiritual development of every child and adult within our community is of paramount importance. We believe that spirituality is about enabling the very essence of each individual in our care to grow and flourish. To do this we ensure time is set aside to reflect, look at the world around us and to take opportunities to look beyond ourselves to explore and reflect on life, faith and God.

Values in the community 2023- 24

Spirituality

What do we mean by spirituality?

We believe that spirituality concerns a person’s relationship with themselves, with others, with God (or transcendence – a belief or feeling extending or lying beyond the limits of our ordinary experience), and with nature and the environment.

These four elements: self; others; transcendence and beauty form the basis of our work with children in developing a strong sense of spirituality.

It is also vital that all of the adults in school also see the need to develop their own spirituality for their own wellbeing, and so that they can effectively support and help our children and each other.

The four elements – what these consist of:

Self

  • Awareness of feelings; ability to reflect and express
  • Awareness of our uniqueness; happiness with who we are
  • Gratitude for the things we have and the person we are
  • Exploration of personal faith
  • Development of imagination and creativity

Others

  • Empathy and understanding; respect, tolerance
  • To love and be loved (loving your neighbour)
  • Making a difference; duty

Transcendence (Beyond)

  • Encountering/experiencing God (having a sense of what lies beyond the material/physical)
  • Ability to formulate and discuss the ‘Big Questions’ (eg about life, death, suffering, nature of God)
  • Opportunities for prayer, connecting with God
  • Making sense of the world

Beauty

  • Developing a sense of awe and wonder
  • Enjoying the miracles of everyday life
  • Taking time for what really matters
  • Appreciating beauty in art, music, nature

Opportunities to develop spirituality are certainly not confined to collective worship or RE teaching. These opportunities are planned for and presented to our children by way of the whole curriculum, for instance through our daily reflections on our learning, our discussions and understanding of national and local events, through our art work, dance and drama, yoga workshops and English lessons. Within school we also firmly believe in making the most of spontaneous moments which fill us with wonder, clarity and joy or which may make us question our assumptions. These may not be planned for or anticipated but can make a lasting impression on each and everyone of us.

How we aim to develop a strong sense of spirituality

  1. Have regular time in the day for quiet and reflection. This might be listening to a story, lighting a candle in assembly, going for a walk
  2. Provide many opportunities for creativity and using the imagination
  3. Valuing play opportunities
  4. Singing often, especially with others.
  5. Ensuring regular time for prayer. This can take many forms, but should including being thankful, saying sorry. Allow children the opportunity to open themselves to God.
  6. Provide frequent opportunities for children to explore, express and share feelings.
  7. Constantly reaffirm the importance of relationships. How we talk to and relate with each other is fundamental.
  8. Provide opportunities to express awe and wonder, appreciate beauty in all its forms, and appreciate the connections and unity in the world
  9. Encourage each other to admit mistakes and to say sorry. Recognising and owning up to faults is an important healing and redemptive process.
  10. Encourage children to show kindness, caring and compassion, and to express these in practical ways. (eg: how we treat each other every day; charitable works; looking after pets)
  11. Explore the ‘Big Questions’ – particularly through our RE programme
  12. Read often to children, and give them opportunities to discuss and reflect. This includes both secular and religious texts, in particular the Bible

 

Structures to support and develop spirituality:

  • Opportunities to reflect are planned for. Reflections in written work are used regularly as a focal point for reflection, and include  RE, PSHE and across the wider curriculum
  • We have a planned programme for Collective Worship across the school. This maps out themes across the year, based on our school values and ‘Values for Life’
  • There is a daily act of collective worship taking different forms, and involving children
  • Displays and pictures around the school continually celebrate and encourage reflection and spirituality