We are delighted to share our... 

SILVER Religious Education Quality Mark

at Loscoe C of E Primary School.

RE is an integral part of our school. It feeds into our curriculum and daily lives. The children embrace their learning in RE where they enjoy developing their understanding, asking questions and sharing their own thoughts and ideas. 

Achieving this award has validated and celebrated the school's excellent commitment to the teaching and learning of RE. This includes, all staff, children, governing bodies and parents working well together.

Now...we begin our journey to GOLD! 

We may be small, but together we can make a big difference.

“Our faith can move mountains” Matthew 17:20

Aiming to become upstanding members of a diverse and awe inspiring world. 

As a Church of England School, the Christian faith is the foundations of everything that we do at Loscoe.

In all learning and life experiences, we aim to fulfil our school vision by raising the aspiration of all pupils and promoting confidence, aspiration, wisdom, resilience and independence in every child. At our school, we provide a broad and balanced RE curriculum which encompasses spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, in accordance with the locally-agreed syllabus of Derbyshire and Derby City, as well as The Understanding Christianity units.

Intent 

We promote an environment where all children feel known, accepted, and valued as individuals, within a caring community, where our Christian faith affects not only what we teach, but also how we teach. We believe that it is fundamental for the children to belong to a safe and nurturing community, founded on strong Christian values where children will develop an array of skills that will enable them to make their own positive contribution to our global society. 

Our intent for all the children in RE are: 

∙ To provoke challenging questions about the ultimate meaning of life, beliefs about God, the nature of reality and morality. 

∙ To develop pupils’ knowledge and understanding of Christianity, other principal world religions, religious traditions and world-views,       which offer answers to ultimate questions. 

∙ To encourage pupils to develop their sense of identity and belonging, in order to flourish within communities, as responsible citizens in   society and global communities. 

∙ To teach pupils to develop respect for others and their beliefs and helps to challenge prejudice. 

∙ To prompt pupils to consider their responsibilities to themselves and to others, and to explore how they might contribute to their  communities and to wider society encouraging empathy, generosity and compassion.

Implementation

Our whole curriculum is shaped by our school vision which aims to enable all children, regardless of background, ability, additional needs, to flourish to become the best they can be.

We ensure that, at Loscoe, we fully meet the requirement of the statement of entitlement for Church schools, which states that all children are to receive a high quality Religious Education which supports them in all aspects of their learning : “Religious education in a Church school should enable every child to flourish and to live life in all its fullness. (John 10:10). It will help educate for dignity and respect encouraging all to live well together” (Statement of Entitlement) 

We implement our intent by:

• Teaching RE weekly using both Understanding Christianity scheme and the Derby city and Derbyshire syllabus.
• Ensuring progression of understanding, knowledge and skills from foundation to Year 6.
• Teaching about Christianity, as well as a wide range of other religions.
• Handling artefacts
• Exploring sacred texts 
• Using imaginative play or drama to express feelings and ideas 
• Responding to images, games, stories, art, music and dance 
• Meeting visitors from local religious communities
• Making visits to religious places of worship where possible, and where not, making use of videos and the internet 
• Taking part in whole school events- (multi-faith days, Harvest Festival, school performances, Mass, Church services) 
• Participating in moments of quiet reflection 
• Comparing religions and world views through discussion
• Debating and communicating religious belief, world views and philosophical ideas and answering and asking ultimate questions posed by these

Impact

We will know our RE curriculum has been effective, as children at Losoce will:

• Ask and offer possible answers to challenging questions about the meaning of life, beliefs, nature of reality and morality. 
• Have a secure understanding and knowledge of the religions studied and be confident to answer ultimate questions. 
• Have the ability to ask significant and reflective questions about religion and demonstrate a good understanding of issues relating to the nature, truth and value of religion. 
•  Have a sense of self, identity and belonging to flourish within the community and be responsible citizens.
• Show respect, tolerance and understanding of all religions and beliefs. 
• Have a strong understanding of how the beliefs, values, practices and ways of life within any religion come together. 
• Have the ability to link the study of religion and belief to personal reflections on meaning and purpose. 
• Have the ability to exemplify the School’s Christian values in all aspects of life that are rooted in the teachings of the Bible.

• We understand that the pandemic affected the knowledge gained by pupils, therefore we use our progression documents to ensure that we consider gaps in knowledge and skills.

Wider Curriculum

As part of their time at Loscoe Church of England Primary School and Nursery, the children will visit St Luke’s Church  in Losoce, as well as other places of worship. The Loscoe Promise lists that children will visit at least one place of worship from other faiths.  

Careers

For those children who are interested in studying religion, a career in Theology is the perfect choice. Having the opportunity to learn more about one’s faith is often seen as an opportunity that’s too good to pass up. However, when most people think of a theology career they automatically assume the only available job is that of minister. Yet, the fact is a theology degree can lead to many careers other than the ministry, with each offering excellent salaries and the chance to use one’s training in various settings. As more people than ever before look at religion and spirituality as a major part of their lives, theology careers have allowed many people with religious training to enter a number of mainstream careers.

The teaching and learning of Religious Education supports careers, such as:

Religious Education Teacher

Minister

Chaplain in the: Navy, Army, RAF, Prison, Hospital

College Faculty

Writer/Reporter

Executive Director

Social Worker

Volunteer Recruiter

Fund - Raising Specialist

Bible Translator

Religious Figures Coverage 

Throughout our RE curriculum we will learn about various religious figures from Islam, Judaism, Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism and Humanism. These will include a diverse range of people including:

Muhammed 

Mother Teresa

Jesus Christ 

Martin Luther King

Mahatma Gandhi

SMSC

• Developing their ability to be reflective about their own beliefs and perspective on life.
• Having a knowledge of and respect for different people’s faiths, feelings and values.
• Developing independence through learning about themselves, others and the wider world in imaginative and creative ways.
• Considering the consequences of their behaviour and actions on others.
• Recognising the difference between right and wrong, applying this to their lives.
• Appreciating and supporting the viewpoints of others in regard to ethical issues.
• Engaging and cooperating effectively with people from a diverse range of belief systems.
• Understanding the wide range of cultural influences in their heritage and that of those around them and appreciating the things we have in common.
• Participating and responding positively to creative, artistic and musical opportunities.
• Embracing cultural diversity locally, nationally and globally.

British Values

The Department for Education has reinforced the need “to create and enforce a clear and rigorous expectation on all schools to promote the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs.”

We recognise the importance of teaching our pupils mutual respect and tolerance for those of different or of no faith, and the shared values of Christianity and other major world faiths. Our Religious Education Programme is based on the Understanding Christianity and Derbyshire and Derby City  agreed syllabus.

British values are taught in all curriculum areas and are planned for in our school planning format.  We also focus on a value each term and work in houses and classes to explore the value.  

British Values are reinforced on a daily basis through our ‘ hidden curriculum’. This is where the school’s ethos influences more abstract areas of personal development such as forming and maintaining relationships, self-esteem and patterns of behaviour.

Protected Characteristics

Religion and belief are protected characteristics under the Equality Act. They cover people with a range of faiths and beliefs including a respect for their own and other cultures. We have themed weeks and days in school where different cultures are celebrated. We also discuss in RE and PSHE how the children can contribute positively to school and home life and to the lives of those living and working in the locality and further afield. We support the local food bank throughout the year, as well as other charities.

During RE lessons we remind everyone that their religion is to be respected and appreciated. 

An acceptance that other people having different faiths or beliefs to oneself (or having none) should be accepted and tolerated, and should not be the cause of prejudicial or discriminatory behaviour. This is modelled and taught within RE lessons. 

During their time at Loscoe, children cover all the major world religions. These are taught with the understanding that we celebrate and respect all religions and their principles. Different aspects of Christianity are taught each year at Loscoe.

Useful links and websites (including local visits)

https://www.prospects.ac.uk/careers-advice/what-can-i-do-with-my-degree/theology-and-religious-studies

https://www.ucas.com/job-subjects/religious-studies

http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/subjects/z7hs34j

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPh-x51A3wM 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/websites/4_11/site/re.shtml

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/religion/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcVQGoalfnk

https://kids.kiddle.co/Monk

https://kids.kiddle.co/Christianity#Types_of_Christianity

https://kids.kiddle.co/Protestant

https://kids.kiddle.co/Catholicism

https://kids.kiddle.co/Islam

https://kids.kiddle.co/Eastern_Orthodox_Church

http://www.primaryhomeworkhelp.co.uk/religion/hinduism.htm

Our curriculum is based upon the Derbyshire Agreed Syllabus and supported with materials from Understanding Christianity. Across the classes,  our long term plan ensures that our children are learning about core Christian concepts alongside other world faiths. 

Breadth of Study 

At Loscoe Church of England Primary and Nursery, we study the following faiths in depth: 

Children in years 4, 5 and 6 will also learn about the non-religious responses of Humanists.

Please contact Mrs Coope at lcoope@loscoe.derbyshire.sch.uk if you have questions or would like to talk about any aspects of RE at Loscoe C of E Primary School and Nursery.  

Enjoy looking at our photo gallery! 

Our long term planning is designed as 1 year cycle. This ensures our children get a great depth and breadth of study and work on units from both Understanding Christianity and the Derbyshire Agreed Syllabus. 

Children have been learning about the meaning of 'generosity'. Each year group has focused on a particular religion and what they can learn from it. Below are their class display boards.