St Nicolas' Church of England Infant School
Living life in all its fullness
Religious Education
Religious Education is a core subject in the school curriculum. As a Church of England school, the Religious Education of our children is a strong part of our distinctive Christian vision. Our vision and values permeate all areas of school life and are firmly rooted in Christian principles with Biblical foundations and feed into our teaching and approaches for all curriculum subjects, but are especially evident in Religious Education.
The purpose of RE in a Church school is to teach children to know about and understand that Christianity is a living faith that influences people worldwide, to learn about and respect other major world faiths and to equip children with the knowledge and skills to come to their own set of beliefs and values, while understanding and respecting those of others. We often use 'reflective stories' to encourage deep thinking and to provide an atmosphere for children to reflect on the teaching, come to their own conclusions and listen with respect to the opinions and beliefs of others.
In our school, the RE curriculum is structured to enable pupils to meet the requirements set out in the document Religious Education in Church of England Schools A Statement of Entitlement 2019. RE is taught through units provided by the Guildford Diocesan Board of Education (Guidelines 2015) and uses the Church of England’s policy of inclusivity towards children with backgrounds in all faiths and world views.
We enhance our RE curriculum with regular 'Pause Days,' in which we 'pause' our ordinary activities and focus on a festival or concept deeply for a full day, in order to provide inspiring, enriching experiences for the children, where they can grasp big ideas and spend time reflecting on deep issues. We hold annual Pause Days for Harvest, Remembrance Day, Black History and Dignity, Advent, St Nicolas' Day, Easter, Pentecost and UN Anti-Racism Day.
