Religious Education
RE has a high profile in school, driven by senior leaders and in partnership with the Diocese of Leeds.
Within the framework of the law and the Agreed Syllabus, the aims in RE at Bedale Church of England Primary School are for pupils to:
- Acquire and develop knowledge and understanding of Christianity and the other principal religions represented in the United Kingdom;
- Develop an understanding of the influence of religious and non-religious worldviews, values and traditions on individuals, communities, societies and cultures, locally, nationally and globally;
- Develop the ability to make reasoned and informed judgements about religious and more issues, with reference to the teachings and diversity within religious and non-religious worldviews represented in the United Kingdom;
- Enhance their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development by:
- Developing awareness of the fundamental questions of life raised by human experiences, and of how religious teachings and other beliefs can relate to them;
- Responding to such questions with reference to the teachings and practises of religions and worldviews relating to them to their own understanding and experience;
- Reflecting on their own beliefs, values and experiences in the light of their study;
- Develop positive attitudes of respect towards other people who hold views and beliefs different from their own, and towards living in a society of diverse religions and worldviews.
- To develop an understanding of the role of the bible for Christians and Jesus’ teaching (Matthew 14, Mark 6, Luke 9) “He (Jesus) told them stories. He taught them about the love of God”
RE Visits
EYFS
As part of our learning about special places in RE, the EYFS children visited St Gregory’s church. The children enjoyed chatting to Reverend Simon about the church and they were all very excited to see the different features inside the church. We talked about churches being holy places for Christians and some of the things Christians would do when they go to Church.
Lots of the children were excited to tell us about the times they had been to church, these included weddings, christenings, and special services such as Christmas and Easter.
Year 1 pupils visit St Gregorys church in Bedale in Summer Term as part of their learning about sacred places.
During the visit to St Gregory's children discuss the importance of communities and how a place to meet can be special. They learn about all the additional activities that St Gregory's offer to our community and create posters for St Gregory's to display to encourage friends to meet. When at the church children are able to see where friends can chat, meet and discuss the importance of friendship and how it is even more special that we are able to meet in God's house.
Year 2 pupils have a great opportunity to expand their learning about Judaism by visiting a Synagogue in Leeds in Spring term. The children are always keen to share their knowledge and on their latest visit were shown about their prayer room. They were also shown the precious Torah Scroll and other important artifacts. They had all of their questions about their learning answered from someone with first hand experience of the religion.
Year 3 had a visit from Reverend Gareth. He talked to us about what prayer is.
We listened to Rev. Gareth’s thoughts and we suggested some excellent theories and thoughts.
“You don’t have to believe in God to prayer”
“Praying can be done anywhere”
“Prayer is categorized into ask, hope or thank”
“To pray for others and for those who cannot pray themselves”
“Praying is like having a conversation with God”
We learnt that you might feel like praying at any moment. Reading passages from the Bible or simply having a feeling inside is like praying. Reverend Gareth told us that he prayed for lots of people around the world and closer to his life like family and friends.
The children from Year 3 visited a Hindu Temple. In our RE lessons, we have been learning about how Hindus show their belief in God and how Hindus worship both at home and in the temple. The children were very interested in how God is shown through different symbols and were keen to ask questions. The children were very fortunate to share a meal with Kirtida at the temple.
Year 4 have had a wonderful visit from Krishna from the Hindu Education Service who came to teach us all about Hinduism. The children had a wonderful time learning about the powerful Hindu deities and dressing in beautiful, traditional Hindu clothing. They learned to dance with sticks and act along to some fascinating stories.
In Year 5, pupils visit a mosque to learn about this special place of worship for the Muslim faith.
Year 5 Mosque Visit
At the end of January, Year 5 visited York Mosque to cement their understanding of the religion of Islam, which they have been learning about in RE lessons. We had the opportunity to experience first-hand what it is like to worship in a Mosque, removing our shoes as we entered before exploring the different prayer halls and seeing where Muslims perform wudhu (the act of washing to cleanse before prayer).
The Imam, the worship leader of the mosque, showed us how the carpets in each room have sections marked out to pray in, in the direction of Mecca. He explained to us that people can travel from a wide area to worship there and can even bring their young children. He was very impressed by our knowledge of Islam and answered all of our questions thoughtfully.
“It was so interesting; their main prayer room could fit around 500 people in it!”
“I learnt lots of new facts, it was interesting to see that men and women had separate prayer rooms.”
“They had a screen in each of the prayer rooms to watch the Imam leading the worship if they were not in the same room.”
“I couldn’t believe that some people can recite the entire Qur’an exactly word for word!”
Year 6 are fortunate to be taught by Imran Kotwal (from the Muslim Learners' Service) during one of their lessons in Autumn term. On his most recent visit, he came to help us understand the Ummah and how important it is for Muslims to be part of this global community. He managed to enhance our understanding of each of the five pillars of Islam, helping us to understand how each was part and parcel of daily life - we were particularly interested in Zakat and the Ummah as this linked to our Autumn term RE topic. Imran is an inspirational teacher who helps the subject come alive, to be real. We all enjoyed his lesson and took away a new understanding and appreciation of life as a British Muslim.
Year Six had a great opportunity to bring their learning about Humanism to life by inviting Brian in to talk about being a Humanist and what it means to his life. The children asked some thoughtful questions and considered how Humanism compares to religious beliefs.
