At South Camberley, Religious Education (RE) helps children understand different beliefs, cultures and communities. We want all pupils to feel valued, respected and included in our diverse school community.

Our RE curriculum supports children’s personal development by encouraging respect, empathy and understanding of the world around them. The curriculum is designed to ensure that children learn and develop their understanding in age appropriate way through a mixture of faith specific and themed units. 

Curiosity, Respect and Understanding

Our RE curriculum is designed to help children develop knowledge and understanding of a range of religions and worldviews.

Through RE, we aim to:

• Provide a safe and respectful environment where children feel valued and  can share ideas and learn about different beliefs.
• Encourage pupils to ask questions and think carefully about the world around them.
• Develop understanding, tolerance and respect for people from different backgrounds and cultures.
• For all children to learn about a wider range of cultures, beliefs and religions, whilst considering how they can learn from them, regardless of their own beliefs or lack thereof.
• For all children to develop their own ideas and help them to understand their place in our challenging world.
• Build knowledge progressively across the school so children are prepared for deeper learning as they move through each key stage.

How We Teach RE

RE is taught through engaging and well-planned lessons. Children learn through discussion, storytelling, artefacts, visitors, trips and practical experiences that help bring learning to life. Opportunities may include visiting places of worship, exploring religious artefacts, tasting traditional foods and using technology such as VR to support understanding of important places and traditions.

Teachers use retrieval practice to revisit previous learning and help children remember key knowledge over time.

Adaptive teaching strategies ensure all pupils can access the curriculum and achieve success in RE lessons. Staff provide appropriate support and challenge to meet the needs of all learners.

Teachers across all school sites work together to ensure consistency and progression throughout the curriculum.

Preparing Children for Life in Modern Britain

Through RE, pupils develop respect, empathy and an understanding of different beliefs and cultures.

Children learn how to discuss ideas thoughtfully, challenge stereotypes and appreciate diversity within their community and the wider world.

By the end of primary school, pupils have a secure understanding of a range of religions and world-views and are prepared for the next stage of their education as respectful, thoughtful and open-minded young people.

At South Camberley, we teach Religious Education every other half term. During this time, we enrich their understanding through an experience related to the religion we are learning about.  These experiences take the form of a visit to a religious building, an in-school visit from a representative of a range of religions, or other memorable learning moment on the first day, e.g. using our school’s VR headsets to visit the Taj Mahal.    

Community is key to us at South Camberley.  We invite members of our local community to share their belief system and cultural values with the children and have shared interesting experiences, including cooking and exploring personal religious artefacts with them.  This helps our pupils to recognise themselves and one another’s faiths and belief systems feel represented through our RE curriculum. 

Impact

Our RE curriculum is carefully planned to ensure that children build upon the knowledge they have.  The range of experiences and opportunities to explore faith that we offer contributes to our pupils leaving South Camberley with a balanced, knowledgeable and open-minded view of the world.  They respond to others by demonstrating tolerance and empathy and feel empowered that they can work together to break down stereotypes and stand up for what they believe in. We want our pupils to take part in discussions that will allow them to gain a wider view of the world around them and in turn be able to demonstrate equity.  

Curriculum Map