RE Curriculum

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

INTENT: RE offers the opportunity to learn about people’s beliefs and practises, and how this impacts the lives of religious followers; it helps foster an attitude of respect towards all peoples and gives chances to ask and reflect on difficult questions and our own lives.

VISION: RE at Saughall All Saints should enable every child to flourish and to love life in all its fullness. It will help educate for dignity and respect, encouraging all to live well together.

As a voluntary controlled school, we follow the Local Agreed Syllabus for RE, which focuses on Christianity as a living and diverse faith, and the teachings of Jesus and the Church. For help with this, we take ideas from ‘Understanding Christianity’, a planning aid that enables us to ensure our teaching of Christianity is sequential. In addition to this, we also provide sequenced learning about a range of religions and worldviews (including Judaism, Sikhism, Islam, Hinduism and Humanism), fostering respect for others.

Our RE enables pupils to acquire a rich, deep knowledge and understanding of Christian belief and practise, including ways in which it is unique and diverse. We provide opportunities for children to understand the role of foundational texts, beliefs, rituals and practises and how they help form the identity in a range of religions and worldviews.  We also ensure that RE enables children to explore their own religious, spiritual and philosophical ways of living, believing and thinking, and provide opportunities to engage with challenging questions of meaning and purpose raised by human experience and existence.

Our RE entitlement is totally separate from requirements for Collective Worship and, for this reason, Collective Worship must not be considered curriculum time for RE or the teaching of RE.  

IMPLEMENTATION:

As a voluntary controlled school, we follow the Local Agreed Syllabus for RE which ensures coherent progression from EYFS to Year 6 and focuses on Christianity as a living and diverse faith, and the teachings of Jesus and the Church. For help with this, we take ideas from ‘Understanding Christianity’ and ‘Questful RE’, planning aids that enable us to ensure our teaching of Christianity is sequential. In addition to this, we also provide sequenced learning about a range of religions and worldviews (including Jewish Way of Life, Sikhi, Islam, Hindu Dharma and Humanism), fostering respect for others.

All children are taught RE once a week following our 2-year rolling programme. Units of work are largely Christian and follow the Cheshire West and Cheshire syllabus for RE, with elements of Understanding Christianity within the Christian units and using ideas from Questful RE. Our curriculum is also enriched by the expectations of the 2026 Church of England Statement of Entitlement, ensuring depth of study, high challenge, and rich learning experiences.

Key features of our implementation include:

1. A balanced, multidisciplinary approach

Teaching draws on theology, philosophy, and human/social sciences to ensure breadth and depth. Lessons encourage children to explore beliefs, ask meaningful questions, and make informed interpretations.

2. Clear progression and high expectations

Knowledge, vocabulary, and skills build systematically across year groups. Units revisit key concepts such as incarnation, salvation, belonging, identity, and community, allowing pupils to deepen understanding over time.

3. Christianity at the heart

At least 50% of RE focuses on Christianity, taught through a mix of biblical study, Christian practices, and contemporary expressions of faith. Pupils explore the impact of Christianity in Britain and around the world.

4. Learning about a range of religions and worldviews

Pupils study Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Humanism and other worldviews in age-appropriate depth, promoting respect, dialogue, and understanding.

5. Spiritual reflection through “Windows, Mirrors, Doors”

This approach encourages:

• Windows: encountering diverse beliefs and perspectives
• Mirrors: reflecting on personal experiences, values, and identity
• Doors: putting learning into compassionate action

6. Enriching experiences

Collective worship connections, visitors from faith communities, educational visits, artefacts, texts, art, and storytelling enrich learning and bring RE to life.

7. Inclusive and thoughtful pedagogy

Discussion, reasoning, enquiry questions, and vocabulary-rich teaching help every child—including SEND and EAL pupils—access challenging theological ideas.

8. A culture of flourishing

Guided by Flourishing Together, RE supports children to become compassionate neighbours, critical thinkers, and resilient learners within a safe and respectful learning environment.

Our programme of study is as follows:

Early Years: the children are taught about why Christmas is important to Christians, why they give and receive presents and why they do nativity plays; they read miracle stories and discuss why Jesus is special, talk about how they might worship in church, talk about why the Bible is special to Christians and recall key aspects of the Easter story; they also talk about the lives of people around them and their roles; and they identify how different communities celebrate festivals and special days, identifying some similarities and differences (including Eid and Diwali).

Year 1/2: the children study Christianity, Islam, Jewish way of Life, Humanism and different Wordlviews on Creation.

Year 3/4: Christianity, Islam, Humanism, Jewish way of Life and Hindu Dharma.

Year 5/6: Christianity, Islam, Hindu Dharma, Sikhi and different Worldviews on Science and Belief, Diversity, and Equality and Justice.

RE IN 2026/2027

This year in RE, we will be finding out about the following:

Autumn Term:

Year 1/2: Different Worldviews of Creation and why the Bible is such a special book

Year 3/4: How Humanists view the world and the different names given to Jesus at Christmas

Year 5/6: Does Science disprove Genesis and how Christmas is celebrated around the world

Spring Term:

Year 1/2: How Jewish festivals are celebrated and what Jesus taught about God's love

Year 3/4: Easter- what Christians learn from it and whether it is a story of betrayal/trust, joy/sadness

Year 5/6: Diversity and what Jesus did to save humans

Summer:

Year 1/2: How Muslims celebrate new beginnings and what Humanists think a good life is all about

Year 3/4: Pentecost and comparing religious building

Year 5/6: The 5 Pillars of Islam and how Muslim belief is demosntrated through family

RE IN 2027/2028

This year in RE, we will be exploring the following:

Autumn Term 1:

Year 1/2: Christianity- What does it mean to belong (Baptism)?

Year 3/4: Christianity- Which rules should we follow?

Year 5/6: Christianity- How does having faith affect people's lives?

Autumn Term 2:

Year 1/2: Christianity- Why is Christmas celebrated by Christians?

Year 3/4: Islam- What do Muslims believe about Muhammad (PBUH) and how do they worship?

Year 5/6: Christianity- How do different denominations express their worship of God?

Spring Term 1:

Year 1/2: Jewish way of life- How do Jews show their faith (Shabbat)?

Year 3/4: Jewish way of life- How and why do Jews worship?

Year 5/6: Sikhi- What is important to Sikhs and why?

Spring Term 2:

Year 1/2: Christianity- How do symbols help us to understand the Easter story?

Year 3/4: Christianity- How does/did Jesus change lives (Zacchaeus)? 

Year 5/6: Christianity- Why do Christians believe that Easter is a celebration of victory?

Summer Term 1:

Year 1/2: Islam- What do Muslims believe about Allah and Muhammad (PBUH)?

Year 3/4: Hindu Dharma- How do Hindus view God and worship?

Year 5/6: Sikhi- How do Sikhs worship?

Summer Term 2:

Year 1/2: Christianity- Why are holy buildings important to people of faith?

Year 3/4: Hindu Dharma- How does having faith affect a Hindu person's life?

Year 5/6: Worldviews: Equality and Justice- How do all peoples work together for a fairer and more just society?

IMPACT:

Our RE curriculum enables pupils to flourish intellectually, spiritually, morally, and socially. By the end of each key stage, pupils demonstrate:

1. Secure religious literacy

Children can use appropriate vocabulary, explain beliefs with accuracy, compare worldviews thoughtfully, and express the impact of faith on individuals and communities.

2. Theological and critical thinking

Pupils ask deep questions, consider different interpretations, analyse sources of wisdom, and use evidence when forming their own reasoned viewpoints.

3. Respectful attitudes and empathy

Through understanding difference and diversity, pupils develop compassion, fairness, and the ability to treat everyone with dignity—living out “love your neighbour as yourself.”

4. Spiritual awareness and personal insight

The Windows–Mirrors–Doors framework enables children to think about meaning, purpose, identity, and action in the world, contributing to their wider spiritual development.

5. Preparation for life in modern Britain

Pupils learn to navigate complex ideas, engage respectfully with others, appreciate the role of religion in society, and participate positively in a diverse, global community.

6. Evidence of flourishing

Monitoring through pupil voice, work scrutiny, assessment, and lesson observation shows that children develop curiosity, wisdom, understanding and the confidence to articulate their ideas. They leave our school prepared for the next stage of their learning and ready to contribute to a society where all can flourish together.

The Big Frieze

Pupils across school have worked with Mrs Evans, Mrs Peters, Mrs Hand and Mrs Fabby to create this wonderful wall hanging that tells the big story of the Bible.  There are 7 sections that identify what happens to God’s people throughout the Bible:

1. Creation– this is the story of Creation, how the world was created by God and that he saw that Creation was good. Remind them of the different things that were created on each day.

2. Fall– this part of the story shows how Adam and Eve did something they were told not to and had to live with the consequences of their actions. They had done something wrong and could no longer stay in the Garden of Eden and were separated from God. This is known as the Fall. God’s people are now separated from him and the rest of the story of the Bible shows that humans need rescuing and God’s plan for doing this.

3. People of God– the next part of the story shows God’s plan to reverse the impact of the Fall and save humans. He chooses a people to show what a relationship with Him looks like. He sends His people messages through prophets but the people don’t always listen; they make mistakes, have to live with the consequences and then realise their mistakes. They ask for forgiveness and are always forgiven, but then they make more mistakes and the pattern repeats itself.

4. Incarnation– a very special story in the Bible introduces us to God’s way of rescuing His people. A baby is born: his name is Jesus. Jesus will repair the effects of the Fall and offer a way for humans to be with God again. Incarnation means that Jesus is God living as a human.

5. Gospel– Gospel means good news and the story of Jesus is God’s good news for humans. His life shows us what it is like to be one of God’s people and reminds us to love our neighbour.

6. Salvation– the story of Jesus' death and resurrection 3 days later. Because of this, Jesus opened the way back to God. This was God’s rescue plan. Salvation means to save. God offered humans salvation through Jesus’ death and resurrection.

7. Kingdom of God– this has begun in the hearts of God’s people but it doesn’t mean that there is no wrong in the world anymore. God’s people look forward to a time when God’s rule is being followed by everyone but for now they try and live a life like Jesus, loving everyone and trying to help everyone.

Year 5/6 Visit ti Liverpool (Summer 2025)

Year 5/6 focused on Liverpool for local study week and visited the Princes Street Synagogue and the Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral. 

Year 3/4 Visit to Chester (Summer 2025)

For local study week this year, the Year 3/4 team arranged for the children to visit Chester Cathedral and Festival Church Chester to compare the style of the buildings and find out about worship in these buildings, linking to our Summer 2 topic on how Christians worship in a church.

Year 1/2 Weddings (Summer 2025)

On Tuesday 3rd June, Year 1/2 experienced what it would be like to attend a Christian wedding, a Muslim wedding and a Humanist wedding. We had a lot of fun and found out lots about how these different faiths and worldviews celebrate this special new beginning.

Year 1/2 Exploring the Bible (November 2024)

We now have a set of boxes that represent the different books of the Bible. Each box is in a colour that represents the type/genre of writing found in that book and contains different images that represent either that type of writing or stories from that book. The cards found in the boxes are either blue to represent the Old Testament or yellow to represent the New Testament.

Mrs Wright's class had the chance recently to explore these boxes.

Year 5/6 Visit to Saint Bartholomew's Church, Sealand

On the 5th July 2024, Year 5/6 went to visit Saint Bartholomew's Church. They spent time learning about how the church remembers what happened during World War 1 and what they do to encourage the community to remember the people who lived during that time.

Year 3/4 Visit to Chester Cathedral and Festival Church

On June 20th 2023, Year 3/4 went to visit Chester Cathedral and then Festival Church Chester. At the Cathedral, the children made mosaics and had a tour, looking at the Stained Glass Windows and the History of the building. 

Once at Festival Church, the children met the Pastor, talked about the differences between an Anglican Cathedral and an Assemblies of God church and had the oppportunity to ask lots of questions. 

Year 5/6 Easter Focus

Year 5/6 learnt all about the Easter story in March 2023 and then presented what they had learnt to the rest of the school during the Easter service in the church. They had fun learning the names of the people who were part of the story (Pontius Pilate- not a form of Yoga as the children quickly learnt) and retelling the key events of Holy Week.

Wedding Celebrations in Year 1/2 at Saughall All Saints

On Tuesday 11^th October 2022, Year 1 and 2 attended 3 different wedding ceremonies in one afternoon: a Christian ceremony, a Muslim ceremony and a Humanist ceremony.

We began in the church. Two of our Year 2s were ushers and ensured that the rest of the children knew where to sit depending on whether they were friends or family of the bride or groom.

Once seated, the bride walked down the aisle to the wedding march. She was accompanied by her father and two bridesmaids whilst her groom, along with his best man, waited patiently at the front of the church.

Vows were made, rings were exchanged and the register was signed. The proud father gave his daughter’s hand to her new husband, 1 Corinthians 13:4 was read from the lectern and a song was sung. The bride and groom then exited the church, followed by their friends and family.

Back at school, the children were seated ready for a Muslim wedding celebration with boys on one side of the room and girls on the other to show that this is what happens in some Muslim weddings. The parents of the bride and groom met to discuss the amount of money that the groom was going to give his bride as a wedding present and once this was agreed, the wedding took place.

The bride and groom sat on chairs as in some Muslim cultures they sit on a type of throne or platform so they can be seen by all the guests. Vows were made: these were suggested by other members of Year 1 and 2 and included ‘I will always love you’ and ‘I promise to always look after you’. There was a reading from the Qur’an, the register was signed and the Imam pronounced the couple as husband and wife. The ceremony ended with a prayer and then the couple headed off with their family for the second part of the wedding where performances, speeches and feasting happen.

After our Muslim ceremony, we headed outside for a Humanist wedding celebration. The bride and groom chose where they wanted to get married and they chose someone who they knew to be the celebrant (the person who carries out the wedding).

There was a welcome from the celebrant, a reading from ‘Us Two’ by A.A Milne and then the bride and groom made their own personal promises to each other. They exchanged rings and signed the wedding certificate and then they were presented as husband and wife by the celebrant.

What a fun afternoon we had.