Welcome to Religious Education at Mill Hill Primary School

At Mill Hill Primary School we recognise the importance of our children being taught a rigorous Religious Education curriculum, leading to them being compassionate and understanding of everyone, irrespective of any religious belief that they may hold.  We do not influence our children as to whether or not they should follow a particular religion, but recognise the importance of them being able to understand different religions and their traditions.  We celebrate each child as an individual and as part of that, the teaching of Religious Education allows the children to explore a range of religious and non-religious beliefs and encourages them to ask questions about those religions, whilst learning key facts about them.

INTENT

At Mill Hill, we recognise that our pupils come from a diverse range of backgrounds, cultures and faiths, but together they form a school community.  To strengthen that community, it is important that the children recognise the similarities they share, whilst recognising that there are differences between each of them, and understand that every child is an individual in their own right and should be celebrated as such.  It is our aim for the children to develop a greater understanding of their close peers and of the wider community, initially more locally and then on a national and global scale.

IMPLEMENTATION

At Mill Hill Primary School we follow the Hampshire Living Difference IV syllabus, which is delivered through the teaching of a half-termly unit, which is based on a concept, linked to a religion.

All Year Groups, from Reception Class to Year 6, will study the religion of Christianity, but in addition, each Year Group will also study a further religion; in the Early Years Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1, the additional religion is Hinduism, in Years 3 and 4 it is Judaism and in Years 5 and 6 it is Islam.  However, there are also further opportunities, during each year, for the children to have a light touch on other religions, as we recognise the importance of the children being able to deepen their knowledge as they themselves grow and mature.  

One of the key messages of the Living Difference IV Syllabus, is the Golden Thread, which is four key elements that are wound through the units, so that they can be revisited in subsequent years and investigated through other religions.  The 4 elements of the Golden Thread are:

Belonging

Community

Love

Special

As with our Learning Values, the children are encouraged to see how the Golden Thread, the concepts and the themes apply to themselves initially, but then to their peers and the wider world.  

Although Religious Education does not form a part of the formal National Curriculum, every school has a legal requirement to teach Religious Education, and in Hampshire, we follow the Living Difference IV Syllabus.  

During Religious Education lessons, pupils will learn to: 

• Enquire about different religions
• Communicate their understanding of religions and concepts
• Identify key information about a religion and how it is linked to the concept
• Apply their new knowledge and understand how the learning could be linked to their own experiences
• Evaluate their own learning and understanding 

IMPACT

The children's progress at Mill Hill Primary School is assessed throughout each lesson, which then enables the teacher to adapt and tailor their lessons for the needs of each individual child. By the end of each year, the children will have been assessed against year group specific statements covering the elements of  Communicating, Applying, Enquiring, Contextualising and Evaluating; these are the key skills within Religious Education, which are explored and developed during each unit of work.  

The children are always enthusiastic when taking part in Religious Education lessons, especially when they are able to discuss their ideas and share their opinions with each other.  They are also encouraged to show their understanding creatively, as we recognise that not every outcome or assessment opportunity will be a written one, and this gives the opportunity to make links with art or drama.  Through discussions with the pupils,  it can be seen that they are beginning to be able to make links within and across the concepts, are developing an understanding of different religions and of how they themselves, as an individual, can contribute to a wider community.  

Whilst we would hope that every child engages in all Religious Education lessons and Collective Worship, as a parent, you do have the legal right to withdraw your child from part or all of those activities,  but we would ask that you discuss this with the school prior to this happening.

Should you require any further information on the teaching of Religious Education for your child, please do not hesitate to contact your child's class teacher, who will be happy to discuss this with you.