Religious Education

At Monkspath School, our Religious Education (RE) curriculum supports pupils in exploring beliefs, values, and traditions from a range of religious and non-religious worldviews. We aim to foster respect, curiosity, and understanding of the diverse society in which we live. Our curriculum reflects the legal requirement for all schools to teach RE and is informed by our locally agreed syllabus.

What We Teach

Our RE curriculum enables children to:

• Learn about major world religions and non-religious beliefs.
• Explore key concepts such as belief, worship, morality, and identity.
• Understand similarities and differences between faiths and worldviews.
• Reflect on their own beliefs and values in a safe and respectful environment.

We ensure progression in knowledge and understanding from Year 1 to Year 6, with age-appropriate content that builds on prior learning and deepens pupils’ thinking.

How We Teach

RE is taught through:

• Weekly lessons across all year groups.
• Enquiry-based approaches that encourage questioning, discussion, and reflection.
• Use of stories, artefacts and visits to bring learning to life.

We promote inclusive and respectful dialogue, allowing children to explore different perspectives and develop empathy and critical thinking.

What Children Learn and How We Assess

Children develop a broad understanding of religious and non-religious worldviews. They learn to:

• Describe and explain beliefs, practices, and traditions.
• Make connections between faiths and reflect on their own views.
• Use subject-specific vocabulary with confidence.

Assessment includes:

• Observation and discussion during lessons.
• Written work and creative responses.
• Pupil voice and self-assessment to monitor understanding and engagement.

This ensures pupils are making progress and developing thoughtful, informed perspectives on religion and belief.

Key curriculum information

Whole School Curriculum Overview

Whole School Progression Framework 

Right to Withdraw

Our religious education (RE) curriculum is is planned with the belief that it is important that all pupils should have an opportunity to engage in RE.   However, the parent of a pupil at a community, foundation or voluntary school may request that they be excused from all or part of the RE provided.

Parents who wish to withdraw their children from RE should be aware of its aims and what is covered in the RE curriculum and that they are given the opportunity to discuss this. If pupils are withdrawn from RE, schools have a duty to supervise them, though not to provide additional teaching.  A pupil may be required to work in another area of the school, such as working a within a different year group or different part of school.

Whilst parents or carers have a right to withdraw children from RE, they should note that children may also encounter religions and beliefs and wider aspects of faith in other areas of the curriculum from which there is no right of withdrawal. On occasion, spontaneous questions about religious matters are raised by pupils or issues related to religion arise in other curriculum subjects such as history or relationships and health education.