Religious Education
Every state-funded school must offer a curriculum which is balanced and broadly based, and which:
- promotes the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils; and
- prepares pupils at the school for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life.
Religious Education at Petersfield Infant School
At Petersfield Infant school Religious Education is taught to all children except for those withdrawn at the wish of their parents. Our planning follows the HCC agreed syllabus Living Difference IV. During their time at Petersfield Infant School, children explore Christianity and Judaism. They learn about different beliefs about God, and the world around them. They encounter and respond to a range of stories, artefacts and other religious material relevant to both these religions . Throughout school children learn that beliefs are expressed in different ways by different people. They get the chance to understand the importance and value of religious belief, especially for other children and their families. Children get the chance to talk about what is important to them and others, valuing themselves, reflecting on their own feelings and experiences and developing a sense of belonging.
Click here for the Religious Education Progression and Skills Document
Click here for the Long Term Religious Education Plan
Our vision for Religious Education at Petersfield
Religious Education is an important part of the curriculum at Petersfield Infant School. We believe the purpose of Religious Education is to support our children in developing their own beliefs, values and attitudes, as well as supporting their understanding and knowledge of religious beliefs in today’s diverse society. Our curriculum is informed by Hampshire’s Living Difference IV and seeks to introduce our children to what living a religious way of life may look like, both individually and collectively. It recognises and acknowledges that leading one’s life with such an orientation can be done in a number of qualitatively different ways.
We wish our children to be able to understand and appreciate some of the different religions and beliefs, whilst identifying and celebrating the similarities and differences within these. We wish to challenge children’s thinking and give them the courage to be different and face new challenges. We encourage children to recognise the importance of diverse culture and to show respect for different religions and beliefs.
We recognise that British religious traditions are in the main Christian whilst exploring the beliefs, symbols and actions which underpin the world’s major faiths. Through an inquiry approach we strive to give our children the skills to enable them to interpret human behaviour and to give possible reasons for them. We explore the Christian and Jewish religion through a Cycle of Inquiry. Four golden thread concepts – community, belonging, love and special, are carried through our spiral curriculum. These concepts are revisited throughout their time at Petersfield Infant School, and beyond.
Collective Worship
Collective worship takes place daily, either the whole school together in the hall or in classes or year groups. Worship is based on a half-termly theme and underpins our school’s core values – kindness, respect and compassion. Alongside this we also have special worships throughout the year to tie in with key festivals or special events. This allows the children to be introduced to other world religions that are not covered by our curriculum, but make up our rich and diverse community, such as Chinese New Year, Diwali, Hanukkah, Ramadan, Eid, alongside Christian festivals of Harvest, Easter and Christmas celebrations. On Friday we hold a special Celebration Worship to acknowledge the outstanding learning that has been going on in school.
Click here for our Collective Worship Policy
Religious Education in our school
