Religious Education
At St Stephen's, we are committed to the Christian faith, recognising and valuing every individual as
special and unique in the image and likeness of God. Religious Education at St Stephen's respects and promotes each child's capacity for wonder, awe, reverence and spirituality. Our Religious Education curriculum leads our children to aspire not to have more but to be more; children are taught about God's love; they learn about their Christian responsibilities; children are provided with experiences of church and Christian traditions alongside how to be respectful and show understanding of people and traditions of those from other faith backgrounds. Through our Religious Education our children learn about their unique place within the home, school and parish community.
Government Thinking - A key part of the Government's plan for education is to ensure children become valuable and fully rounded members of society who treat others with respect and tolerance, regardless of background. They want every school to promote the basic British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance for those of different faiths and beliefs. All schools must have a clear strategy for embedding these values and showing how their work with children has been effective in doing so.
School Aims - As a church school we aim, within our teaching of Religious Education, to enable pupils to understand how Christianity shaped British culture and heritage, and how it influences the lives of millions of people today. We also aim to enable children to learn about other faiths and beliefs and their impact on everyday life, culture, politics, art and history.
Church of England Vision for Education
Our vision for education is deeply Christian, with Jesus' promise of 'life in all its fullness' at its heart. In line with the Church of England's role as the established Church, our vision is for the common good of the whole community.
Educating for wisdom, knowledge and skills: enabling discipline, confidence and delight in seeking wisdom and knowledge and developing talents in all areas of life.
Educating for hope and aspiration: enabling healing, repair and renewal, coping wisely when things go wrong, opening horizons and guiding people into ways of fulfilling them.
Educating for community and living well together: a core focus on relationships, participation in communities and the qualities of character which enable people to flourish together.
Educating for dignity and respect: the basic principle of respect for the value and preciousness of each person, treating each person as a unique individual of inherent worth.
Religious Education
Religious Education Road Map
Long Term Overview
Understanding Christianity
The teaching of the Christianity strand of our RE syllabus is focused around the Understanding Christianity resource and aims to support pupils as a contribution to their understanding of the world and their own experience within it. Understanding Christianity offers a clear, coherent approach to teaching and learning about Christianity in RE. It is based around a selection of core Christian concepts and structured across the primary age range to support pupils in deepening their understanding.
To support children with their understanding of the Bible and Christianity we use “”The Big Story of the Bible” which is focused around the following narrative:
Creation
Fall
People of God
Incarnation
Gospel
Salvation
Kingdom of God
The Big Frieze