Through learning and understanding, pupils can explore what people believe and what difference this makes to how they live. Pupils will also gain the knowledge, understanding and skills needed to handle questions raised by religion and belief, reflecting on their own ideas and ways of living.

At Edenbridge Primary School, Religious Education plays a key role in promoting our spiritual and moral curriculum and helps to celebrate the diversity within our school community.  Whether our pupils belong to a denomination of faith or not, we believe that learning about and from different religions helps the spiritual, moral, social, and cultural development of our children, and teaches respect for others.  We use Bexley Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education (2022-2026) to support our teaching and learning within RE. Our children learn about the five main presenting faiths in the UK (Christianity, Islam, Humanism, Judaism and Hinduism) and explore the beliefs and practices of these religions.

Curriculum Implementation

At Edenbridge primary, it has been agreed that having taken into account the requirements and guidelines presented in the Bexley Agreed Syllabus, the following religions have been selected for study:

• Christianity
• Islam
• Judaism
• Hinduism
• Humanism

From the syllabus it is required that:

In the Early Years Foundation Stage, the learning outcomes are references to Christianity and, as appropriate, to a range of other beliefs and cultures through the teaching of Celebrations and Festivals.

KS1 – Christianity is studied (and one other principal religion in some depth)

KS2 – Christianity is studied (and two other principal religions in some depth)

There are no presumptions made as to the religious background and beliefs and values of the children and the staff.  We value the religious backgrounds of all members of the school community and hope that this will encourage individuals to share their own experiences with others freely.  All religions and their communities are treated with respect and sensitivity and we value the links which are, and can be created between home, school and a faith community. We promote teaching Religious Education that stresses open enquiry and first-hand experiences wherever possible for both staff and children.

The children at Edenbridge Primary School enjoy learning about other religions and why people choose, or chose not to follow a religion.

Through their R.E learning, the children are able to make links between their own lives and those of others in their community and in the wider world, developing an understanding of other people’s cultures and ways of life. As such, R.E. is invaluable in an ever-changing and shrinking world.