Religious Education

The Religious Education Curriculum

St Nicholas has adopted the London Diocesan Board for Schools Syllabus for teaching Religious Education. This fulfils all legal requirements and entitlement as a Church of England school.

The Curriculum Overview tab of the website provides a map of themes covered from Reception until the end of Year 6.  Care has been taken to build in meaningful cross curricular themes with other subjects where possible.

Two-thirds of the curriculum is based on the teachings of Christianity.

One-third of the curriculum is based on the teaching of other faiths.

At St Nicholas, we hope that learning to and from religions will: -  

• develop imagination, a sense of awe, wonder and mystery
• provide opportunities to investigate diversity of religion and belief
• provide a widened understanding of Christianity as a living world faith
• enable children to hold balanced and well-informed conversations about religion and belief.
• ensure appreciation of personal and others’ beliefs and cultures,
• ensure  religious understanding and respect, confidence to challenge prejudice, discrimination and stereotyping.
• show how the truth of Christianity is relevant in today’s world and enable children to become active citizens in the community.

• provide a sense of self-worth, enabling children to reflect on their uniqueness as human beings, to share their feelings and emotions with others and to appreciate the importance of forming and maintaining positive relationships.

Teaching and Learning

At St Nicholas: -

• Religious Education is taught in accordance with the London Diocese Syllabus 
• The programme has been designed to keep children engaged, motivated and curious about what they are learning.
• Opportunities for meaningful discussions are planned in at every stage to develop critical thinking, thoughtful questions.
• Learning themes are designed  to enable connections within and across religions and world views.
• Time is given for children to reflect, respond and express their own opinions and beliefs.
• Questioning provides challenge about the meaning and purpose of life, beliefs, the self, issues of right and wrong, and what it means to be human
• Children develop knowledge and understanding of Christianity, other principal religions, and religious traditions,  fostering personal reflection and spiritual development
• Children explore their own beliefs (whether they are religious or non-religious), in the light of what they learn, as they examine issues of religious belief and faith and how these impact on personal, institutional and social ethics; and to express their responses. This also builds resilience to anti-democratic or extremist narratives.
• A sense of identity and belonging is built in to lessons,  which helps children flourish within their communities and as citizens in a diverse society
• Visits and visitors to provide first-hand learning experiences to support learning.