Religious Education (RE) at St. Michael in the Hamlet Primary School
Intent
At St. Michael in the Hamlet Primary School, RE encourages children to explore big questions about life. By learning about what people believe and how these beliefs shape their lives, pupils are supported in developing an understanding of religion and worldviews, as well as reflecting on their own ideas, values, and ways of living. RE at St. Michael in the Hamlet plays a central role in promoting pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, helping them develop curiosity about the world and compassion towards others.
Whole school RE overview 2025-26
Religious-Education-in-Schools-Non-Statutory-Guidance
At St. Michael in the Hamlet Community Primary School, we follow the Liverpool Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education (SACRE) from Years 1 to 6. To promote depth of knowledge and understanding, we teach SMITH pupils about the major religions and worldviews represented locally, nationally, and globally.
Our RE curriculum reflects our school S.M.I.T.H. vision and our commitment to inclusive, inspirational, and innovative teaching. We deliver a rich, broad‑based curriculum that motivates children to develop a love of learning. Through this approach, we aim to ensure that all pupils feel safe, valued, and inspired to fulfil their true potential.
- Weekly lessons explore the beliefs of people (e.g Christians, Muslims) as opposed to religious structures (e.g Christianity, Islam) in order to immerse children in the idea of living faith.
- 3 key strands run through the RE curriculum: believing; expressing; and living. Children apply these strands to the major world religions, building upon their knowledge lesson by lesson and year by year in order to embed it in their long-term memory.
- Children demonstrate the breadth of their knowledge, using various mechanisms, such as writing, art, discussion and drama.
- An enquiry approach is adopted, based upon ‘big’ questions posed at the beginning of each unit of work encouraging pupils to recognise key beliefs, before moving onto higher order skills of discussing and making connections.
- To help children ‘know more and remember more’, retrieval activities are set at the beginning of each lesson.
- Enriching experiences such as visits to local places of worship, help to place pupils’ knowledge in context.
The Implementation of Religious Education
There are no presumptions made as to the religious backgrounds and beliefs and values of the children and the staff. We value the religious background 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 made between home, school and a faith community. We acknowledge that each religion studied can contribute to the education of all our pupils. We promote teaching in Religious Education that stresses open enquiry and first-hand experiences wherever possible for both pupils and staff. The syllabus is implemented in school by means of a highly sensory approach, where children may look at and handle religious artefacts, hear religious music or taste food from a religious tradition. We hope our work in RE builds on pupils’ cultural understanding of themselves and our local community.
RE is for all pupils and every pupil is legally entitled to Religious Education as part of a ‘broad and balanced’ curriculum. In the UK, parents have the right to withdraw their children from RE on the grounds that they wish to provide their own RE.
In EYFS, Religious Education is delivered primarily through the ‘Understanding the World’ strand of the curriculum. Children grow in awe of the world in which they live, developing an appreciation and curiosity. Children are encouraged to develop positive views of themselves and others, and to learn how to form respectful relationships. Teacher-led and pupil-led activities encourage them to develop moral and cultural awareness, which they will then build upon in KS1 and KS2.
Visits to places of Worship
At St Michael in the Hamlet Primary School we recognise the benefit of learning outside the classroom. We value the opportunity of bringing learning to life by visiting places of worship. Such visits give pupils first hand experiences of the faith they are studying and helps to place pupils’ knowledge in context.
Useful websites
BBC My life, my religion series
BBC Bitesize – Religious Education
Religious Studies KS1: Religions of the World BBC Teach