Religious Education

Religious Education is an important part of the curriculum at Bishops Waltham Infant school.

The aim of Religious Education is to support children in the development of their own beliefs, values and attitudes, and also their understanding and knowledge of religious beliefs, practices and non practices in Britain today.

Religious Education is taught through the Hampshire agreed syllabus, 'Living Difference IV'. It is an enquiry based subject which requires a critical thinking approach. The wheel in 'Living Difference 3' sets out the stages of enquiry in exploring the RE concepts the children will encounter at BWIS. Children are encouraged to ask questions, some of which they will not know the answer.

Children will explore concepts which are both religious and non religious. Concepts, such as 'celebration', will be rooted in their own experiences. Our 'thinking' learning value underpins all areas of our curriculum, including RE. Some aspects of RE will be integrated, some taught discretely.  Some concepts will strengthen other curriculum areas, such as 'belonging' in PSHE. RE will also be delivered in assemblies and incidentally in a topical way (for example through current news).

As part of their spiritual development pupils are encouraged to look at shared human experiences, and to pose questions. They begin to recognise diversity in religion, learning about similarities and differences both within and between religions and beliefs and the importance of dialogue between them.

Each Education Authority has their own Syllabus for Religious Education which takes into account the various religions represented in their area. The agreed syllabus for Hampshire is Living Difference.  At Bishops Waltham we explore Christianity and Hinduism. It is expected that pupils will be able to describe some of the beliefs and practices of these religions, and also empathise and accept that there will be people with different views to their own.

Click on the links below to see Religious Education in action in each year group.

Collective Worship

Collective worship takes place daily, either the whole school together in the hall or in classes or year groups and we have a celebration assembly on Friday to acknowledge the fantastic learning that has been going on in school. Alongside this we also have special assemblies throughout the year to tie in with key Festivals or special events within school or at the local church such as Harvest Festival, Anti-Bullying Assembly, Easter Assembly and our annual Nativity performances.