Religious Education at HCPS is led by Mrs S Billam

Intent

We believe at HCPS that RE both supports and strengthens what we aim to do in every aspect of school life. Our caring ethos and the value which we place on the development of the whole child: spiritually, morally, culturally and intellectually is reflected in the RE curriculum. Our vision and educational aims for religious education are to offer a broad and rich curriculum that is ambitious, challenging, enriching and inclusive.  This is also in line with the school’s aim to encourage high aspirations in order to maximise children’s progress and to enable all pupils to experience the joy of success.

Our school believes that religious education should provide a contemporary study of religion, preparing children for later life and 'to support pupils' personal search for meaning by engaging enquiry into the question 'what is it to be human?' and by having the opportunity to explore answers offered by religion and belief.

The school has adopted the LEA’s Religious Education Policy and is now working from: “The New Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education” in the Humber area.  The intent is to make sure that children understand the relevance of RE in today’s modern world and how it affects our lives and that the RE curriculum enables pupils to hold balanced and informed conversations about Religion and Worldviews.

Who cares for our world? During our RE lesson Y4 explored Woodland World and the school field to collect different natural materials in order to make a sculpture in the style of Andrew Goldsworthy. We talked about how we should look after our World and how special it is.

Remembrance day Year 4 

Year 4 were able to pay a short visit to the Hornsea War Memorial in the Memorial gardens as they travelled to their swimming lessons this term. The children discussed the soldiers names that commemorate those people who died in the first and second World Wars on the memorial. They also noticed that Poppy wreaths and Poppies had been placed there too.  

Harvest Festival activities

Once again children at HCPS and especially Year 3 have been very generous and contributed lots of lovely items of food for our local food bank 'The Pantry'

Harvest activities in EYFS Look at their lovely work in their floor book 

Christingles.

A big 'Thank you'  to Reverend Tina Stevens and St Nicholas church for generously providing nearly 300 small oranges for Years 3, 4 and 5 to make Christingles. We found out what each part of the decorations on the oranges symbolised and that the candle on the top represents Jesus the light of the world. The children discovered that they needed team-work in order to place the red ribbon around the centre of the orange and they all enjoyed making them.

"Christmas Nativity Activities."

Children in Years 3 to 6 enjoyed visiting the United Reformed Church in Hornsea to take part in a re-enactment of the Nativity. 

Reverend Knapton and Mrs Knapton helped to direct the children to perform the roles of the story and sing Christmas carols. 

Harvest Festival Assemblies Autumn term 2021.

All of the children from Year 1 to Year 6 were very exited to attend Reverend Tina Stevens special Harvest Assemblies this term, as we were able to sit together in year groups again to listen to a story and to sing a harvest song.

     Rev Tina had given us all a small leaf before the assembly so we could write something that 'makes us happy' on it. We enjoyed waving them in the air at the end of the assembly.

Year 4 also enjoyed an additional Assembly where Rev Tina helped us understand what 'belonging' to a faith means and how we all 'belong' to the World and to each other. 

Once again the children and parents/carers of Hornsea Community Primary School  have very kindly donated lots of different food for our Harvest collection and Hornsea Food bank.

RE from EYFS to Year 6 Autumn term 2021.

As Christmas concerts were cancelled this year due to Covid 19 each class was encouraged to design their own Christmas greeting to send to parents.

      Some classes chose to do individual greetings as pupils wished everyone Happy Christmas one by one. Year 3 enjoyed making special Makaton Christmas Carol video greetings for parents this year by learning sign language. Some children acted out the 'Lock-down days of Christmas' Some children also made a shadow puppet version of The Nativity story.                       The whole school was also able to listen to a very special live-link to St Nicholas church and the Rev Tina as she told us all about the meaning of Christingle is a 'Live Assembly' Some classes made Christingles as she spoke. 

     Year 3 were very pleased this year to be invited to join Beverley Minster and St Mary's Beverley for their outdoor Advent Calendar. All three of the classes painted angels baubles or lights to add to a Christmas tree board which was placed on show on December 5th outside Beverley Minster.

We also all enjoyed a special Christmas party.

Implementation:

The school bears in mind that the British Isles is a multicultural nation which has Christianity as one of the main religion of the population. As a result, Christianity receives the appropriate weighting within the religious education curriculum. Faiths studied in addition to Christianity are Buddhism, Judaism, Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism, R.E. is taught according to a five year plan. This ensures a correct balance and clear development of pupils' knowledge and understanding. Areas, which are necessarily repeated such as Christmas and Easter, are planned so that increasingly complex issues are covered each year. Different aspects of Christianity are taught every year.

The school follows the unit guidelines of the County's Agreed Syllabus. Visits are organised to related places of worship. This shared experience across all years is carried through into the marking of significant festivals and events of the chosen faith. In addition a programme of visits facilitates visiting Christian Sites including, St. Nicholas Church and Hornsea United Reformed Church, The Hindu temple and Islamic Mosque in Pearson Park Hull. “It is not the purpose of Religious education to lead children to adopt a faith but to gain an understanding of the world of Religion and Worldviews in order to form their own responses and opinions.” (New East Riding Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education.2019.)  

RE lessons offer a structured and safe space during curriculum time for reflection, discussion, dialogue and debate. We encourage pupils to learn to think for themselves about British values.  We actively promote the British values of: democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, mutual respect, tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs.  Respect, tolerance and understanding for the beliefs of others are promoted as part of our programme.  Pupils explore religions in a variety of different ways; through their community and personal development and wellbeing.

The lessons have an intention of providing a high quality, coherent and progressive experience of the subject, with scope for cross-curricular learning.

Through each unit, children will know about and understand a range of religions and world views. They will be able to identify, investigate and respond to a variety of issues. SMSC, personal growth and community cohesion are featured throughout each statutory strand and are there to ensure opportunities for children to develop positive attitudes and values and to reflect on and relate their learning in RE to their own experiences. We ensure that the RE classroom is democratic where all pupils have an equal right to be heard and democracy is modelled by the teacher and expected of every pupil.  In RE pupils examine different codes for living and consider the value of the rule of law where all people are equal before the law.  They consider questions about identity and belonging, the balance between individual liberty and the greater good.  

 RE challenges pupils to be increasingly respectful and to celebrate diversity of different cultures, faiths and beliefs.   (Assemblies in school are of a broadly Christian in nature)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Impact

We believe that the impact of the new RE curriculum will be for children to have a better understanding of the religions and non-religious beliefs that make up the UK landscape and around the World, The children will discover how they can learn from and work alongside each other to create community cohesion.  All children in school will be able to talk confidently about their wellbeing, moral and cultural development for the society in which they live.

The RE curriculum will promote inquisitive minds, respect, tolerance and understanding for all those around them including themselves. The planned lessons will enable high quality 'thoughtful' work to be produced and evidenced, which showcase a deep understanding of the main religions and other non-religious beliefs of their community and World. This evidence will be seen through the correct use of vocabulary, explanations and respectful opinions, as well as cross-curricular evidence; for example religious and cultural art work, drama, craft and presentations.

Impact will be seen by all teachers and children enjoying the experience of teaching and learning RE and understanding how it can help them in their future and their place in the World.