Religious Education
Knowledge, understanding and awareness of all faiths.
As a Christian school, our Religious Education (RE) lessons are an important part of our curriculum as Jesus’ teachings are the basis of our school values.
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Through RE, we seek to give our children a rich variety of experiences from which they can develop knowledge, understanding and awareness of all faiths. Pupils at Albourne learn about the worldwide religions of Christianity, Islam and Judaism.
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We deliver RE in line with the West Sussex Agreed Syllabus. This provides an effective RE programme of study to enable pupils to have the knowledge, understanding and skills necessary to hold balanced and informed conversations about religions and worldviews.
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RE also has a significant role in the development of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding. It promotes respect and open-mindedness towards others with different faiths and beliefs. We encourage pupils to develop their sense of identity and belonging through self-awareness and reflection.
Understanding Christianity
As a school we teach Christianity using the accredited Understanding Christianity resource which explores the key concepts of God, Creation, Fall, People of God, Incarnation, Gospel, Salvation and Kingdom of God.
Children learn in three key ways - by reading and making sense of the Biblical text; making connections with their own lives and understanding the world and examining the ways in which Christians respond by putting their beliefs into action.
The Emmanuel Project
Alongside this teaching Understanding Christianity, we also encourage children to ask 'big questions' through our teaching based on The Emmanuel Project. This project, which was developed in Suffolk, provides resources for CofE schools to support teaching of Christianity in RE. The Emmanuel Project helps children to understand the world and their own place in it, and supports the teaching and learning of other faiths.
Excellence in the Teaching and Learning of Religious Education
By addressing key questions, Understanding Christianity encourages pupils to explore core Bible texts, examine the impact for Christians and consider possible implications. Each unit incorporates the following three elements:
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Making sense of the text - Developing skills of reading and interpretation; understanding how Christians interpret, handle and use biblical texts; making sense of the meanings of texts for Christians.
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Understanding the impact - Examining ways in which Christians respond to biblical texts and teachings, and how they put their beliefs into action in diverse ways within the Christian community and in the world.
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Making connections - Evaluating, reflecting on and connecting the texts and concepts studied, and discerning possible connections between these and pupils’ own lives and ways of understanding the world.
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Each unit begins with a ‘way in’ and then offers teaching and learning ideas for each element. The teacher chooses how to weave together the elements, from making sense of the text, through looking at the impact on the world of the Christian, and helping to make connections with the world of the pupil, in order to achieve the outcomes.
A Christian school
As a Christian school we are linked to the churches in the Parishes of Albourne, Sayers Common and Twineham (ASCAT) and Collective Worship is an important part of each day at our school.
Find out more on our Christian Life page.