Religious Education

RE at Archibald follows the Middlesbrough Agreed Syllabus and builds on the Early Years, where children explore special people, books, places and times. Pupils gain secure knowledge of Christianity, the other principal religions represented in Britain and non-religious worldviews, including Humanism. Learning is organised through three strands. Believing covers what people believe about God, humanity and the world. Expressing covers how beliefs are shown through worship, festivals, symbols and actions. Living covers how beliefs shape moral choices and everyday life. Each year group studies one tradition in depth before pupils compare traditions in Upper Key Stage 2. Pupils’ questions deepen as they move through the school. They ask what makes a place sacred in Year 1 and what it means to belong to a faith community in Year 2. In Years 3 and 4 they explore what it is like to be a Muslim or a Hindu in Britain today. By Years 5 and 6 they weigh evidence for belief in God and ask what religions say when life is hard.

Teaching emphasises lived religion, so that pupils understand the diversity within faiths as well as between them. Lessons use structured discussion, philosophical enquiry and respectful debate. Pupils learn to describe practices, compare beliefs, evaluate ideas and give reasoned personal responses. RE is adapted for pupils with SEND without lowering expectations, and it develops values that underpin life in modern Britain, including respect, compassion, honesty and justice. By the end of Year 6, pupils can explain key beliefs across religions and worldviews, compare religious and non-religious perspectives, and express well-reasoned views of their own.