Religious Education at Jarvis Brook

R.E. provokes challenging questions about the meaning and purpose of life; it develops childrens’ knowledge and understanding of religions and religious traditions; it enables children to build their sense of identity and belonging, which helps them flourish within their communities and as citizens in a diverse society. R.E. teaches children to develop respect for others, including people with different faiths and beliefs and those with no belief, and helps to challenge prejudice. R.E. prompts children to consider their responsibilities to themselves and to others and to explore how they might contribute to their communities and to the wider society. It encourages empathy, generosity and compassion.

At Jarvis Brook we aim to develop successful R.E. learners by asking questions and presenting interesting, important conceptual challenges to children. Learning both about religion and learning from religion has the capacity to motivate and empower students; enabling them to enjoy and value learning. R.E. helps prepare people to become responsible citizens by raising issues of local, national and global concern and placing them in spiritual and moral contexts. Understanding the right to hold different beliefs enables children to see diverse religions and beliefs as a significant part of the local, national and global community of human experience.

Jarvis Brook follows the East Sussex Agreed Syllabus 2017 for Religious Education. This syllabus makes space for children to explore their own beliefs, values and traditions and those of others, and those of no belief, in engaged and engaging ways. It takes into account the many different changes within education and emphasises the need to develop knowledge, skills and empathy towards religion and ethical issues.

Children are taught about a range of religions and learn to respect and ask questions about different religions, traditions and cultures around the world. Across the school year we aim to make R.E relevant by studying and celebrating real events, from Harvest at the local church to learning about various aspects of Buddhist culture, or exploring real artefacts in Judaism and Islam lessons, to looking at how to be a kind, caring and compassionate individual through our assemblies. We believe children learn best from real experiences in order to capture their imaginations and encourage curiosity. We try to enhance our curriculum in many ways to ensure this is how children learn and respect different religions and religious beliefs.