Religious Education and Worship

RE Curriculum

We follow a scheme of work for our Religious Education teaching called Understanding Christianity. The 'big story' of the Bible is taught across the school through 8 'core concepts' which children encounter a number of times as they move through the school. 

Pupils will encounter these concepts, and teachers teach them through key questions, using a model with three elements.

This develops pupils’ abilities to make sense of texts related to the core concepts, to understand the impact of belief in these concepts in the lives of Christians and the Christian community, and to make connections beyond the concepts with other learning, including pupils’ own responses. 

There is also opportunity in other terms to learn about world faiths, where different year groups take time focusing on religions around the world. For this we follow the Emmanuel Scheme. Children show their understanding through a variety of creative activities as well as expressing their knowledge through the written word.
 

 Year 4 Children exploring Creation: "What do Christians learn from the Creation story?"

Year 3 Children making matzos as part of their learning on Judaism: "What symbols and stories help Jewish people remember their covenant with God?"

                        Year 1 Pupil Voice......... 

Collective Worship

As a Church of England school our daily worships are an important part of the day. We start our week with a whole school Worship led by a member of All Saints, our partner church. They also lead a singing worship on Wednesday where hymns old and new are learnt and practiced. Fridays are our Celebration Worships, led by Year 6, where we recognise the achievements of pupils both academically with Headteacher awards for Achievement and Progress as well as for Effort and Enthusiasm. Children can also earn Fermor merits for courtesy, politeness and kindness in and around the school, which are collected and each week one person is chosen to receive a £5 book token. Other worships include Key Stage Worships on Thursdays where a Bible parable or story is explored based on the Fruits of the Holy Spirit, as found in Paul's letter to the Galatians. Worships on Tuesdays explore a variety of events or special dates which are also linked to our Christian monthly themes which are: Growth Mind-Set, Compassion, Courage, Hope, Creativity, Wisdom, Forgiveness, Respect, Unity, Honesty, Curiosity. On the first Wednesday of each month the whole school meets at All Saints church and one year group leads the service focusing on their class value. They deliver the Bible message through art, drama, poetry or prose and we have a talk by one of the All Saints church leaders. We also have special Worships with visiting speakers where we learn more about how to help and support others, showing respect to those around us by supporting both local and national charities and organisations.

In response to thinking about our September Value of Growth Mind-set, children produced these beautiful butterflies after several drafts and specific feedback from their learning partners.

Bishop Ruth's visit

We were honoured to welcome the Bishop of Horsham, Ruth Bushyager, to speak at our

Year 6 Leaver's Service. We were the only school she visited and the children were heartened by her encouraging, positive words as they contemplated together moving on to secondary school. Ruth was particularly impressed by our butterfly display, for which every year group in the school had contributed. The butterflies spoke of hopefulness and new beginnings and were part of an initiative that the Church of England at Chichester Cathedral had promoted for the occasion.

Classroom Reflection

Each classroom has a ‘Pause for reflection’ area and prayer tree to enable children to explore faith and spirituality in a safe, creative and interactive way. Reflection Areas are used as a focus for children's prayers and thoughts often to enable reflection on RE teaching or Collective Worship times. These areas also display the class value and Bible scripture. Children are encouraged to think about the outworking of the value in their own lives and in the school community.   

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Wider Application

RE has a particular contribution to make towards the spiritual, moral, social and cultural education of each pupil. It involves learning about the Christian religion, the main world religions and our core values of inspire, believe, achieve. Our Christian learning comes through the Understanding Christianity scheme which develops pupils understanding of the Bible through the themes of Creation, People of God, Incarnation, the Gospels and Salvation. These themes are reflected in our worships so each pupil can explore, discuss and reflect on the key messages. When exploring these themes the pupils are encouraged to use different areas of the curriculum to help support their learning, some of these being drama, art, role play, discussion, ICT, reading and writing. There are also visits to places of worship and visitors to school which help to engage and develop pupils’ understanding. We also have a duty to foster an accurate and increasing understanding of religions and world views. We encourage all pupils of whatever faith to explore the beliefs, rituals and festivals of others and to develop a deeper understanding of their own beliefs and practices. As a result, pupils will gain greater insight into the world in which they are growing up. These outcomes contribute to harmonious relationships within and between communities, promoting social inclusion and combating prejudice.

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

As a school, we have adopted the Parable of the Lost Sheep which is found in the Gospel of Luke chapter 15. In this story the Shepherd leaves the ninety nine to go in search of the one which was lost. Likewise, we at Fermor seek to include and care for all, making sure that no one is left behind.

SIAMS - Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools

As a Church of England Primary School, the SIAMS team ask the question: 

'How effective is the school’s distinctive Christian vision, established and promoted by leadership at all levels, in enabling pupils and adults to flourish?'

The SIAMS Evaluation Schedule September 2018. Find out more.