Beliefs and Values Teaching at Barrow CEVC Primary School

We are judged as an Outstanding Church School by SIAMS, and R.E. – which we call ‘Beliefs and Values’ is one of the richest and most enjoyed areas of learning in the school.

We follow the Agreed Suffolk Syllabus for R.E. which has been recently updated in Summer 2023. These updates are to ensure that children can think from the point of view of Theologians, Human Social Scientists and Philosophers in order to explore the richness of belief across the globe whatever their own world view and experiences. The units are now framed in BIG QUESTIONS to help children compare and contrast themes which run through different belief systems.

Pupils are given the opportunity to explore the practices and beliefs of those from the Jewish faith, Islam, Sikhism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Humanism, as well as various expressions of Christianity.

• We use the Suffolk Emmanuel Scheme, which asks deep conceptual questions to help the children really understand the meaning and significance of different faiths as well as compare and contrast them. 
• Our R.E. leader was a writer on the scheme, so we have had the advantage of using these resources for several years, adapting and tailoring them to our particular needs and teaching approaches and implementing the updates which are evolving it
• All children in have a B&V book in which they record their learning and undertake assessment tasks at the end of each half term which provides strong evidence of their learning and progress. We also use SEE SAW - a powerful online visual scrapbook which captures the creativity, thinking and non-written learning that is inherent in Beliefs and Values.
• In line with our work towards increasing interaction with people from diverse backgrounds and cultures, we are working towards a rich programme of trips, visits and visitors (as restrictions allow).  
  

The Emmanuel Project Scheme of Work Progression
(Click image's to view)