Intent
At St John the Baptist, as a church school, we follow the Essex Agreed Syllabus and are guided by the requirements of the RE Statement of Entitlement. We deliver an enquiry-led RE curriculum, with a core focus on Christianity, with study and encounters with other faiths, through three distinct lenses; philosophy (thinking), theology (believing) and human and social science (living).
We celebrate diversity and develop a respect of different world views and beliefs by exploring a range of religions and encourage children to question and make connections about beliefs and worldviews across the world.
We have chosen the religions and worldviews studied with careful consideration of our school context.
Because we are a Church school, Christianity is explored for 50% of curriculum time, right from the time that children join us in Reception. Children explore big questions about creating, incarnation and salvation.
We introduce Judaism in KS1, which helps children to make connections with the birth of Christianity. We then introduce Hinduism and Sikhism to broaden children’s encounters with non-Abrahamic religions. Learning about Sikh beliefs that a good life is lived as part of a community, by living honestly and caring for links with our school vision of community and togetherness, rooted in Corinthians 12:12-26.
Islam is also introduced and covered in further depth in KS2, to support respect and understanding in an area of Essex where Islam is a growing faith.
Implementation
Using a range of good quality resources tailored to our school to support scaffolding and knowledge for teachers, children are taught RE weekly and record their findings in individual learning books or in a whole class book.
Theology:
We have called this thinking through believing. It is about asking questions that believers would ask. It requires pupils to think like theologians, or to look through a theological lens at concepts.
Philosophy:
We have called this thinking through thinking. It is about asking questions that thinkers would ask. It requires pupils to think like philosophers, or to look through a philosophical lens at concepts.
Human/Social Sciences: 
We have called this thinking through living. It is about asking questions that people who study lived reality or phenomena would ask. It requires pupils to think like human and social scientists, or to look through a human/social science lens at concepts.
This is used to assess children’s understanding of RE through the three lenses and the knowledge across multiple faiths. Our curriculum is further enriched by our connections with the local church and community where wo go to learn about Christianity, as well as taking part in religious services. Children at St John’s also get the opportunity to visit special places and enjoy enrichments from other cultures throughout their learning journey.
Impact
Learning RE through a range of views will help to create strong thinkers of RE as well as developing an understanding of different religions and how these connect with daily life outside of the classroom and throughout the wider world. As a church school, we want our children to have a secure and robust knowledge of the teachings of Christianity, to support and guide them throughout their lives. Children at St John the Baptist will leave school as confident philosophers and theological thinkers, able to apply their understanding of religion beyond the classroom.