Our small, inclusive and caring school provides an embedded family ethos. We strive to enthuse and inspire our pupils, challenging and supporting their growth into respectful; confident; independent; self-motivated and curious individuals. 

We teach RE as a core part of our school curriculum in order to further develop our pupils’ religious literacy. We understand religious literacy to be:

“our pupils’ ability to hold balanced and well-informed conversations about religion and worldviews."

The Purpose of RE at Kirkby on Bain VA Church of England School

We teach RE as a core part of our school curriculum to help our pupils develop their religion and worldview literacy. We understand this to be our pupils’ ability to hold informed, balanced and critically-engaged conversations about religions and beliefs, including their own. RE in our school is delivered in an objective, critical and pluralist manner. 

The Aims of RE at Kirkby on Bain VA Church of England School

RE at Kirkby on Bain VA Church of England School will be provided within legal requirements.

As a Voluntary Aided (VA) church school, it is the responsibility of the governing board to identify the most appropriate RE curriculum for pupils. Having considered a number of different options, the governors have chosen to utilise the Lincoln Diocesan Board of Education’s primary RE curriculum in this school.

We deliver RE in accordance with the Church of England Education Office’s Statement of Entitlement. We also pay due attention to the Ofsted RE Research Review (2021), the National Content Standard for Religious Education (2023) and the Ofsted RE subject report (2024). 

Within this context, our aims in RE are for pupils to:

• Acquire and develop knowledge and understanding of Christianity and a range of other religious and non-religious worldviews;
• Develop an understanding of the ways in which religious and non-religious beliefs, teachings, practices, values and traditions influence individuals, communities, societies and cultures, from the local to the global contexts;
• Develop the ability to make reasoned and informed judgements about religious and moral issues, with reference to the beliefs, teachings, practices, sources of authority and ways of living associated with the principal religions represented in the UK;
• Develop positive attitudes of mutual respect for and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs;
• Enhance their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development by:
  • Considering the ‘big questions’ raised by human experience and reflecting on how religious and other traditions respond to them;
  • Responding to such questions with reference to religious and non-religious beliefs, teachings, practices, values and traditions, relating them to their own understanding and experience;
  • Reflecting on their own beliefs, values and experiences in light of their study of religious and non-religious worldviews. 

RE Curriculum Design/Our Intent

We follow the LDBE Primary RE curriculum. There is a breadth of religious and non-religious worldviews covered across EYFS, KS1 and KS2 including Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hindu Dharma, Sikhism and Humanism. Buddhism will be taught in KS2. The curriculum overview is published on our school website, and this includes further detail about when each of the religious and non-religious worldviews will be covered across the year groups. It is not expected that pupils will study all six major world religions in depth during their time at Kirkby on Bain VA Church of England School, although they will have learning opportunities that allow them to encounter a range of religious and non-religious worldviews.

Curriculum Implementation

We ensure that teaching and learning in RE meets the needs of all pupils; the implementation of the curriculum focuses on ensuring all pupils develop the expected substantive, disciplinary and personal knowledge in RE. The impact of this is monitored through regular formative and summative assessment processes. We identify RE as one of the core subjects through which our pupils can develop spiritually, morally, socially and culturally, but we do not limit the delivery of SMSC to this subject alone. We provide an annual report on each pupil’s progress in RE. This report will be based on regular monitoring of work in RE using a variety of methods, including verbal feedback, evidence folders/big books and written comments on individual pieces of work.

Visits and Visitors

We consider that an essential element of the delivery of effective RE is encounter with a range of religious and non-religious worldviews. We encourage our pupils to participate in visits to places of worship when the opportunity arises; these visits are arranged in line with the programme of study for RE and provide pupils with the chance to encounter world religions as living faiths in modern Britain. We also encourage members of different religious and non-religious worldviews to visit Kirkby on Bain VA Church of England School. These visits are arranged in accordance with the school’s trips policy. Pupils will not be asked, expected or required to participate in or perform acts of religious worship or practice as part of the RE curriculum. This includes worship practices associated with any faith, including Christianity. There may be times when pupils have the opportunity to encounter and explore lived religion and belief. These opportunities are always invitational, and parents/carers will be informed in advance that this is how the curriculum will be delivered so that they have time to raise any concerns or exercise their legal right to withdraw their child(ren) from the learning.

What do the children say about RE? 

“I like RE because we learn about different religions. It’s important to hear the opinions of others.”

“I like furthering my knowledge from what I’ve already learnt. I like the different religions.” 

“I like RE because you can learn about the beliefs of other people and understand them more.” 

Lent workshops with Rev. Helen 

 Year 5 and 6 Holy Communion with parents/carers invited to St Mary's Church

Making Palm Crosses 

Y5/6 Holy Communion with parents/carers invited