Miss Key is our RE subject leader.

What is RE?

RE stands for Religious Education.

'The principal aim of RE is to engage pupils in systematic enquiry into significant human questions which religion and world views address, so that they can develop the understanding and skills needed to appreciate and appraise varied responses to these questions, as well as develop responses of their own'- ‘Derbyshire Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education 2025-2030’.

To help children understand the purpose and value of Religious Education, we have developed a set of child-friendly aims.

• EYFS/KS1:

“RE stands for Religious Education. In RE, we ask big questions about life, like what is important and how we should treat others. We learn what different people believe and think about our own ideas too”.

• KS2:

“RE helps us explore important questions about life, people, and the world. We learn what different religions and world views believe and think carefully about our own thoughts and values too”.

At Shirland Primary School, we follow the 'Derbyshire Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education 2025-2030' from Reception to Year Six. It is split into 3 key strands: Believing, Expressing and Living. These strands are underpinned by 3 types of knowledge: Substantive, Disciplinary and Personal. The scheme also supports the 'Understanding the World: People, Culture and Community' section of the Early Learning Goals. Religious Education is taught in weekly blocks, right from EYFS. This enables children to gain a more in-depth understanding of this subject and helps them to build upon their skills needed to engage with different religious and non-religious world views.  

The 3 key strands explained:

• Believing – knowing about and understanding a range of religious and non-religious world views.
• Expressing – expressing ideas and insights about the nature, significance and impact of religious and non-religious world views. 
• Living – gaining and deploying the skills needed to engage seriously with religious and non-religious world views.

The 3 types of knowledge explained:

• Substantive knowledge – the core understanding of religious and non-religious beliefs, concepts and practices.
• Disciplinary knowledge – how pupils explore and make sense of this understanding through methods of enquiry and interpretation.
• Personal knowledge – the opportunity for pupils to reflect on and form their own thoughtful responses in relation to what they learn.