Mr Oakes lead Religious Education at Wolvey. 

The Little Children and Jesus

¹⁵ People were also bringing babies to Jesus for him to place his hands on them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. ¹⁶ But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. ¹⁷ Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”

What does RE look like at Wolvey CofE?

RE is a vital curriculum area at Wolvey that contributes to the development and preservation of the spiritual and moral ethos of our school. It is a vehicle that encourages and equips young minds to ask questions and seek truth, in all spheres of life. RE is taught weekly with a systematic and thematic approach through half-termly themes based upon the Warwickshire locally agreed syllabus and the Understanding Christianity syllabus.

Agreed Syllabus for Warwickshire and Coventry Religious Education (SACRE)

The Agreed Syllabus (reviewed and released 2024) sets out a clear vision for children to develop their worldviews alongside case studies from various religions. This new syllabus gives children the opportunity to develop as well as reflect upon their own worldviews through the lens of the 3 main disciplines of RE:

1. Theology
2. Philosophy
3. Human and Social sciences

At Wolvey, we use both Understanding Christianity alongside the new syllabus throughout the Primary school journey.

Understanding Christianity

By addressing key questions, Understanding Christianity encourages pupils to explore core Bible texts, examine the impact for Christians and consider possible implications. Each unit incorporates the three elements:

• Making sense of the text – Developing skills of reading and interpretation; understanding how Christians interpret, handle and use biblical texts; making sense of the meanings of texts for Christians
• Understanding the impact – Examining ways in which Christians respond to biblical texts and teachings, and how they put their beliefs into action in diverse ways within the Christian community and in the world
• Making connections – Evaluating, reflecting on and connecting the texts and concepts studied, and discerning possible connections between these and pupils’ own lives and ways of understanding the world.

Each unit begins with a ‘way in’ and then offers teaching and learning ideas for each element. The teacher chooses how to weave together the elements, from making sense of the text, through looking at the impact on the world of the Christian, and helping to make connections with the world of the pupil, in order to achieve the outcomes.