Religious Education at Leyland Methodist Schools

Intent

At Leyland Methodist Schools, our Religious Education curriculum is rooted in the Methodist tradition and is designed to nurture pupils to grow in love, learn to serve others and celebrate faith and diversity as they live and learn together. Through the Blackburn Diocese Questful RE syllabus, pupils explore life’s big questions and develop an understanding of how Christian faith shapes individuals and communities.

We want pupils to:

• Develop a secure understanding of Christianity as a living faith, grounded in God’s love and expressed through worship and service.
• Explore the life and teachings of Jesus and understand how these inspire Christians to love others and serve their communities.
• Learn about other major world religions and worldviews, celebrating similarities and differences with respect.
• Ask meaningful questions about belief, morality and purpose, reflecting on their own values and beliefs.
• Develop skills of enquiry, interpretation, reflection and evaluation, learning together through discussion and reflection.

Our curriculum is designed to ensure pupils meet the expectations of the Blackburn Diocese Questful RE syllabus and statutory requirements for Religious Education. In EYFS (Reception), units provide opportunities for children to work towards the Development Matters statements and Early Learning Goals, particularly within Personal, Social and Emotional Development and Understanding the World.

Implementation

The Questful RE syllabus is structured around key questions that encourage curiosity, discussion and reflection. Religious Education is taught regularly and progressively across all key stages, allowing pupils to revisit and build upon key concepts as they move through the school.

Our scheme of work draws on Questful RE, incorporates elements from the Understanding Christianity resource and includes discrete Methodist units. This ensures a coherent and progressive approach to teaching Christianity, rooted in the Bible and enriched by Methodist beliefs, values and practices.

Our curriculum is built around three key disciplines:

• Theology
• Philosophy
• Human and Social Sciences

Christianity is taught in every year group, with a strong focus on Methodist beliefs and practices, including worship, prayer, hymns, the life of John Wesley and the importance of love, service and social justice. Pupils also study other religions and non-religious worldviews at appropriate stages to help them understand and celebrate diversity.

Throughout each unit, pupils explore religious texts, stories, symbols and practices while developing their understanding across the three disciplines. Learning opportunities include:

• Enquiry-based lessons built around key questions
• Discussion, debate, and respectful listening as pupils learn together
• Reflection on personal beliefs, values, and experiences
• Opportunities to consider how faith influences actions, choices, and service to others

Our spiral curriculum ensures that key ideas such as love, forgiveness, service, and community are revisited at increasing levels of depth, allowing pupils to deepen their understanding over time.

Impact

By following our well-structured Religious Education curriculum, pupils will:

• Develop a secure knowledge and understanding of Christianity within the Methodist tradition and an informed awareness of other religions and worldviews.
• Understand how religious beliefs inspire people to love others and serve their communities.
• Demonstrate respect, empathy and compassion, recognising the importance of living and learning together.
• Reflect thoughtfully on their own beliefs and values and how these shape behaviour and choices.
• Make meaningful links between religious teachings, practices, and the lived experiences of believers.
• Develop skills of reasoning, enquiry, reflection, and evaluation.
• Meet the expectations of the Blackburn Diocese Questful RE syllabus by the end of each key stage.

Through our Religious Education curriculum, we empower pupils to love generously, serve faithfully, celebrate diversity, and live well together, following the example of Jesus and the Methodist commitment to faith in action.