As a school whose pupils come from a vast variety of cultures and religious backgrounds, we at Poverest believe it is of the utmost importance that all of our children are exposed to the beliefs and practices of their peers to create a school community that is tolerant and understanding of others and celebrates the diversity of our school. Teaching RE will promote an understanding of the multicultural and multi faith society the children will be growing up in in their local area even with a secular upbringing. Through the celebration of different religious festivals throughout the year we are allowing our pupils to feel a sense of pride in their beliefs and allow them a chance to share their culture with those around them who are not from the same background as they are. We also strive to enhance the children’s critical thinking skills through giving them the opportunity to discuss key questions which expand across a variety of topics which can be discussed through religious practices.

RE is taught through weekly lessons that follow a set of plans which were created by Bromley based teachers for Bromley based schools. This scheme has been created in a way so that each half term the children’s learning is based on key questions that can be discussed in a variety of ways when looking at them from the perspective of another religion. We embrace and celebrate the different beliefs of our Poverest community through celebrating major religious festivals across the school and allowing classes to have the opportunity to hear from celebrating families in their classes.

Through our curriculum and school ethos, the children all show respect for their peers and their differences and a pride in sharing their culture with others. When our children leave Poverest they will have knowledge of the five major religions and be able to confidently discuss key questions through their knowledge of other religions. 

This is monitored through learning walks, discussions with children, work scrutiny, teacher assessment and discussions with staff to ensure we are all confident in the progression and teaching of RE at Poverest.