Children at West Lodge proudly represent a wide range of cultures and faiths including, but not limited to, Baha’i, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, Judaism, Sikhism and Zoroastrianism. The London Borough of Harrow is the most diverse in this country – making RE an essential part of the learning for our children. Through their RE lessons, they learn to develop acceptance of others’ beliefs and their thirst for knowledge drives them to learn about different religions and their teachings.

At West Lodge, RE prepares children to have a strong sense of belonging to their local, wider and global community and furthers their understanding of the multi-cultural society, ultimately enabling pupils to develop respect, awareness and responsibility towards our world. We aim to develop children’s positive attitudes towards other peoples’ views, faiths and beliefs even if they differ from their own; living and sharing experiences in a society of diverse religions. Furthermore, children begin to make connections between the different faiths and beliefs as they discover common themes and morals; leading to a better understanding of the world around them.

Our students are inquisitive and reflecting on how our actions and decisions will shape the future. Through their diverse community, children are inspired to question and understand different societies, backgrounds and cultures. Through our RE lessons, children develop a strong sense of empathy through their spiritual, moral, social and cultural education using the enquiry approach to study their topics.

How we teach RE

Our RE lessons aim to provide children with the tools to enable them to have a respectful discussion of the key principals of the major world religions. The children are encouraged to make links between these religions and challenge and question stereotypes. We give children a wealth of knowledge of these religions and widely held non-religious views with the inclusion of Humanism. Children at West Lodge are encouraged to question how religious ideals and morals can apply to their own lives. As a result, we approach RE in an enquiry based fashion, investigating different faiths, religious practices and their influence on society as a whole.

We teach our RE lessons through an RE Day every half-term plus and extra one in the Autumn Term which is linked to our Festival of Light; exploring the common theme of light and the Golden Rule. Each unit covers two threshold concepts, Either A - beliefs teachings and sources, B - Practices and ways of life or C - Forms of expressing meaning and Either D - Identify, diversity and belonging, E - Meaning, purpose and truth or F - Values and commitments.

RE lessons are delivered with a range of high quality resources and religious artefacts where children have the opportunity to see and touch special objects and items provided by the school or brought in by children or staff. Furthermore, religious figures from the local community and staff and parent experts are invited to provide first-hand experience and share their knowledge about their faith through assemblies and class workshops. Activities to further enrich children’s understanding, such as visits to places of worship and focus days such as our Festival of Light all contribute to making the learning aspirational and ambitious.

Useful Links

Key Stage 1 BBC RE Bitesize videos  -

Key Stage 2 BBCRE Bitesize videos 

https://www.gov.uk/national-curriculum/other-compulsory-subjects

Subject Leader

The Subject Lead for RE is Mrs Darshana Vaghela