Intent
At St John the Baptist we deliver an RE curriculum with a main focus on Christianity and an enquiry-led, multi-faith syllabus viewed, considered, and explored through three distinct lenses; Philosophical, theological and human science. We celebrate diversity by discovering a range of religions and encourage children to question and make connections about beliefs across the world. We have chosen the religions studies with careful consideration of our school context and a range of religious views are covered. The study of Judaism is introduced as it helps to make sense of Christianity and connections can be made for children in the younger years of school. We then introduced-Abrahamic religions of Hinduism and Sikhism to broaden children’s religious education. Sikhism is an important connection and links with our school vision of community and togetherness, as these are core Sikh values. Islam is also introduced and covered in further depth in KS2 as the location of our school in rural Essex does not offer children the opportunity to be exposed to the Muslim faith. We therefore ensure that all children leave with an understanding of Islamic beliefs and values.

Implementation
Using the Saffron Academy Trust RE scheme to support scaffolding and knowledge for teachers, children are taught RE weekly and record their findings in individual learning books or in a whole class book.
Theology:
We have called this thinking through believing. It is about asking questions that believers would ask. It requires pupils to think like theologians, or to look through a theological lens at concepts.
Philosophy:
We have called this thinking through thinking. It is about asking questions that thinkers would ask. It requires pupils to think like philosophers, or to look through a philosophical lens at concepts.
Human/Social Sciences: 
We have called this thinking through living. It is about asking questions that people who study lived reality or phenomena would ask. It requires pupils to think like human and social scientists, or to look through a human/social science lens at concepts.
This is used to assess children’s understanding of RE through the three lenses and the knowledge across multiple faiths. Our curriculum is further enriched by our connections with the local church and community where we take part in religious services and learn from our Reverend. Children at St John’s also get the opportunity to visit special places and enjoy enrichments from other cultures throughout their learning journey. We have also included extra units about the Gospel, which is linked to our school vision of being curious and spreading our knowledge world wide.
Impact
Learning RE through a range of views will help to create strong thinkers of RE as well as developing an understanding of different religions and how these connect with daily life outside of the classroom and throughout the wider world. Children at St John the Baptist will leave school as confident philosophers and theological thinkers, able to apply their understanding of religion beyond the classroom.