Vision Statement: “To create and nurture a secure and caring Christian environment where every child can develop in their own faith and learning journey.”

“Let the little children come to me for it is to such as these that the Kingdom of God belongs.” 

Mark 10 (14-15) 

Read more about the RE curriculum here:

Religious Education Curriculum Intent: Through God's love and guidance, to enable every child to flourish and to ‘live life in all its fullness', rooted in the person and work of Jesus Christ that enables learners to acquire a thorough knowledge and understanding of the Christian faith.

The Religious Education Curriculum: Our Vision

Our teaching of Religious Education enables every child to flourish and to 'live life in all its fullness' (John 10:10). It aims to help educate for dignity and respect, enabling all to live well together. RE is a highly valued academic subject that enables understanding of how religion and beliefs affect our lives. We provide an RE curriculum that is rich and varied and studies a range of world religions and worldviews. At the heart of RE at St Matthew's, is the teaching of Christianity, rooted in the person and work of Jesus Christ that enables learners to acquire a thorough knowledge and understanding of the Christian faith.

Religious Education enables children to explore some of the big questions about life, to find out about what people believe and what difference this makes to the way they live so that pupils can make sense of religion, reflecting on their own faith and ways of living. Learning about different faiths and beliefs enables us to live in a harmonious society filled with kindness and compassion. The teaching of RE will go beyond a sociological study of religious phenomena and will introduce our pupils to a range of relevant disciplines including theology, philosophy and the human and social sciences.

As a Church of England Voluntary Aided School, we offer an education that is distinctively Christian. Although each church school is unique, all church schools will share core values based on the Gospel values. Church schools are places where loving God and loving our neighbours, is lived out in the daily life of the school. At St Matthew's we aim to serve our community by providing an education of the highest quality within the context of Christian belief and practice. We encourage an understanding of the meaning and significance of faith and promote our Christian values through the experiences we offer to all of

our pupils.

Our School is founded upon core values of friendship, kindness, love, respect, trust, forgiveness and humility and time is spent exploring what is distinctively Christian about these particular values. Many other values are explicitly taught throughout the school day such as courage, gratitude and compassion. We strive for excellent relationships making our school a happy place to work and learn.

Our curriculum follows the Blackburn Diocesan Board of Education RE Syllabus for Church Schools – Questful RE. Questful RE also incorporates a programme of study called Understanding Christianity. Understanding Christianity bases Christianity within a framework called "God’s Big Story," which develops an understanding of the Old Testament and the New Testament and supports children to sequence the timeline of the Bible.

Our deeply Christian values underpin and intertwine all aspects of school life at St Matthew's and are visited regularly and explicitly through collective worship, RE lessons, half termly spiritual afternoons and within Ethos Group. Pupils explore what they mean to us as individuals, a school, a community and through the world. They are lived out in our daily lives.