At Brenchley and Matfield CE Primary School, pupils and their families can expect a high quality religious education (RE) curriculum that is rich and varied, enabling learners to acquire a thorough knowledge and understanding of a range of faiths and world views. As a church school, the teaching of Christianity is at the heart of our RE curriculum. Through the Understanding Christianity resource, the use of an enquiry approach engages with significant theological concepts and the pupil’s own understanding of the world as part of their wider religious literacy. Using the Rochester Diocesan syllabus we learn about other religions and world views, fostering respect for them. Links with our Christian values and vision, and support for pupil’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural (SMSC) development are intrinsic to our RE curriculum and have a significant impact on learners. We provide a wide range of opportunities for learners to understand and to make links between the beliefs, practices and value systems of the range of faiths and world views studied.
“Inspired by the person and teaching of Christ, his truth and his love, our school will be a place where all are loved and valued as we learn and grow together in community, joyfully living in his light that we might both be blessed and be a blessing to all.’
Our Vision Statement offers an inclusive and outward-looking approach to community where truth and love are considered to be of the very highest importance and priority. To ‘bless’ or ‘be blessed’ means to offer or to receive the benefits of such truth and love. In sum, our Vision Statement offers a recipe for healthful social, emotional, and academic development in accord with the foundational aims and purposes of the school. The word ‘joyfully’ is purposely included to reflect our desire that the entire educational experience be an emotionally, morally, and spiritually uplifting one for the whole school community.
We believe that every member of our school community is unique, created in God’s image, and precious to Him. Christians are called to ‘love your neighbour as yourself’: this means that we have a responsibility to one another to look for, bring out, and encourage in one another the very best we can. To do this best we need to welcome and employ in life, work, and relationships in our school community the teaching, example and Spirit of Jesus. This guiding ethos will be shown in and through the following values.