Table of Contents:
1. Teacher’s background information.
Belonging to a faith community involves attending a church, which is more than just a building.
The people are important – the Church should be a community of Christians from all races and nationalities.
Why do Christians go to church? To worship, pray, listen to Bible teachings and make friends.
Who or what influences the children’s behaviour?
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2. Lesson plans and resources for Belonging to a faith community:
[a] Belonging to a faith community. The lesson plan is a downloadable PDF document to present to the children. (Opens in a new tab.)
[b] Belonging to a faith community lesson plan is a PowerPoint presentation (Opens in a new tab on www.slideshare.net), viewable or downloadable for teachers who can use electronic equipment in the classroom. (Same material as the PDF above).
[c] What is the Church lesson plan is a video based on a PowerPoint presentation. Created with 5-second slides, so pause the video to enable the children to study each slide: (Same material as the PDF above).
[d] Free videos and songs:
See below for two videos and two songs.
3. Children’s songs:
[i] A children’s song could be sung during the service. Here’s an example of one:
4. Children’s talks:
[i] A children’s talk could be done during the service, for example:
[ii] A children’s talk called ‘The choice is yours’:
[iii] Prayer comes in all shapes and sizes! Here’s a quick look at WHAT prayer is.
[iv] ‘Why do We Pray?’ By the Crossroads Kids’ Club.
[v] ‘How Do We Pray?’ By the Crossroads Kids’ Club.
5. Songs and Hymns:
[i] An old hymn sung in a modern style: ‘Be Thou My Vision’:
[ii] A video of the modern song: ‘In Christ alone’:
6. How to fulfil the locally agreed syllabus on ‘Belonging to a faith community’ lesson plan
Hopefully, you will be able to match your local agreed syllabus with what is here.
This lesson plan is based on the UK RE Attainment Targets.
Here is the Mapping Grid for the Attainment Target Categories:
- Sacred Texts – stories, scriptures, parables, teachings
- Beliefs – ideas about God, truth, meaning, purpose
- Practices – worship, prayer, festivals, rituals, lifestyle
- Identity – belonging, community, worldview, personal reflection
- Values – moral ideas, attitudes, virtues
- Living – how beliefs affect actions and everyday life
🎯 Why This Grid Works for UK Schools
✔ Matches Agreed Syllabus expectations
✔ Supports progression from KS1 to KS2
✔ Aligns with Ofsted language (knowledge, understanding, impact)
✔ Works for lesson planning, assessment, and inspection evidence
✔ Non-political, non-denominational, UK-appropriate
For many local syllabi, in KS1, Christianity plus at least one other major religion is studied.
Effective RE should combine:
- knowledge (stories, beliefs, practices)
- understanding (why people believe/do what they do)
- reflection (personal response, values, empathy).
Typical Key Questions for KS1
Here are common “core/enquiry” questions or themes that appear in most KS1 agreed syllabi:
- “Who am I?” (Identity).
- “What does it mean to belong?” (Belonging).
- “What makes some people so important?” (Important people).
- “Where did we come from / how did the world begin?” (Simple beliefs).
- “What makes some stories so important to different people?” (Sacred books).
- “Why are festivals, symbols or special stories important?” (Stories & moral values).
- “Why are some places so important?” (Important places).
These then required merging within the Assessment Aims, but as can be seen, there had to be some overlapping of the themes/core questions:
- ASSESSMENT AIM: 1. SACRED TEXTS (Stories, Scriptures, parables & teachings) – [SACRED TEXTS & WHO AM I?]
- ASSESSMENT AIMS: 2. BELIEFS (Ideas about God, truth, meaning & purpose) – CREATION & IMPORTANT PEOPLE]
- ASSESSMENT AIM: 3. PRACTICES (worship, prayer, festivals, rituals & lifestyle) – [FESTIVALS & PLACES]
- ASSESSMENT AIM: 4. IDENTITY (belonging, community, worldview & personal reflection) – [BELONGING & IDENTITY]
- ASSESSMENT AIMS: 5. VALUES (moral ideas, attitudes, virtues, right & wrong) – [FESTIVALS & BELONGING]
- ASSESSMENT AIMS: 6. LIVING (how beliefs affect actions and everyday life) – [IMPORTANT PEOPLE & FESTIVALS]
Each assessment had its own set of questions to answer. These are included in each lesson plan, which is suitable for that particular subject.