Boutcher Church of England Primary School
School Context:
Small, one-form entry primary school in Bermondsey
Why did you consider applying for the RE Quality Mark?
We knew that our RE was excellent. Our children love RE lessons and are always keen to share their learning with their families and others within the school so we thought we should have it assessed and celebrated.
What did you appreciate about the REQM process? Were there any highlights?
It was a wonderful experience to pull all of the evidence together and to be able to speak to a fantastic assessor and share our practice with someone who is as enthusiastic about RE as we are. It really did feel like a celebration rather than an assessment.
What were the benefits for the RE Dept?
It gave us assurance that our RE is Gold Quality Mark standard yet it also encouraged us to continue to work towards making it even better. We have continued to strive to make our lessons even better and to develop the curriculum further.
What were the benefits for students?
The students were so excited to hear that we received a Gold Quality Mark standard and many of them worked really hard to show that they were ‘gold standard’ themselves in their own work.
What were the benefits for the wider school?
The process encouraged us to look even further at the place of RE in our curriculum and to try to make greater links within the curriculum.
Would you recommend other schools apply for the REQM, and if so, why?
We would 100% recommend the REQM to other schools. It enabled us to really celebrate the wonderful learning going on in our school and to highlight this to the children, staff, and parents. The process was straightforward and really made us think carefully about what we do and why we do it.