Intent
Through RE, pupils explore what different people believe and what difference this makes to how they live. We understand that children who enter our school have a limited knowledge of religious and non-religious beliefs. The intent for RE is for pupils to develop an aptitude for dialogue so that they can participate positively in our society, with its diverse religions and beliefs. Our curriculum enables pupils to gain the knowledge, understanding and skills needed to handle questions raised by religion and belief, reflecting on their own ideas and ways of living. Pupils learn to develop and express their insights in response to religious and non-religious beliefs, and to agree or disagree respectfully. We also want our pupils to learn to articulate clearly and coherently their own personal beliefs, ideas, values and experiences while respecting the right of others to differ.
Implementation
Teachers will use the Stoke on Trent Agreed Syllabus for RE as well as the Understanding Christianity documents to plan and deliver high quality RE. There is a clear teaching and learning approach at the heart of the 2021 syllabus, whereby all units enable pupils to ‘make sense’ of the religions and non-religious worldviews studied, ‘understand the impact’ of these beliefs in people’s lives, and to ‘make connections’ in their own learning and with their wider experience of the world.
Powerful Knowledge
The RE syllabus forms a ‘spiral curriculum’, so that pupils encounter and engage with the core concepts on a number of occasions, embedding their learning.
Units of work are carefully sequenced to build upon prior learning. To develop a coherent understanding of several religions, one religion is studied at a time (systematic study) before bringing together and comparing different traditions (thematic study). The thematic study allows pupils to draw together their learning each year, as well as offering planned opportunities for retrieval and recall. Teachers draw on a range of strategies and activities to
present new material and to engage learners in their learning.
Excellence for all
Units of work provoke challenging questions about meaning and purpose in life, beliefs about God, issues of right and wrong and what it means to be human. Teaching equips all pupils with systematic knowledge and understanding of a range of religions and beliefs, enabling them to develop their ideas, values and identities. Scaffolding, questioning and are specifically planned and used to support children with SEND.
Literacy
The pupils are taught to use basic subject-specific vocabulary. They are taught to raise questions and begin to express their own views in response to the material they learn about and in response to questions about their ideas. Non-fiction and fiction texts are used to support the understanding of different religious views.
Wider world
Pupils develop their knowledge and understanding of religions and worldviews, recognising their local, national and global contexts. Children encounter religious and non-religious world views through visitors, books, times, places, objects and by visiting places of worship.
Impact
Our Religious Education syllabus is high quality and carefully constructed to build upon prior knowledge, so children can remember and learn more. Our pupils enjoy learning about what different people around the world believe. They develop an aptitude and knowledge for dialogue so that they can participate positively in our society, with its diverse religions and beliefs.
We measure the impact of our syllabus through the following methods:
• Pre and post learning quizzes based upon our knowledge organisers are used to support
effective learning through recall
• Pupil discussions about their learning demonstrate what they remember
• Pupils develop a greater understanding of what different people around the world
believe.