Religious Education

Religious Education at KWPS

National Curriculum Aims for Religious Education

The National Curriculum states the legal requirement that:
Every state-funded school must offer a curriculum which is balanced and broadly based, and which:

Promotes the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils, and
Prepares pupils at the school for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life.

…all state schools... must teach religious education to pupils at every Key Stage.

The non-statutory guidance for Religious Education in schools suggests that RE should provide a positive context within which the diversity of cultures, beliefs and values can be celebrated and explored. This exploration should take place through the Global Community, UK Community and the community in which the school is located.

Overall, Religious Education for children should:

provoke challenging questions about the meaning and purpose of life, beliefs, the self, issues of right and wrong, and what it means to be human. It develops pupils’ knowledge and understanding of Christianity, other principal religions, and religious traditions that examine these questions, fostering personal reflection and spiritual development
encourage pupils to explore their own beliefs (whether they are religious or non-religious), in the light of what they learn, as they examine issues of religious belief and faith and how these impact on personal, institutional and social ethics; and to express their responses. This also builds resilience to anti-democratic or extremist narratives
enable pupils to build their sense of identity and belonging, which helps them flourish within their communities and as citizens in a diverse society
teach pupils to develop respect for others, including people with different faiths and beliefs, and helps to challenge prejudice
prompt pupils to consider their responsibilities to themselves and to others, and to explore how they might contribute to their communities and to wider society. It encourages empathy, generosity and compassion.

While the statutory requirement for RE does not extend to children under compulsory school age, it can form a valuable part of the educational experience of children in the EYFS. It can contribute particularly to

personal, social and emotional development
communication, language and literacy
knowledge and understanding of the world
creative development

The Intent of our RE Curriculum

At KWPS, our curriculum is taught in accordance with the Lancashire Agreed Syllabus “Searching for Meaning”. Through this ambitious curriculum we aim to engage, motivate and inspire pupils to explore, develop and affirm their own beliefs, values and attitudes through an exploration of shared human experiences.

The Syllabus taught covers Reception to Y6 and reflects the fact that religious traditions in Great Britain are in the main Christian, while taking account of the teaching and practices of the other principal religious traditions represented in Great Britain.

This curriculum is not designed to convert pupils, or to promote a particular religion or religious belief. As a school we maintain that teaching about religions and worldviews should be sufficiently fair, balanced and open. We aim to promote mutual respect and understanding, whilst not undermining or ignoring the role of families and religious or belief organisations in transmitting values to successive generations.

The Implementation of our RE Curriculum

Overall, our RE curriculum aims to support pupil’s personal search for meaning as they explore what it means to be human. It follows the LCC “Field of Enquiry” Medium term planning model, but also specifies knowledge and skills which build towards clear goals at the end of each key stage.

The teaching of our RE units is centred around a question that children investigate through subsequent lessons. During lessons, we then provide further opportunities to ask pupils challenging questions about the ultimate meaning and purpose of life, beliefs about God, the self and the nature of reality, issues of right and wrong, and what it means to be human. Learning is further enhanced through the use of artefacts, visits to religious buildings and religious visitors.

Pupils are then given opportunities to learn to weigh up the value of wisdom from different sources, to develop and express insights in response, and to agree or disagree respectfully. In turn, they are then encouraged to articulate clearly and coherently their personal beliefs, ideas, values and experiences so that they can hold balanced and well-informed conversations about religions and worldviews whilst respecting the views of others. All lessons are adapted appropriately to support the needs of pupils of all abilities.

Through the teaching of the curriculum pupils are provided opportunities to revisit religions and themes to enable them to reinforce and consolidate their religious understanding and knowledge. Religions covered are Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Sikhism, Buddhism and Hinduism and work covered also directly impacts our pupils Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural development.

Overall, fully understand that studying religious and non-religious worldviews is essential if pupils are to be well prepared for life in our increasingly diverse society. Pupils need to acquire the necessary knowledge and skills to make sense of the complex world in which they live so that they can 'respect religious and cultural differences and contribute to a cohesive and compassionate society' (RE Review 2013).

The Impact of our RE Curriculum

Through providing pupils with a rich and thought provoking RE curriculum we hope to inspire, engage, motivate and education our pupils. Our inclusive, balanced and respectful teaching allows pupils to start to make sense of the complex world we live in an age-appropriate manner. We hope, in turn, that pupils will develop respectful, balanced and informed views about others and the beliefs they hold.

The evidence of the impact of our curriculum can been measured through floor books, written work, class discussions, data analysis, tracking and pupil interviews. The subject leader regularly monitors these areas of evidence to ensure progression and skills development across the year.

At the end of the school year pupils are assessed by class teachers and identified as working below, in line or above year group expectations. Results are entered on the school Tracker for the subject leader and SLT to review progress across the school. The results for Year 2 and Year 6 are also submitted to the Local Authority. In Reception children are assessed using the Baseline Assessment at the start of the year and against the Early Learning Goals at the end of the year. Parents/Guardians are informed of pupil progress through Pupil Progress meetings and end of year reports.