Religious Education

Curriculum Intent

• At Sowerby Primary Academy, we aim to encourage children to ask thought provoking questions about meaning and purpose of life, beliefs, reality, morality and what it means to be a human.
• Our curriculum aims to support children in their learning about religions and world views in a local, National, and worldwide context.
• It also aims to support children to ask questions, explore ideas and consider answers from a range of viewpoints to give them a strong understanding of cultural capital in their immediate and more remote environment.
• Our children will learn to weigh up the value of the information they gain, develop their own views, and remain respectful of others and their right to differ.
• They will develop discussion and debating skills that will help them participate positively in society.  

Implementation

At Sowerby Primary Academy, we follow the North Yorkshire RE curriculum.  The 3 strands of Expressing, Believing and Living are taught progressively through the key stages, being revisited to develop depth of information discussed, understanding, and to appraise philosophical questions.  The core curriculum ensures the socially dominant religions are taught explicitly, and additional opportunities are organised to explore less common faiths to ensure learning is reflective of as many beliefs as possible.

The 3 strands include to be covered include:

Expressing: Religious forms of expression, questions about identity and diversity

Believing: Religious beliefs, teachings, sources, questions about meaning, purpose and truth

Living: Religious practices and ways of living, questions about values and commitments

These strands that underpin the NYCC RE curriculum will be taught at the same time as focusing on aspects, events and festivals within the faith(s) identified within each module.  This will allow identification of development and ensures continuity of thread throughout the learning journey.

EYFS

Children will encounter Christianity and other faiths as part of their growing sense of self, their community, and their place within it.  This will take place through continuous provision or cumulative short sessions.

KS1

Children will develop their learning about Christianity, and be introduced to Islam and Judaism. 

Overall outcomes covered through key questions:

• Recall and name different beliefs and practices, including festivals, worship, rituals, and ways of life.
• Retell and suggest meanings to some religious and modal stories.
• Explore and discuss sacred writings and sources of wisdom and recognise their origin.
• Recognise some symbols and actions that which express a community’s way of life, appreciating some similarities between communities.
• Ask and respond to questions about what individual’s ad communities to be able to identify what difference belonging to a community might make.
• Observe and recount different ways of expressing identity and belonging.
• Notice and respond sensitively to some similarities between different religions.
• Explore questions about belonging, meaning and truth and express ideas and opinions in a variety of formats.
• Find out about and respond to ideas with examples of co-operation between people who are different.
• Find out about questions of right and wrong and begin to express ideas and opinions in response.

KS2

Children will build on their understanding of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism, and be introduced to Buddhism.  In UKS2, children will furthermore be introduced to less dominant beliefs and faiths.

Overall outcomes covered through key questions:

• Describe and make connections between different features of religions and worldviews.
• Discover more about celebrations, worship, pilgrimages, and rituals which mark important points in life and reflect on their significance.
• Describe and understand links between stories and other aspects of the communities investigated, and respond thoughtfully to a range of sources of wisdom and the beliefs and teachings that arise.
• Explore and describe a range of beliefs, symbols and actions in order to understand different ways of life and forms of expression.
• Observe and understand a variety of religions and worldviews to be able to explain and reason their meaning and significance to individuals and communities.
• Understand the challenges of commitment to a community that a faith or belief may bring.
• Suggest why belonging to a community may be valuable, both to the diverse communities studied, and personally.
• Observe and consider different dimensions of religion, exploring and showing understanding of similarities and differences within and between different religions and world views.
• Discuss and present personal thoughts and those of others on challenging questions about belonging, meaning, purpose and truth through a variety of formats.
• Consider and apply ideas about ways diverse communities can coincide for the wellbeing of all.
• Respond thoughtfully to ideas about community, values, and respect.
• Discuss and apply personal ideas and those of others about ethical questions including the concept of right and wrong, just and fair and respond clearly in response to others.

Our RE curriculum is organised in a 2 year rolling programme which ensures progression of both knowledge and understanding, as well as coverage of all aspects of social and religious considerations.  It has been carefully designed to ensure that within each year (Year A and Year B), there is a range of foci, and where possible, this coincides with key festivals and events in society.

In Early years and KS1, records of learning will be kept through floor books, as learning is generally practical, discussion based and taught through provision. In KS2, children have their own RE books which moves with them throughout school.  This contains all written work, photos of practical work and knowledge organisers.  Having one book per child for RE enables pupils to see their own progression in this subject as they move through school and enables them to refer back as they revisit key concepts and develop ideas. 

Knowledge organisers are used for each RE unit taught throughout school and feature in each pupil’s book at the beginning of the unit of work.  These are designed to support children in recalling previously taught learning.  They include a glossary of key vocabulary, concepts and images that will be discussed.

We also ensure that there are additional opportunities to enrich the RE curriculum through curriculum assemblies, whole school assemblies, class trips and visitors.  We also ensure that there are planned opportunities for children to recall previously taught RE learning for example through Flashback Friday, use of knowledge organisers and mini-quizzes.