Religious Education

Intent

At Even Swindon Primary school, we are theologists.

We believe that our Religious Education curriculum promotes respect and open-mindedness towards others with different faiths and beliefs whilst encouraging our pupils to develop their sense of identity and belonging through self-awareness and reflection.

We strive to inspire our pupils to ask significant and highly reflective questions about religion and demonstrate an excellent understanding of issues related to the nature, truth and value of religion. Above all, we want our pupils to develop a respect for other beliefs and religions, whilst appreciating and celebrating the diversity of our school and the diverse world in which they live.

Our RE curriculum is interwoven and supplemented by our school’s Values, the British values and the focus on the child’s spiritual and moral development. 

Implementation

  • At Even Swindon, RE is taught in weekly lessons.
  • We have chosen to use the Swindon Agreed syllabus as the principle aim of this curriculum ‘is to engage pupils in systematic enquiry into significant human questions which religion and worldviews address, so that they can develop the understanding and skills needed to appreciate and appraise varied responses to these questions, as well as develop responses of their own’. This approach ensures pupils are able to achieve an understanding and appreciation for the expression of beliefs, cultural practices and the influence of religion on the local, national and wider global community.
  • From the agreed syllabus we have chosen to teach the following religions as these represent our school community as well as adding to our diversity:

EYFS/KS1- Christianity, Islam and Hinduism 

KS2 Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Judaism and non-religious beliefs such as Humanism. Other religions may be taught in addition to this curriculum by the class teacher to a lesser extent in order to support a child’s sense of belonging as they may have a different faith or religion.

  • We have used the agreed syllabus to develop a progression of skills, which enables pupils to build on and develop their skills and knowledge each year.
  • There are regular opportunities to review the learning taking place at the end of the units of work ie generally at the end of each term.  Teachers will also review at the start of the new unit of work in order to ensure that learning is built upon and only repeated to review this learning.
  • SEN pupils are supported through differentiated adult support and the use of supportive images, resources and artefacts.
  • Our G&T children are encouraged to support other children with coaching and demonstrating their skills and knowledge.
  • Our children regularly visit the local Church, which is very much a part of our school community; this is for worship opportunities as well as using the Church as an excellent curriculum resource. The local clergy work in partnership with and regularly lead our school worship. The children also have the opportunity to visit other local religious buildings including the Hindu and Sikh temples.  
  • Our children celebrate religious festivals through the units of work, as individuals and also through whole school activities such as the Harvest festival, Nativities in Nursery, Reception and Year 2, Christmas Carol events for Year 1 and Year 3, Reading and Carols service for Y4-6 and an Easter service.
  • The children in EYFS learn about RE through their Knowledge and Understanding of the World learning. They also follow the Swindon Agreed Syllabus with units that link to KUW.
  • The children are encouraged to partake in moments of reflection both within RE lessons and during worship.
  • The Agreed syllabus provides opportunities for staff to increase their professional knowledge through the use of detailed units of work and lesson plans with the knowledge embedded within. Additional CPD is offered through staff meetings.

Impact

We believe high quality learning in RE has been achieved when pupils extend their knowledge and understanding of religions and beliefs; have developed a religious vocabulary and interpret religious symbolism in a variety of forms; can reflect on questions of meaning, offering their own thoughtful and informed insights into religious and secular world-views; can explore ultimate questions of beliefs and values in relation to a range of contemporary issues in an ever-changing society.

This will be evident through pupil’s engagement in lessons, sharing and talking enthusiastically about different faiths and beliefs and when they demonstrate tolerance towards others who are different to themselves. Class floor books will provide evidence of children’s learning and teachers will make assessments at the end of each unit.

The impact of our RE curriculum will be overseen by the subject leader(s) through learning walks, team teaching, book looks, pupil and staff voice, planning feedback, and ongoing data analysis.