At Pool Hayes Primary School, we are committed to providing our children with a curriculum that inspires and challenges them to learn. The teaching of Religious Education is underpinned by the development of knowledge and skills. The knowledge and skills taught through RE are developed through a carefully planned and sequenced curriculum. Religious Education is taught using the SACRE scheme, the approved Walsall syllabus for the teaching of Religious Education.
Intent
The key intent at Pool Hayes Primary School is expressed in three elements of RE; knowledge, expression and skill.
The first element is knowledge; our intention is to provide a rich substantive knowledge of religions and worldviews.
Children to know about and understand a range of religions and worldviews, so that they can:
· Describe, explain and analyse beliefs and practices, recognising the diversity, which exists within and between communities.
· Identify, investigate and respond to questions posed by, and responses offered by some of the sources of wisdom found in religions and worldviews.
· Appreciate and appraise the nature, significance and impact of different ways of life and ways of expressing meaning.
The second element is expression; our intent is to provide a safe space of expression, understanding and idea:
Children need to safely express their ideas and insights about the nature, significance and impact of religions and worldviews, so that they can:
· Children need to explain reasonably their ideas about how beliefs, practices and forms of expression influence individuals and communities;
· Express with increasing discernment their personal reflections and critical responses to questions and teachings about identity, diversity, meaning and value.
· Appreciate and appraise varied dimensions of religion.
The third element is skill; our intention is to develop children’s skills to investigate religions and worldviews:
· Children to gain and deploy the skills needed to engage seriously with religions and worldviews, so that they can:
· Find out about and investigate key concepts and questions of belonging, meaning, purpose and truth, responding creatively.
· To be able enquire into what enables different communities to live together respectfully for the wellbeing of all;
· Articulate beliefs, values and commitments clearly in order to explain reasons why they may be important in their own and other people’s lives.
Implementation
In order to deliver the aims and expected standards of the syllabus, PHP follows the SACRE allocations for RE based upon the law and guidance on best practice.
Reception and Key Stage 1: 36 hours of tuition per year (e.g. 50 minutes a week or some short sessions implemented through continuous provision)
• Key Stage 2: 45 hours of tuition per year (e.g. an hour a week, or less than an hour a week plus a series of RE days)
At Pool Hayes Primary RE is taught as a discreet subject to ensure children are able to achieve the outcomes set out in the syllabus.
Early Years encounter religions and worldviews through special people, books, times, places and objects and by visiting places of worship. We listen and talk about stories. Pupils are introduced to new subject specific vocabulary and use all their senses to explore beliefs, practices and forms of expression. Pupils ask questions about religions and reflect on their own feelings and experiences. They use their imagination and curiosity to develop their appreciation of and wonder at the world in which they live in.
In KS1 the focus of RE enables pupils to develop their substantive knowledge and understanding of religions and worldviews. They find out about simple examples of religion that are drawn from local, national and global contexts. They learn to use basic subject specific vocabulary. Pupils should raise questions and begin to express their own views in response to the material they learn about in response to questions about their ideas. Pupils will achieve the outcomes by learning from at least three religions, studying Christianity in each year group and also Islam and Sikhi. They will study a non-religious worldview where appropriate in unit being taught.
In KS2 the focus of RE enables pupils to extend their knowledge and understanding of religions and worldviews, recognising their local, national and global contexts. They are introduced to an extended range of sources and subject specific vocabulary. They are encouraged to be curious and to ask increasingly challenging questions about religion, belief, values and human life. Pupils learn to express their own ideas in response to the material they engage with, identifying relevant information, selecting examples and giving reasons to support their ideas and views. Pupils will achieve the outcomes by learning from at least three religions, studying Christianity in each year group and also Islam, Sikhi and the Hindu Dharma across the key stage. They will study a secular world view in thematic units where appropriate.
Impact
In RE, by the end of each key stage, pupils are expected to know, apply and understand the content, skills and methods specified in the relevant Programme of Study, as in all subjects of the curriculum. The expectation is that pupils’ achievements will be weighed up by teachers using criteria arising from the Programmes of Study.
Aims in RE: A Progression
Know about & Understand
A1. Describe, explain and analyse beliefs, and practices, recognising the diversity which exists within and between communities;
KS1 - Recall and name different beliefs and practices, including festivals, worship, rituals and ways of life, in order to find out about the meanings behind them;
KS2 - Describe and make connections between different features of the religions and worldviews they study, discovering more about celebrations, worship, pilgrimages and the rituals which mark important points in life in order to reflect thoughtfully on their ideas;
Know about & Understand
A2. Identify, investigate and respond to questions posed by, and responses offered by some of the sources of wisdom found in religions and worldviews;
KS1 - Retell and suggest meanings to some religious and moral stories, exploring and discussing sacred writings and sources of wisdom and recognising the communities from which they come;
KS2 - Describe and understand links between stories and other aspects of the communities they are investigating, responding thoughtfully to a range of sources of wisdom and to beliefs and teachings that arise from them in different communities;
Know about & Understand
A3. Appreciate and appraise the nature, significance and impact of different ways of life and ways of expressing meaning;
KS1 - Recognise some different symbols and actions which express a community’s way of life, appreciating some similarities between communities;
KS2 - Explore and describe a range of beliefs, symbols and actions so that they can understand different ways of life and ways of expressing meaning;
Express and Communicate
B1. Explain reasonably their ideas about how beliefs, practices and forms of expression influence individuals and communities;
KS1 - Ask and respond to questions about what communities do, and why, so that they can identify what difference belonging to a community might make;
KS2 - Observe and understand varied examples of religions and worldviews so that they can explain, with reasons, their meanings and significance to individuals and communities;
Express and Communicate
B2. Express with increasing discernment their personal reflections and critical responses to questions and teachings about identity, diversity, meaning and value;
KS1 - Observe and recount different ways of expressing identity and belonging, responding sensitively for themselves;
KS2 - Understand the challenges of commitment to a community of faith or belief, suggesting why belonging to a community may be valuable, both in the diverse communities being studied and in their own lives;
Express and communicate
B3. Appreciate and appraise varied dimensions of religion;
KS1 - Notice and respond sensitively to some similarities between different religions and worldviews;
KS2 - Observe and consider different dimensions of religion, so that they can explore and show understanding of similarities and differences between different religions and worldviews;
Gain & deploy skills:
C1. Find out about and investigate key concepts and questions of belonging, meaning, purpose and truth, responding creatively;
KS1 - Explore questions about belonging, meaning and truth so that they can express their own ideas and opinions in response using words, music, art or poetry;
KS2 - Discuss and present thoughtfully their own and others’ views on challenging questions about belonging, meaning, purpose and truth, applying ideas of their own thoughtfully in different forms including (e.g.) reasoning, music, art and poetry;
Gain & deploy skills:
C2. Enquire into what enables different communities to live together respectfully for the well-being of all;
KS1 - Find out about and respond with ideas to examples of co-operation between people who are different;
KS2 - Consider and apply ideas about ways in which diverse communities can live together for the well-being of all, responding thoughtfully to ideas about community, values and respect;
Gain & deploy skills:
C3. Articulate beliefs, values and commitments clearly in order to explain reasons why they may be important in their own and other people’s lives.
KS1 - Find out about questions of right and wrong and begin to express their ideas and opinions in response
KS2 - Discuss and apply their own and others’ ideas about ethical questions, including ideas about what is right and wrong and what is just and fair, and express their own ideas clearly in response.
At Pool Hayes Primary School we provide children with opportunities to voice their opinion on what they learn about in RE, what they would like to learn about and what they have enjoyed learning about.
Supporting children with SEN
Whilst our curriculum here at PHP is very much designed to meet the needs of all of our children, we also recognise that some children may need some additional support to access it, and this is factored in to our planning and the delivery of lessons. Our curriculum is highly inclusive and all groups of children are supported to access all areas successfully, this includes those children who have a special educational need and/or disability or who are deemed to be disadvantaged or vulnerable in any way.
