Religious Education at Wilshere-Dacre

Intent

We aim for a high-quality RE curriculum which inspires children’s curiosity and develops an appreciation and understanding of what people believe, their way of life and the impact of beliefs, values and ways of living in local, national and global communities.  

We aim for our RE curriculum to engage children in the process of understanding what others believe, what is important to them, how they live their lives and what influences them. In doing this, children also reflect on their own beliefs and values and their main influences. We aim for our RE curriculum to make a unique contribution to the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of children and to contribute significantly to building stronger communities in and around the school. 

The aims of RE in our school are: 

• To develop community cohesion by promoting mutual respect and tolerance  

• To inspire children’s curiosity to discover more about people’s religions and beliefs and their ways of life 

• To understand how people’s religions and beliefs can offer answers to challenging questions about the ultimate meaning and purpose of life, beliefs about God, issues of right and wrong and what it means to be human. 

• To visit a range of places of worship to enhance children’s understanding of different religions and faiths.  

Implementation 

Although not part of the National Curriculum, RE forms part of the statutory Basic Curriculum, which all schools must follow. We follow the Discovery RE Scheme of Work which advocates an enquiry-based approach with a 4-step process: 

Every unit (enquiry) is based around a key question. The key question for the enquiry is such that it demands an answer that weighs up ‘evidence’ (subject knowledge) and reaches a conclusion based on this. This necessitates children using their subject knowledge and applying it to the enquiry question, rather than this knowledge being an end in itself. Discovery RE focuses on critical thinking skills, on personal reflection into the child’s own thoughts and feelings, on growing subject knowledge and nurturing spiritual development.

In each weekly RE lesson, teachers cater for the varying needs of all learners, providing scaffolds activities when necessary and as appropriate, and ensuring an appropriate level of challenge.

To further develop their understanding of religions and faiths, children have opportunities to go on local trips to religious settings, as well as inviting visitors from different religious settings in the community to visit classes.

RE assessment is ongoing throughout the RE curriculum to inform teachers with their planning. Summative assessment is completed at the end of each topic where RE objectives have been covered; an assessment grid is used to support teacher’s assessments.

Impact

Children enjoy RE and are curious about the world around them. Children are confident and able to talk about what they have learnt in their RE lessons using subject specific vocabulary. Children are able to demonstrate their learning in books and through class discussions Children’s knowledge and skills will develop progressively as they move through the school and, through their R.E. learning, the children are able to make links between their own lives and those of others in their community and in the wider world, developing an understanding of other people’s cultures and ways of life.

"RE is fun because you learn about other people and their lives." - Year 4 Pupil

"RE helps us to understand different religions and how other people's faiths impact their lives." - Year 5 Pupil

"Learning about people's faiths helps us to respect other people. Although there are differences between different religions, there are also many similarities!" - Year 5 Pupil