Intent

Our RE lessons are intended to offer a broad and rich RE curriculum to allow for coverage from the Understanding Christianity syllabus; the ExploRE syllabus and to embed knowledge and understanding through participation in Collective Worship. Every year group will have the opportunity to allow for a variety of ways to explore religions, their community and personal development and wellbeing. The lessons have an intention of providing a high quality, coherent and progressive experience of the subject, with scope for cross-curricular learning. The lessons will aim to include aspects of theology, philosophy and human and social sciences. Through each unit, children will know about and understand a range of religions and world views. They will be able to identify, investigate and respond to a variety of issues. SMSC, personal growth and community cohesion are featured throughout each strand and are there to ensure opportunities for children to develop positive attitudes and values and to reflect on and relate their learning in RE to their own experiences.

The intent is to make sure that children understand the relevance of RE in today’s modern world and how it affects our lives and the lives of those around us.

Implementation

We use specific guidance from the Understanding Christianity syllabus and the Diocese agreed exploRE syllabus to deliver lessons that offer a broad range of study for children studying RE. We have suggested specific series of lessons for each year group, which will

offer structure and narrative and will include:

Theology, looking where beliefs come from, how they have changed over time, how they are applied differently in different contexts and how they relate to each other.

Philosophy, developing deeper thinking and finding out how and whether things make sense, dealing with questions of morality and ethics. It includes focusing on the nature of reality, knowledge and existence.

Human/Social sciences –exploring the diverse ways in which people practice their beliefs. It engages with the impact of beliefs on individuals, communities and societies.

These are no means to be used exclusively, rather to be used to support planning. In KS1, in addition to developing a core understanding of Christianity, children begin to look at other religions, focusing on celebrations and rituals. In KS2, in addition to digging deeper in understanding Christianity, we offer a wider range of learning opportunities about the world’s religions including deeper understanding of the origin of those religions and their key stories and teachings. Throughout both key stages, emphasis on personal growth and community cohesion is evident, allowing for personal development for the children from KS1 to the end of KS2.

Impact

We believe that the impact of using a combination of the Understanding Christianity and exploRE syllabus, alongside daily Collective Worship, as the basis of our RE curriculum, children at Trinity St Mary’s will have a better understanding of the religions that make up the UK and global landscape and how they can learn from and work alongside each other to create community cohesion. All children will be more informed about their position in the world, and the decisions they can make impacting their future. All children in school will be able to talk confidently about their wellbeing, moral and cultural development for the society in which they live. The RE curriculum will promote inquisitive minds, respect, tolerance and understanding for all those around them including themselves. Our lessons aim to enable high quality work to be produced and evidenced, showcasing a deep understanding of the main religions of the world, their community and their future. This evidence will be seen through using the correct vocabulary, explanations and respectful opinions, as well as cross-curricular evidence, for example religious and cultural art work, drama, whole school house days, special church services and presentations. Impact will be seen by all teachers and children enjoying the experience of teaching and learning RE and understanding how it can help them in their future.