Intent

At Hempstalls Primary School the Religious Education element of our school curriculum is to engage, inspire, challenge and encourage pupils, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to answer challenging questions, explore different religious beliefs, values and traditions and develop a more rigorous understanding of the numerous religious traditions, beliefs and practices that are followed in our multi-cultural society. We want the children to know how Religious Education promotes sensitivity and enables pupils to combat prejudice, preparing them for adult life, employment and life-long learning.

Implementation

At Hempstalls Primary School we plan using the SACRE Agreed Syllabus. We enhance the curriculum using our school RE overview knowledge, skills and progression document. This document aims to give guidance on the progression of RE knowledge and skills across the year groups. It introduces teachers and the pupils to “The Big Picture”, of what pupils will be learning and what they have been taught in previous year groups. In RE, like all other subjects, we recognise the importance of the methods and practice of teaching (the pedagogy) we choose in enabling pupils to remember these wonderful multicultural and religious experiences. By exploration of the key concepts in RE and revisiting them in different year groups ensures pupils engage with the subject matter at an appropriate level and enables pupil’s progress throughout the year and across year groups. Pupils will handle artefacts, explore sacred texts, use imaginative play or drama to express feelings and ideas, respond to images, games, stories, art, music and dance, meet visitors from local religious communities, make visits to religious places of worship where possible, and where not, making use of videos and the internet.

Impact

The impact our RE curriculum has is sought directly from the pupil’s voice through discussions, debates and drama in the classroom and termly summative assessment. Through the teaching of Religious Education we hope to develop children’s awareness of themselves and others around them, enabling them to develop a clear understanding of the significance of religion and belief in the world today and to learn about the ways in which different faith communities relate to each other. Children exploring the concepts of religion and belief and the role of religion in the lives of people in a diverse society will enable them to develop moral awareness and social understanding. Children will learn to appreciate their belief and belief of others which will impact on the individuals, communities, society and cultures to promote respect and challenge prejudice and stereotyping.