Subject Overview

RE is a statutory subject of the school curriculum in maintained schools. It is a fundamental subject in the education of pupils in England. It helps to build young people's understanding and appreciation of different beliefs, practices and religion and how these relate to the world that we live in. RE also offers distinctive opportunities to promote pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.  

Intent

Through RE, children at Rockmount Primary School develop their knowledge of the world faiths, and their understanding and awareness of the beliefs, values and traditions of other individuals, societies, communities and cultures. 

We are currently using the Croydon SACRE to develop deep thinkers who are open-minded about religion and worldviews. We aim to ensure that our curriculum is relevant to pupils, reflecting and preparing them for life in modern Britain. Through the scheme, children will secure a deep understanding of concepts in order to be able to make connections, ask and respond to challenging questions, learn to respect and appreciate worldviews that are different to their own and consider their personal preconceptions, responses and views. Children will build their conceptual knowledge through studying religions and worldviews locally, nationally and globally in a progressive curriculum, enabling them to make links and connections between worldviews, develop disciplinary skills and build on their understanding of their positionality in relation to their learning . By revisiting key ‘big questions’ and building on prior knowledge, pupils will learn about how religion and worldviews are lived experiences across the world, consider the impact of worldviews on society and have opportunities to consider their personal worldviews.

The Croydon SACRE enables pupils to meet the government guidance, which states that RE must reflect that ‘the religious traditions in Great Britain are, in the main, Christian while taking account of the teaching and practices of the other principal religions represented in Great Britain’.

Implementation

The RE scheme follows the spiral curriculum model, where units and lessons are carefully sequenced so that previous conceptual knowledge is returned to and built upon. Children progress by developing and deepening their knowledge and understanding of substantive and disciplinary concepts by experiencing them in a range of contexts. For example, children begin to develop their awareness of religion and worldviews in Key stage 1, focusing on conceptual knowledge through the study of a limited range of religions and worldviews represented in the UK, including Christianity. This will then support children in building knowledge they can refer to throughout their learning in Key stage 2 while encountering a greater range of religions and worldviews and considering further the diverse nature of religious and non-religious lived experience.

Each unit includes overarching ‘big questions’ which will be revisited throughout key stage 1, lower key stage 2 and upper key Stage 2, allowing children to apply the breadth and depth of their learning across various concepts.

RE is taught through experiences and enrichment opportunities such as:

handling artefacts

exploring texts

using imaginative play or drama to express feelings and ideas

responding to images, games, stories, art, music and dance

meeting visitors from local religious communities

making visits to religious places of worship where possible, and where not, making use of videos and the internet

taking part in whole school events- (multi-faith days, Harvest Festival, school performances)

participating in moments of quiet reflection

participating in assemblies

using ICT to further explore religion and belief globally

comparing religions and worldviews through discussion

debating and communicating religious belief, worldviews and philosophical ideas and answering and asking ultimate questions posed by these

Impact

The expected impact of following the scheme of work is that children will:

Know and understand religious concepts relating to beliefs, practices, community and belonging, and wisdom and guidance. 

Develop an understanding of the influence of organised and personal worldviews on individuals, communities, countries and globally.

Understand some of the ways religions and worldviews are studied (disciplinary knowledge).

Develop understanding of their relationship with the content studied, being able to talk about their assumptions and preconceptions (personal knowledge).

Build secure vocabulary which allows them to talk confidently and fluently about their learning.

Answer questions about worldviews through an enquiry-based approach including investigating, interpreting, evaluating, applying and expressing.

Talk about the similarities and differences between their own and others beliefs with respect and open mindedness.

Understand the lived experiences of religious and non-religious worldviews to be diverse within and between people and communities.

Develop an understanding of the ways in which personal and organised worldviews may develop and change across time and place.

Curriculum Map

Subject Curriculum Map RE Croydon SACRE

Skills Progression RE

Golden Threads

Photo Gallery