Religious Education
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Purpose of study
Religious Education contributes dynamically to children and young people’s education in schools by provoking challenging questions about meaning and purpose in life, beliefs about God, ultimate reality, issues of right and wrong and what it means to be human. In RE they learn about and from religions and worldviews in local, national and global contexts, to discover, explore and consider different answers to these questions. They learn to weigh up the value of wisdom from different sources, to develop and express their insights in response, and to agree or disagree respectfully.
Teaching therefore should equip pupils with systematic knowledge and understanding of a range of religions and worldviews, enabling them to develop their ideas, values and identities. It should develop in pupils an aptitude for dialogue so that they can participate positively in our society with its diverse religions and worldviews. Pupils should gain and deploy the skills needed to understand, interpret and evaluate texts, sources of wisdom and authority and other evidence.
Pupils learn to articulate clearly and coherently their personal beliefs, ideas, values and experiences while respecting the right of others to differ.
INTENT
At Whitechapel C of E Primary School, it is our intent to deliver a high quality religious education (RE) curriculum that is challenging, rich and
varied, enabling learners to acquire a thorough knowledge and understanding of a range of faiths and world views. As a church school, the
teaching of Christianity is at the heart of our RE curriculum. Through the Understanding Christianity resource, the use of an enquiry approach
engages with significant theological concepts and the pupil’s own understanding of the world as part of their wider religious literacy. Using the
Calderdale, Kirklees and Leeds Agreed Syllabus we learn about other religions and world views, fostering respect for them. Links with our Christian
values and vision, and support for pupil’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural (SMSC) development are intrinsic to our RE curriculum and have a
significant impact on learners. We provide a wide range of opportunities for learners to understand and to make links between the beliefs,
practices and value systems of the range of faiths and world views studied.
IMPLEMENTATION
At Whitechapel Church of England Primary School, the Religious Education curriculum is implemented through whole class teaching. All classes
take part in an hour of high-quality Religious Education each week which is taught either by the class teacher, or as a part of the key stage swap
round / curriculum afternoons.
IMPACT
In order to measure the impact of the Religious Education curriculum at Whitechapel Church of England Primary School, teachers will regularly
use formative assessment methods in line with the long-term curriculum. Children also have their part to play in showing the impact their Religious
Education curriculum has had one them. Each year, they will be asked to assess themselves against a set of child-friendly criteria to ensure they
have met the aims required for their age.
Click here for curriculum mapping.