Religious Education (RE)

Intent

The National Association of Teachers of Religious Education (NATRE) state: “learning in RE helps to underpin the development of respect and tolerance and supports school values and the preparation of pupils for life in modern Britain.”

Willowbrook’s intent is for our pupils to gain knowledge and understanding of different religions and cultures, and an empathy with people and their beliefs. Using the RE Today scheme we are developing children’s critical thinking skills and increasing their motivation to learn about different religions. The knowledge gained from the study of world religions, and the reflection and evaluation they will take part in, will increase their respect and acceptance of those from diverse cultures and beliefs. The RE Today scheme, which is tailored to suit each class, whilst maintaining fidelity to the scheme, allows RE to “contribute to children’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.” (RE TODAY Website).

The essence of RE in EYFS is to develop their curiosity, questioning and spirituality. We aim to enable the children to gain knowledge, skills and experience that supports their on-going development in religious education. RE in EYFS can add to all the areas of learning but particularly self-confidence and self-awareness and understanding the world – people and communities and the world.

Implementation

Religious Education is a statutory subject of the curriculum for all pupils in each year group and ‘should be provided for all registered pupils except those withdrawn at the request of their parents.’ We ensure that we comply with the legal requirements by following the RE Today curriculum for Religious Education and Understanding Christianity and, as such, parents have the right to withdraw.

At Willowbrook, we adapt the scheme and marry it with Acorn pedagogy enabling us to provide a detailed curriculum that allows for granularity, ensures high expectations are met with rich connections between learning. Our carefully sequenced units of work encompass prior learning, key knowledge, vocabulary, and skills. Our RE curriculum is successfully adapted, designed and developed for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities by the teacher as necessary. It is a curriculum that is broad, balanced and inclusive for all pupils.

In line with the RE OSFTED review, each Key Stage allows children to:

Build ‘substantive’ knowledge about various religious and non-religious traditions.

Investigate the beliefs and practices of religions and other world views

Investigate how religions and other world views address questions of meaning, purpose, and value

Investigate how religions and other world views influence morality, identity, and diversity.

Learn ‘how to know’ about religion and non-religion.

Build an awareness of their own presuppositions and values about what they study.

At Willowbrook, we are setting children up to make a smooth transition to secondary. Using our chosen curriculum, and holding children to account for their own active learning, we are enabling children’s critical thinking skills to be developed, their motivation to learn increased, and their knowledge and understanding of, and empathy with people and their beliefs, religious or otherwise, will be enhanced. The sequence of lessons ensures subject knowledge, depth and builds on prior learning.

Impact

Willowbrook pupils enjoy RE, and it has a good profile in the curriculum with weekly lessons for all age groups, Songs of Worship featuring in singing assemblies, and regular RE focussed assemblies. Children develop a broad and balanced understanding of the main religions at an age-appropriate level. This means that children are developing longer-term knowledge and understanding. They can make connections in their learning over time, relating what they have learned about different religious beliefs, people, festivals and events within religions, and between different religions.

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