INTENT

Religious Education at our school provides the opportunity for pupils and adults to reflect on the ways in which beliefs influence how people live their lives. These beliefs and life experiences affect the way people behave and this behaviour has an impact on others and the world we live in. The Religious Education curriculum has a key role to play in helping pupils to develop their spirituality and begin to understand that they have a part to play in creating the world they live in.

Our Religious Education curriculum aims to inspire the pupils to be able to take the risks and become more confident in holding balanced and informed discussions relating to ‘Big Questions’, ‘Big Ideas’ and religious beliefs at an age appropriate level.

We want pupils to understand that people have different beliefs and that it is important to mindfully listen to these people and show respect for these beliefs. In so doing they will have the essential foundations needed to become good citizens of the planet, being responsible members of the society and showing that they know the importance of treating everyone with dignity.

Pupils learn mainly about the Christian and Jewish faiths, investigating and exploring the 2 faiths so that they gain age appropriate knowledge of them and the impact they on the lives of those who belong to the faiths. They begin to make connections between this impact and their own lives and what they can learn about how we should behave and treat others in the world.

In Key Stage 1, pupils will learn about Christianity as a living world faith, and they will explore the key theological concepts of God, Creation, Incarnation, Gospel and Salvation. In Reception, the focus is on God, Incarnation and Salvation

In their learning about Judaism, pupils begin to understand that there are teachings and texts that this faith has in common with Christianity. They learn about the origins, the practices and traditions associated with key Jewish festivals as well as the origins and articles of faith, where and how Jews worship God.

Implementation

Pupils learn mainly about the Christian and Jewish faiths and our curriculum is based on the Buckinghamshire Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education and uses the Understanding Christianity resources amongst others to deliver a create and engaging curriculum.

Children’s Religious Education knowledge is acquired through the reading, interpretation and a progressively deepening understanding of texts from the Bible or the Torah. The aim is that children will have a growing understanding of how Christians or Jews take meaning from these texts. In exploring the impact of the texts and teaching on the lives of Christians and Jews, pupils will learn how people from the different faiths put their beliefs into action through religious practices and festivals (eg Rosh Hashana, Christmas, Easter, Shabbat). Pupils learn to reflect and evaluate the texts and practices and then make connections with their own lives and wider learning, so making the learning more meaningful to them.

In each year group, when learning about Christianity, children explore the key concepts of God, Creation, Incarnation, Gospel and Salvation. As they move through the school, they ‘dig deeper’ and gain a more thorough understanding and are encouraged to question, evaluate and reflect the impact of what they have learned. For the Jewish faith, pupils explore and compare religious practices and festivals.

Approximately 75% of the RE curriculum in Key Stage 1 focuses on pupils learning about Christianity as a world-wide faith and the place Christianity has within a multi faith and diverse society. The other 25% of the curriculum covers Judaism where the focus is learning about Jewish festivals, the origins of the Jewish faith and how and where Jewish people worship God. In Reception the RE curriculum involves learning about different faith festivals

Each half-term there is a unit of work has an intent in the form of a question which learning aims to answer over the half-term. Sequences of lessons are planned to include a range of teaching strategies aimed at engaging and inspiring pupils. From role play and puppets to retell bible texts; music and paintings to inspire and help understand the feelings of characters and followers to writing recounts, prayers and poems to demonstrate the link between religious practices and the texts that have been covered and their own lives. Visitors into school and visits are also used to enrich understanding and add to the learning experience.

 

IMPACT

Learning in Religious Education at Marlow Infant School results in the pupils having the confidence to question the world around them. It gives them the ability to understand that different people believe different things and that it is important to understand and respect the views of others. By the end of KS1 most pupils meet the knowledge building blocks and are able to talk about texts that they have learned about and the impact these texts have on believers and others too.

Religious Education also has an impact on the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of the pupils. They are able to show this through their interactions with others, their willingness to be inclusive and their curiosity about faiths and world views.