VISION 

To allow children to gain a greater understanding of religious and non-religious (World Views) beliefs and practices, including their own if they have one.

Teaching helps children to consider a range of World Views both religious and non-religious (secular).

We use dynamic teaching which encourages children to ask and answer challenging questions connected with life, God, beliefs and right and wrong to ensure this is achieved.

INTENT 

At Lyppard Grange Primary School our intention is threefold:

1. To develop the spiritual.

Religious Education and World Views is a vital part of education. It provides unique opportunities to develop the spiritual side of each child’s personality and also creates the ideal environment to develop questioning and thinking skills.

2. To allow exploration of beliefs, values and attitudes.

It also allows pupils to become increasingly aware of their own beliefs, values and attitudes so that they are able to make informed judgements about their own religious choices and spirituality.

3. To ensure the acquisition of knowledge, which ensures a fostering of positive attitudes tworad themselves and others.

Religious Education and World Views provides children with the opportunity to acquire substantial knowledge and depth of understanding about Christianity and other religious faiths as well as other non religious beliefs (World Views), this helps to foster positive attitudes and increased understanding of today’s multi – cultural and multi – faith society.

IMPLEMENTATION 

At Lyppard Grange we teach Religious Education and World Views in line with the requirements of the Worcestershire Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education (2020- 2025).

Our teaching therefore centres around enabling children to achieve the Principal aim of the Syllabus.

“The principal aim of religious education is to explore what people believe and what difference this makes to how they live, so that pupils can gain the knowledge, understanding and skills needed to handle questions raised by religion and belief, reflecting on their own ideas and ways of living.”

                             Worcestershire Agreed Syllabus for RE, 2020 – 2025 page 7

To achieve this, the Agreed syllabus elaborates its principal aim expanding it into a threefold aim for clarity and to support effective teaching, at Lyppard Grange these three aims are at the heart of our teaching.

1. Make sense of a range of religious and non-religious beliefs.
2. Understand the impact and significance of religious and non-religious beliefs.
3. Make connections between religious and non-religious beliefs, concepts, practices and ideas studied.

We aim to allow children to make sense of key religious beliefs and practises so that they can see the influences of Christianity upon Western Culture and traditions in addition to the impact that other belief systems, both religious and non-religious, have upon the World and the way that people live.

Children will learn to evaluate the value of wisdom from a wide range of sources. To do this they will develop skills that help them to understand and interpret texts and other sources of wisdom and authority. They will also be given opportunities to gain the knowledge, understanding and skills they will need to allow them to seek answers to questions raised by religion and belief including the BIG Questions.

In addition, they will develop the ability to reflect upon their own beliefs, ideas and way of life.

Planning is taken from materials produced by RE Today. It is based upon, but not limited to, the resources from Understanding Christianity and an additional scheme of work created by RE Today, which supports the teaching of other religions and world views. This ensures that each element is visited within each unit of work. The diagram below shows how the elements overlap.

Teaching within the ‘Understanding Christianity’ materials is set out under 8 ‘Big Ideas’: God, Incarnation, Kingdom of God, Salvation, Fall, People of God, Creation and Gospel. The curriculum itself is a spiral curriculum and whilst some of these ideas are visited regularly across the school others are introduced as the children move up through the school. Each time the children revisit a theme knowledge and skills are driven deeper.

Other religions and world views are also revisited as the children move through the school, though some themes and concepts are again only introduced in Upper Key Stage 2 as the children’s skills and knowledge is extended and deepened.

Teachers are encouraged to find creative and dynamic ways to support the children in their learning and to extend their understanding. Religious Education and World views may be taught through artwork, music, poetry, story, drama, dance or any other appropriate activity.

Visits to Places of Worship are encouraged, as this allows the children to see their learning and knowledge in a real-life context and to strengthen their knowledge and understanding.

IMPACT 

The impact of the curriculum is measured using teacher judgement, which is evidenced in the first instance by the work that the children produce within the session – this might be spoken, built, drawn or written. This will then be supported by summative assessments made against the objectives related to the appropriate year group and unit of work. This evidence is monitored by leaders through lesson observations, learning walks, planning trawls, book looks and pupil conferencing.

A further measure of the success of the curriculum will be when looking at how well the children can talk about and apply their skills and knowledge and if they are able to show a deeper understanding through polite challenge of their peers or an ability to discuss their own beliefs drawing upon evidence.

The most important measure of impact will be measured the children’s engagement in lessons, their positive attitude toward it and their overall enthusiasm and enjoyment of Religious Education and World Views.