At Lyppard Grange Primary School, we are proud to deliver an ambitious Religious Education and World Views curriculum built upon the framework of the Locally Agreed Syllabus for Worcestershire (2025 – 2030) and delivered through units found within the resource 'Understanding Christianity' and additional Non-Christian Units produced by RE Today. Thoughtfully designed, it aims to empower children and allow them to reflect upon how an understanding of all world views will prepare them for an ever-evolving future.

The primary aim of a Religious Education and World Views Curriculum is to equip children with the core knowledge and essential skills they need to be Secure, Engaged, and Equipped for life (SEE). A Religious Education and World Views Curriculum will ensure that children are:

• Self-aware – knowing their own strengths and weaknesses

• Self–disciplined and hard working

• Content in themselves with high self-esteem and a good sense of self-worth

• Confident in their own abilities

• Able to recognise right and wrong, with a sound moral compass

It will also ensure that they:

• Have a sense of responsibility

• Show awareness of their community – locally, nationally & globally

• Are a participator in those communities

• Have awareness of and empathy for others

• Are willing and able to learn

• Develop strong social skills

And ensure that they are:

• Literate

• Positive in their outlook

• Prepared to broaden their horizons

• Committed, tenacious and resilient

• Adaptable, independent, and good team players

• Effective communicators

• Polite, respectful, and courteous

By fostering these foundations, we ensure every child has the confidence and capability to thrive in a rapidly changing future.

Within the subject of Religious Education and World Views we take a thematic approach to learning, weaving subject specific knowledge and skills into engaging themes based around a Big question. This enables children to see connections across religions and beliefs, enriching their understanding and mastery of key concepts. Each lesson is carefully crafted to nurture our school’s core learning values: curiosity, adaptability, perseverance, courage, teamwork, communication, and independence. Within each Religious Education and World Views unit of work the children are encouraged to develop a range of key skills, each one allowing for further extension of each of the schools learning values. These skills allow the children to:

Examples of how the children might do this include:

Asking questions; reflecting on their own and others’ beliefs; showing an interest in the lives and beliefs of others; analysing religious texts; ideas and beliefs, sharing their own experiences; discussing texts, ideas and beliefs; building upon others’ ideas; offering opinions, politely challenging other's ideas and opinions.

Our curriculum not only builds academic excellence but also promotes the development of well-rounded individuals who are prepared for the challenges and opportunities ahead.

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 (2025- 2030).

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.