RE

Intent

Our schools embrace their individuality to deliver a curriculum that inspires children to achieve through the values of kindness, aspiration, resilience and inclusivity alongside our own core Christian school values. That curriculum will be led by creative thinking and contextual learning. It will deliver the national curriculum but not be defined by it. Our curriculum will ensure children are ready for their next step both academically and in regard to skills for life. As schools we will ensure children have depth to their understanding of Christianity and other faiths and the values this brings. We will ensure that all children are informed and ready to make their own choices about faith and their own responsibility to society. Each school is at the heart of their community and will embrace our own locality and make it part of our everyday learning. The learning environment will be inspiring to all and allowing them to show what they can achieve whilst being inspired by others. As a school the education offered will go beyond the boundaries of a 9 to 3.30 system and draw upon both extra-curricular development and strengthening learning beyond the walls of the classroom. Children's learning will be focused on the interests of the children alongside the expectations of the curriculum.

The importance of Religious Education (RE) is valued and carefully considered at Kilsby, Paulerspury, Rothersthorpe and Woodford Halse Schools. We want to ensure all of our pupils have an awareness and understanding of the beliefs and cultures within and beyond their community and equip them with essential skills that will support their enquiry and response to significant questions posed by religion and worldviews. RE is fundamental to understanding, appreciating and responding to the world in which we live. It is therefore a subject that will be essential to pupils beyond their school life as they navigate their own lives and encounter ways of life and beliefs that are different from their own. Additionally, it is particularly vital when considering the needs of our pupils in the context of their local communities. It is important to us as four individual schools that our pupils are aware of this and have an appreciation and respect for the diversity within their local area. It is also necessary to acknowledge that the majority of our pupils will have had less experience of the diversity that their community has to offer due to our village locations. Therefore, RE becomes a very special opportunity to create this link and begin the journey towards broadening their cultural experiences. It is crucial that pupils are provided with subject specific knowledge regarding a variety of religions so that they have a strong foundation of key concepts, beliefs, practices and vocabulary associated with each. As they progress throughout school, they will continue to build on their knowledge and understanding while applying subject-specific skills at a deeper level. We know how important it is for our pupils to start to experience learning about religion at the earliest opportunity by introducing them to this in Foundation Stage through stories and role play which provide exposure through the environment and promotes discussion. Our goal is to be able to build on pupils' learning at each stage so that as they progress throughout school, they are able consolidate, develop and deepen their learning. Throughout both the RE and wider school curriculum we embed the time and attention for subject specific skills as we recognise their importance of gaining depth within an individual subject and to our pupils in our school curriculum as a whole. In RE, examples of the subject specific skills that we promote include enquiry, discussion. identifying similarities across beliefs and religions, co-operating, listening and responding with respect. All pupils from key stage one onwards will be encouraged to use the knowledge and skills that they have acquired to formulate their own responses orally and in the form of their own written work at various points. Our ambition for our pupils is that they will be able to apply the knowledge and skills that they have learnt and carry the confidence and understanding to be respectful citizens while knowing that they can aspire to achieve anything regardless of their background. 

Implementation

RE is planned and implemented in line with Northamptonshire SACRE guidance (KS| & KS2) and the EYFS framework (Understanding the World). All pupils in Key Stage I and 2 have a dedicated RE lesson every week taught by a teacher, which is planned to include meaningful and memorable learning about the following religions:

• Christianity • Judaism • Hinduism • Sikhism • Islam • 

Pupils are encouraged to think about their prior knowledge during lessons and are taught how to make links between the different topics they have learnt about in RE lessons. Lessons are also planned using the Understanding Christianity syllabus which shows clear progression in units from Reception through to Year 6.

Lessons are planned and delivered in a variety of ways ensuring that all children can access and participate in lessons. Interactive, practical activities encourage children to discuss their ideas and extend their understanding of a range of concepts and often challenging questions. Pupils' progress in RE is based on the expected outcomes in the agreed syllabus and in Understanding Christianity, which in turn is developed in line with guidance produced nationally. We track individual pupils' progress in this way, whilst bearing in mind that the statements do not cover all aspects of teaching and learning in RE.  Progress in RE is reported annually to parents and has a prominent position in the end of year school report.

Lessons are planned to allow children to engage in meaningful discussions about complex subjects, they are encouraged to share their own beliefs and also to question and discuss those of others. A range of oracy based skills are essential to our RE lessons as we feel that the oracy strategies we use will give pupils the opportunity to put the skills above into context and develop them in a respectful way. This places them in a real world context that they will experience beyond their school life. We aim to create an environment that gives pupils a safe space and a confidence to do this. Throughout their time at our schools, pupils will be given the opportunity to visit places of worship in their local and wider communities. These include visits to a range of churches and mosques. By exposing pupils to the wide range of beliefs and religions that are practised in our area, we are helping them to understand and become more aware and open towards the community around them. Trips and workshops are essential to help pupils develop a deeper conceptual understanding of religion and also helps to embed subject specific vocabulary in an environment outside the classroom.

Impact

Religious Education in our schools encourages pupils to: 

• knowledge and understanding of, and their ability to respond to, Christianity, other principal world religions, other religious traditions and world views;

• understanding and respect for different religions, beliefs, values and traditions (including ethical life choices), through exploring issues within and between faiths;

• understanding of the influence of faith and belief on individuals, societies, communities and cultures;

• skills of enquiry and response through the use of religious vocabulary, questioning and empathy;

• skills of reflection, expression, application , analysis and evaluation of beliefs, values and practices, and the communication of personal responses to these.

Religious Education in our schools encourages pupils to: 

• consider their own thoughts and opinions on the challenging questions of the meaning and purpose of life, beliefs about God, their own self and the nature of reality, issues of right and wrong and what it means to be human;

• understand the influence of religion on individuals, families, communities and cultures

• learn from different religions, beliefs, values and traditions while exploring questions of meaning and their own beliefs;

• learn about religious and ethical teaching, enabling them to make reasoned and informed responses to religious, moral and social issues;

• develop their sense of identity and belonging in the world, preparing them for life as citizens in a multi-cultural global society;

• develop respect for and sensitivity to others, in particular those whose faiths and beliefs are different from their own.

Religious Education in our schools enhances  pupils to: 

• awareness and understanding of religions and beliefs, teachings, practices and forms of expression;

• ability to reflect on, consider, analyse, interpret and evaluate issues of truth, belief, faith and ethics and to communicate their responses.

Religious Education in our schools offers: 

• opportunities for all pupils for personal reflection and spiritual development;

• preparedness for life in a multi-cultural global society where they can exist in harmony with others and live life to the full.

Although the teaching of RE is compulsory, The Education Act allows parents with other faiths the right to withdraw their children from RE lessons and from assemblies.  Parents are asked to contact the Head of School to discuss this and appropriate arrangements will be made to support the circumstances of each request.