Religious Education

Religious Education at Warmsworth Primary School

At Warmsworth Primary School the principal aim of our Religious Education curriculum is to engage pupils in systematic enquiry into significant human questions which religion and worldviews address, so that they can develop the understanding and skills needed to appreciate and appraise varied responses to these questions, as well as develop responses of their own, thus ensuring that all pupils are well-equipped to become 21^st century citizens, living in a diverse, multi-cultural world. 

We believe that every child has a right to understand the religious context of the region in which they live and aim to meet the needs of every child.

Every child is entitled to be taught RE regardless of their age, culture, gender, background or special need or disability.  RE develops a balanced view of the multi-cultural background of any pupil.  

The curriculum for RE aims to ensure that all pupils:

1. Know about and understand a range of religions and worldviews, so that they can:

• describe, explain and analyse beliefs and practices, recognising the diversity which exists within and between communities and amongst individuals.
• identify, investigate and respond to questions posed, and responses offered by some of the sources of wisdom found in religions and worldviews.
• appreciate and appraise the nature, significance and impact of different ways of life and ways of expressing meaning.

2. Express ideas and insights about the nature, significance and impact of religions and worldviews, so that they can:

• explain reasonably their ideas about how beliefs, practices and forms of expression influence individuals and communities.
• express with increasing discernment their personal reflections and critical responses to questions and teachings about identity, diversity, meaning and value, including ethical issues.
• appreciate and appraise varied dimensions of religion.

3. Gain and deploy the skills needed to engage seriously with religions and worldviews, so that they can:

• find out about and investigate key concepts and questions of belonging, meaning, purpose and truth, responding creatively.
• enquire into what enables different individuals and communities to live together respectfully for the wellbeing of all.
• articulate beliefs, values and commitments clearly in order to explain why they may be important in their own and other people’s lives.

Warmsworth Primary School Religious Education Knowledge Progression

Warmsworth Primary School RE Coverage by Strand

At Warmsworth Primary School, our Religious Education curriculum is based upon the Doncaster Agreed Syllabus 2019-2024.  The Doncaster Agreed Syllabus is a child-centred and an enquiry based approach to the teaching of Religious Education. 

The regional and national figures from the 2011 Census have been used to ensure that Religious Education learning at Warmsworth Primary School is centred around the religious context of the region in which our children live.

Our curriculum supports all learners to ensure that they develop their knowledge, so that they are able to apply their learning to a range of contexts, ensuring that they are well equipped for future learning.  Through the teaching of a challenging, inspiring and engaging curriculum, we seek to provide a clearer idea of what religion is about, the importance that it plays in many people’s lives and how that faith is expressed in their daily lives and routines.

Where possible, our children are provided with opportunity to gain first-hand experiences either by using replicas of religious artefacts or visits to local places of worship.

Collaborative learning strategies are embedded throughout the teaching of our Religious Education curriculum to allow all learners to ask questions, discuss and share personal experiences.

As part of the learning sequence, children learn about, and from, religions and worldviews in local, national and global contexts, to discover, explore and consider different answers to the questions explored. The syllabus encourages children to make connections between religions and their own experiences. 

As outlined in the Doncaster Agreed Syllabus, Religious Education depends on the development of many skills which should be evident in the learning opportunities at every Key Stage.  Some of these skills are common to other areas of the curriculum such as listening, speaking, reading and writing.  There are, however, other skills which make a particular contribution to pupils’ learning in religious education.  These include the skills of:

• Investigation
• Interpretation
• Reflection
• Evaluation
• Empathy
• Synthesis
• Application
• Expression

A variety of teaching methods are used to teach Religious Education at Warmsworth Primary School, such as role play/drama, stories and music.  Visitors to school are also encouraged to give children the opportunity to listen to and ask questions about another person’s experiences of living/celebrating though different faiths.

Teachers use the Doncaster Agreed Syllabus 2019 – 2024 and our accompanying scheme of work, to plan a child-centred enquiry based approach to the teaching of Religious Education.  The syllabus encourages children to make connections between religions and their own experiences.  Through the teaching of RE children will explore big questions about life, to find out what people believe and what difference this makes to how they live, so that they can reflect on their own way of living.  The scheme of work focuses on three key strands:-

• Believing - Religious beliefs, teachings, sources, questions of meaning, purposes and truth.
• Expressing - Religious forms of expression, questions of identity, diversity and belonging.
• Living - Practices and ways of living, questions of values and commitments.

The Doncaster Agreed Syllabus and our accompanying scheme of work has assessment criteria clearly embedded within each teaching unit.  The key question learning outcomes are expressed in terms of allowing pupils to meet the outcomes first in an emerging form, second by meeting the expectations, and third by exceeding the expectations.  Our children are provided with time to consolidate and embed their learning before moving on with the next steps in their learning.  As part on the ongoing formative assessment process, teachers will regularly assess the progress of all children against the emerging, expected and exceeding outcomes using our tracking system.

Coverage - RE will be taught regularly (at least fortnightly) 

     4-5 years = 36 hours of RE eg, 50 mins per week or some short sessions implemented through continuous provision

     5-7 years = 36 hour of tuition per year  eg. an hour a week, or less than an hour a week plus a series of RE days

     7-11 years = 45 hours of tuition per year eg. an hour a week, or less than an hour a week plus a series of RE days or weeks amounting to 45+ hours of RE

In RE books, an enquiry question will be recorded for each lesson taught with some form of evidence to support learning so that the thread of learning is clear and will support children when discussing their learning (written work, a brief description of learning, a personal reflection of topics discussed, photographs etc.)

Cross-curricular writing links will be utilised wherever possible.

By the end of Key Stage Two, our children are able to respond to questions about religion. 

They are able to apply their own personal views and also their knowledge about the varied beliefs and practices of the different religions they have studied during their time at Warmsworth Primary School.

Our children leave our school with a good understanding of religions and world views and have the skills needed to be a valuable citizen in a multi-cultural world in the 21^st Century.

Schools have to teach RE, but parents can withdraw their children for all or part of the lessons.

Should you wish to exercise this parental right, please contact the headteacher via the school office to advise of your preference.