At Pocklington Church of England VC Infant School our RE curriculum intent is informed by the Church of England Statement of Entitlement for Religious Education and the aims set out in the Hull and East Riding of Yorkshire Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education 2022.
Throughout their time in our school, we intend that all children will:
- know about and understand Christianity as a diverse global living faith and as the religion that has most shaped British culture and heritage
- begin to know and understand the core beliefs of Judaism and Islam
- develop a respectful attitude for people with different religious / worldviews
- have the opportunity to interact with people of other faiths / worldviews
- have the opportunity to visit a variety of religious buildings
- begin to develop religious literacy by gaining and using skills taken from the disciplines of theology (making sense of beliefs), philosophy (making connections) and social sciences (understanding the impact).
- begin to develop their own spiritual/philosophical convictions, exploring and enriching their own beliefs, culture, faith and values
“RE is important because, like every other subject, it provides a particular set of materials through which pupils come to understand important things about the world and themselves. It stands in the curriculum as a set of ideas and practices that have and continue to shape our world. The business of RE is an exploration of the influence of religions and beliefs on individuals, culture, behaviour and national life.” Mary Myatt
At Pocklington Church of England VC Infant School, in EYFS, RE is taught to prepare children for the KS1 curriculum. RE contributes to the following EYFS areas of learning (communication and language; speaking; personal, social and emotional development; literacy and understanding the world, expressive arts and design). RE can also be linked to the following characteristics of effective teaching and learning: playing and exploring; active learning; creating and thinking critically.
Children in Nursery and Reception have a weekly RE lesson, led by the classroom teacher (with activities in provision) to support and enhance key concepts and vocabulary.
RE is a statutory subject for pupils in all maintained schools in England from Year 1, unless withdrawn by their parents.
Teachers plan from the agreed long-term planning and our progression document which identifies key substantive knowledge underpinned by the Hull and East Riding of Yorkshire Agreed Syllabus (that is reviewed every 5 years).
R.E. is taught in weekly, discrete lessons. We devote at least 5% of our curriculum time to RE. This eis equivalent to 60 minutes per week or 36 hours per year. Teachers adapt the planning to best support the progression of pupils in their class. Any significant adaptions are made in consultation with the subject leader. Wherever possible, teaching staff will relate the classroom learning to national or global events, educating the children for life in all its fullness, through a broad and rich curriculum that enables them to truly flourish, not only in our school community but in the wider world. Lessons require pupils to develop their ability to analyse and evaluate; they are encouraged to reflect on how what they have learned has changed their understanding of religious and world views.
The Education Act (1988) requires that we spend more time on Christianity than on any other individual religion or world view.
At KS1, we study Christianity, Islam and Judaism. We chose two additional Abrahamic religions to study to help them recognise the similarities between the religions and to help pupils make an informed decision if they are exposed to anti-semitism or anti-Islamic views that exist in some parts of our society. Visits and visitors support classroom learning.
Learning is split into units. Some units are religion-specific, others are thematic. Some units are taught using the NATRE curriculum, informed by Understanding Christianity, other units have been developed by staff at Pocklington Church of England Infant school to fulfil the requirements of the locally developed syllabus. The teaching of RE supports develops and challenges our pupil’s understanding of community and culture; personal growth and wellbeing; natural world.
Pupils will begin to develop the following key skills:
- Investigation and enquiry: asking relevant and increasingly deep questions; using a range of sources and evidence, including sacred texts; identifying and talking about key concepts.
- Critical thinking and reflection: analysing information to form a judgement; reflecting on beliefs and practices, ‘ultimate questions’ and experiences.
- Empathy: considering the thoughts, feelings, experiences, attitudes, beliefs and values of others; seeing the world through the eyes of others.
- Interpretation: interpreting religious language and the meaning of sacred texts; drawing meaning from, for example, artefacts and symbols.
- Analysis: distinguishing between opinion, belief and fact; distinguishing between the features of different religions.
- Evaluation: enquiring into religious issues and drawing conclusions with reference to experience, reason, evidence, and dialogue.
Pupils will in an age-appropriate way build different types of knowledge in RE:
- Substantive – the taught content and knowledge about various religious and non-religious traditions
- Disciplinary – supports pupils to develop religious literacy, through the lenses of theology, philosophy and social sciences
- Personal knowledge – enables pupils to better understand and think about and question their own position, presuppositions and values.
The Golden Threads for RE are:
- Christianity
- One God who is a Trinity
- God created the world and wants relationships with humans, but humans have damaged it (the Fall)
- Jesus heals the damaged relationship between God and humans through his death, crucifixion and resurrection
- The Bible is a key source of authority (holy book) for Christians
- Christians live out their beliefs in different ways.
- Islam
- One God
- God wants humans to keep things in harmony and give them a straight path (shariah) to follow
- There is guidance to help humans follow the straight path, including the prophets
- The Qur’an is a key source of authority (holy book) for Muslims
- Muslims live out their beliefs in different ways
- Judaism
- One God
- God created the world
- God entered into a series of covenants (contracts) with his chosen people. This set expectations for moral and social behaviour
- The mitzvot (613 commandments and duties) recorded in the Torah and that Jewish people are expected to keep
- The Torah and Tanakh (holy books) are key sources of authority (holy books) for Jews
- Jews live out their beliefs in different ways
Key Documents
Please see our policies page for the RE policy by clicking this link
The BBC has some excellent video clips to support RE learning: KS1 Bitesize and EYFS