Religious Education
Curriculum Design at St. Wilfrid’s Church of England Primary Academy
Curriculum Area: Religious Education
Religious Education Primary Leaders: Miss Clayton, Miss Beckwith and Mrs Wilson
Intent
Our Religious Education curriculum aims to motivate and inspire children through an engaging curriculum that challenges all learners whilst ensuring that the school Christian values are at the heart. The distinctive Christian ethos permeates all aspects of school life and has an outstanding impact on pupils’ personal development. This personal development is seen through the established strengths of:
- The focus on Christian Values which leads to outstanding spiritual, moral and academic development of all pupils. The outstanding relationships within the school family, based on Christian love and care for each individual.
- The quality of relationships with parents and the positive Christian impact the school has in the wider community.
- The school’s procedures for evaluating its effectiveness as a Church School.
- The excellent and vibrant quality of worship which makes a significant impact on pupils’ spiritual development.
Our curriculum is designed to deepen knowledge and develop skills, with literacy at the heart, ensuring effective progression within each subject discipline and across all year groups.
Our Christian Values and Distinctiveness, alongside our School Mission Statement of ‘Achieve, Believe and Care’, are at the heart of our curriculum and all that we do at St. Wilfrid’s.
Implementation
In Religious Education, we implement an inclusive curriculum that meets the statutory requirements of the National Curriculum. As a Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary Academy, our Religious Education curriculum is based on the syllabus written by the Blackburn Diocesan Board of Education. As a Christian School, our pupils are taught about other world faiths as part of the multicultural society in which we live. Our curriculum is well-planned and provides literacy-rich, cross-curricular opportunities. For each topic a series of stimulating lessons are planned, with clear knowledge-based learning objectives incorporating the Christian concepts (God, Creation, Fall, People of God, Incarnation, Gospel, Salvation and Kingdom of God) and subject-specific vocabulary.
Our Religious Education curriculum is taught through a multi-disciplinary approach, enabling pupils to explore religion and worldviews through three complementary lenses: Theology – Believing, Philosophy – Thinking, and the Human Social Sciences – Living (studying people and societies). Through these lenses, pupils develop an understanding of beliefs, ideas, experiences and the ways in which people and communities live. The Human Social Sciences draw upon disciplines including Sociology, Psychology, Anthropology, Economics, Political Science, Human Geography and History, allowing children to explore religion and worldviews from a range of perspectives. Throughout their RE learning, pupils are explicitly taught to see themselves as Theologians, Human Social Scientists and Philosophers, developing the knowledge, skills and critical thinking needed to ask thoughtful questions, explore different perspectives and make sense of the world around them.
Reflective opportunities are planned to allow children the opportunity to evaluate what they have learnt and to address any misconceptions. Teachers assess learning in Religious Education through using the ‘Questful Maps’, the unit overviews and the Blackburn Diocese ladder of expectation. Our curriculum is delivered through highly effective ‘quality first teaching’. Enrichment opportunities, including outdoor learning (garden chapel), inspirational visitors (other faiths) and exciting educational visits (living church), provide our children with rich experiences and enhance teaching, learning and knowledge. Our Religious Education curriculum promotes children’s Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural development, ensuring that they are reflective and responsible citizens. Fundamental British Values are actively promoted in Religious Education lessons in order to prepare the children for life in Modern Britain.
Impact
Our well-planned Religious Education curriculum enables children to develop a broad, respectful and meaningful understanding of the diverse religious and non-religious worldviews that shape our community and the wider world. Through the breadth and depth of our curriculum, children make links between the Christian faith and the beliefs, practices and ways of life of others, developing an understanding of how religion and worldviews influence people’s values, choices, communities and the world in which we live, whether or not a person is of faith.
We recognise that everyone has a worldview, shaped by their experiences, beliefs and values, and we encourage pupils to reflect on how their own perspectives influence the way they encounter, interpret and understand the world. Through exploring diverse faiths and worldviews, children develop the knowledge and skills to ask thoughtful questions, consider different perspectives and engage respectfully with those whose beliefs and experiences may differ from their own.
Our RE curriculum supports children to become active citizens, encouraging them to serve their neighbour and understand their responsibilities towards others. It inspires them to become global citizens and courageous advocates for change, equipping them with the understanding, empathy and confidence to make a positive difference in the world, from a local to a global level.
Recommended Websites:
BBC Bitesize Religion
