Religious Education

"Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase."  (Martin Luther King Jr)

Intent- Why is RE so important?

At Arkwright Primary School we believe that RE plays a key role in developing tolerance and respect towards others.  It is engaging our pupils 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.

We aim to:

• Ensure that all pupils know about and understand a range of religions and worldviews
• Express ideas and insights about the nature, significance and impact of religions and worldviews
• Gain and deploy the skills needed to engage seriously with religions and worldviews
• Follow the agreed Derbyshire Syllabus and make this central to our teaching.

Implementation- How do we plan, teach and assess RE?

We plan our RE using the approved Derbyshire and Derby City Agreed Syllabus for RE.   This agreed syllabus requires that all pupils learn from Christianity in each key stage.  In addition, pupils will learn from the principal religions represented in the UK, in line with the law. These are Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism and Judaism. Furthermore, children from families where non-religious worldviews are held are represented in almost all of our classrooms. These worldviews, including for example Humanism, will also be the focus for study. Religious traditions are to be studied in depth as follows:

The teaching takes place weekly along with RE focus weeks throughout the year in all classes.  When learning about different religions and their beliefs, this is separated into three strands:

Believing:  Religious beliefs, teachings and sources

Expressing:  Religious and spiritual forms of expression

Living:  Religious practices and ways of living

They are introduced to the children through Key Questions which are then discussed throughout a half term.  Teaching of these modules takes place weekly and is recorded in our class floor books.  These are completed by adults and children in the class and used to record ideas and learning from each session.  The teachers are continuously formatively assessing the children through observations and questioning.  At the end of each term, teachers record on Curriculum Maestro pupil progress to inform future planning and support.

 Long term plan