RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

At West Twyford Primary School we have a rich and diverse community with pupils and staff linked to many parts of the world and coming from a wide range of faith groups. We celebrate this diversity and offer a welcoming and inclusive environment for all of our pupils and families. We believe that Religious Education provides an important opportunity to affirm and develop awareness of the broad range of beliefs, both within our school and in the wider world.

West Twyford Primary School follows the Ealing Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education. We learn about the major religious festivals including: Christmas, Diwali, Easter, Eid, Hanukkah and Guru Nanak’s Birthday. As part of our school and community values we emphasize tolerance, respect and understanding as an integral approach towards the teachings of major world faiths and beliefs, including those without faith, in Modern Britain and the world.

During their time at West Twyford pupils will have learnt about the major world religions and will have the opportunity to visit a place of worship. Religious Education lessons are also supported by our assembly themes celebrating major religious festivals and important days.

Intent

At West Twyford Primary School we offer a welcoming and inclusive environment for all of our pupils and families. We have a rich and diverse community with pupils and staff linked to many parts of the world and coming from a wide range of faith groups. We believe that Religious Education provides an important opportunity to empathise, affirm, understand, and develop awareness of the broad range of beliefs, both within our school and in the wider world. 

As part of our school and community values, we consider the British values of tolerance and respect as an integral approach towards the teachings of major world faiths and beliefs, including those without faith, in Modern Britain and the world. Our assembly themes celebrate major religious festivals and important days within the different religions.  

West Twyford Primary School follows the Ealing Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education. It is designed by SACRE and revolves around three themes: Believing, Behaving, Belonging. The units within those themes will involve a combination of systematic studies, which focus on specific religious traditions, and thematic explorations that may draw on several different religious perspectives.   

Through the delivery of high-quality Religious Education lessons, children will:  

• Develop their subject knowledge of the 6 main religions of the world and Humanism.  

• Develop their interest and curiosity of the world through enquiry-based learning. The curriculum will give opportunities to children to explore artefacts, ask questions and make connections between faiths and their own lives.  

• Revisit their prior knowledge at the start of each unit. This enables children to recall previous learning and access more complex ideas about religion in upcoming lessons (OFSTED report 2021) 

• Acquire a range of subject specific vocabulary which will be revised in later lessons.   

Implementation

The RE curriculum has three key themes which are covered at different points in the year: Believing (Autumn), Behaving (Spring), Belonging (Summer). 2 units are taught per term with three lessons in each unit. Some units are systematic (focusing on one religion), and others are thematic (range of religions). Early years implement RE but focus on the experiences of the child first before relating it to religious content. 

Medium-term planning has been designed to suit the demographic of our pupils. It provides teachers with a focus enquiry question and learning objectives for each lesson. It also includes key vocabulary to be covered, prior knowledge, supporting documents for teachers, suggested activities for each lesson, and questions to deepen understanding. Teachers should be referring to Blooms Taxonomy to design their questions for the unit (AT1 and AT2 targets).  

Assessment:  Children will be assessed using two attainment targets (AT1 Learning About Religion and AT2 Learning From Religion) and six areas of enquiry for Religious Education.  

Formative assessment will take place throughout Religious Education lessons. Teachers can refer to the Feedback Policy in ways to plan formative assessment opportunities. There are learning objectives for each lesson in the medium-term plans focusing on the AT1 and AT2 targets. They are planned to ensure continuity and progression within the topics taught. 

Summative assessment will be used to measure pupil achievement and identify whether each child is working towards, working at, or working beyond the level and age-appropriate expectation for their year group. Each unit has an overarching question which teachers will use for summative assessment.  

Impact

Religion is a powerful tool in creating understanding and empathy amongst communities and people. It is vital for children to develop religious literacy and to understand religious perceptions and motivations due to the growing multicultural society we live in today. It promotes respect and sensitivity to the way others choose to live which may be different to their own. 

The impact and measure of this RE curriculum is to ensure children not only acquire the appropriate age-related knowledge linked to RE, but also the skills to understand the world and people through the lens of religion.  

All children will have: 

• A wider subject knowledge of the different religions and a much deeper understanding of the religious perspectives and values. 

• Obtain rich religious vocabulary. 

• To be more respectful, understanding and sensitive about other faiths and the way people choose to live their lives.  

• Applying what they have learnt from religion to themselves in ways that make a difference (e.g. being kind, respectful, kind, compassionate)