Religious Education

What is our vision for RE?

At WHPS, we provide a broad and balanced curriculum across all subjects, which develops the individual child according to their age and ability. We want all of our children to leave WHPS as:

Fluent readers with a love of books and excellent comprehension.
Fluent mathematicians, with a confidence in problem-solving and reasoning.
Clear and engaging writers who can communicate their thoughts and feelings.
Happy, healthy, interested children with a range of experiences, memories and knowledge of a broad and deep-rooted curriculum.

The curriculum in RE supports this by promoting the spiritual, moral, social, emotional, cultural and intellectual development of pupils. RE encourages children’s exploration of and response to aspects of religion and human experience which raise fundamental questions of belief and value.

Intent

What are our aims in the teaching of RE?

We believe that children learn best through a curriculum that has rigour, challenge, depth and breadth, and which connects all areas of learning.

At WHPS, we intend our teaching of RE to promote the spiritual, moral, social, emotional, cultural and intellectual development of pupils and of society. We encourage children’s exploration of and response to aspects of religion and human experience which raise fundamental questions of belief and value. RE teaching consists of supporting children to learn, understand and express their own views and those of others.

This links to the Camden Agreed Syllabus for RE, which aims to ensure:

Pupils learn about and understand a range of religions and worldviews, so that they can:
- describe, explain and analyse beliefs and practices, recgnising the diversity which exists within and between communities and amongst individuals
- identify, investigate and respnd 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 f different ways of life and ways of expressing meaning.

Pupils 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 or a worldview.

Pupils 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 int 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.

How have you designed the curriculum for RE to ensure that it covers the National Curriculum?

Although there is no National Curriculum for RE, all maintained, free and academy schools must follow the National Curriculum requirements to teach a ‘broad and balanced curriculum’. This includes provision for RE for all pupils. The key document in determining the teaching of RE is the locally agreed syllabus.

At WHPS, we follow the Camden Religious Education Agreed Syllabus. The Camden Agreed Syllabus aims to deliver high quality RE which is planned, progressive and enquiry led. This supports teacher subject knowledge and encourages children’s curiosity and interest in the subject. The Camden Agreed Syllabus is a diverse, inclusive syllabus which covers a wide range of religions and worldviews representative of our local community.

The Camden Agreed Syllabus:

draws on key documents that that have been issued since 2016.
follows the advice of the nonstatutory National Framework, including where it states that 50% of time in RE should be in the study of Christianity.
incorporates clear strategies for progression in learning and identifies steps of progress.

Our units of work have been carefully selected from the scheme to ensure coverage and progression whilst ensuring content is manageable for teachers. Children have the opportunity to learn about a range of religions throughout their time at WHPS. There is an overarching ‘big question’ for each year group, which is explored throughout three units, which have a philosophical question as a focus. By the time children leave WHPS, they will have learnt about Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Sikhism and Judaism, and had opportunities to compare and contrast these different religions.

Implementation

What is the content of RE at WHPS?

Our curriculum is designed to:

Be clear about what knowledge children will learn, and in which order, throughout their time at our school.
Provide regular opportunities for children to review and apply prior learning to interrupt forgetting.
Provide enrichment opportunities that enhance and develop children’s learning.

The curriculum map provides further details on the objectives covered in RE and the progression of knowledge and skills in each year group.

How is RE taught at WHPS?

RE lessons are taught by class teachers, using planning developed alongside subject leads. Children take part in regular lessons throughout each term.

At WHPS, we believe that high-quality teaching and learning in RE includes:

The opportunity for children to ask and answer questions and share their ideas.
Explicit teaching of key knowledge about religions, including stories, significant people and celebrations.
Explicit vocabulary teaching, using visuals to scaffold and support.
Opportunities for retrieval practice to embed learning and interrupt forgetting.
Opportunities for children to compare and make connections between different religions and units of work.
Visits to places of worship, the chance to see and handle religious artefacts and opportunities to meet people from different religions and learn from them.

We also recognise that there are many elements of excellent practice that are consistent across all subjects, which are included in our WHPS Teaching Standards for teachers to refer to and implement.

How are planning and resources for RE organised?

Every year group has a Year on a Page Overview, which provides an overview of units covered throughout the year, and a Foundation Subject Overview, which includes all of the objectives covered in each subject each term. Planning for all subjects is saved in the WHPS Curriculum folder for teachers to access. Each year group has a folder with the three units clearly labelled by term and unit question. Within each folder, there are lesson plans and any supporting resources for that unit.

How do we ensure that all children have access to the RE curriculum?

At WHPS, we aim to provide equal access to the curriculum for all children. We believe that all children can achieve and we value and promote each child’s achievements across every subject. We give our children every opportunity to achieve their best by taking account of our children’s range of life experiences when planning for their learning. We regularly review our curriculum and the resources we use to ensure that our teaching reflects equality and respects diversity. All teachers will adapt lessons and resources to provide support for individuals with SEND or other needs.

In RE this support may include:

The use of visuals such as Widgets, pictures and videos.
Word banks and sentence starters.
Breaking the learning down into small steps.
Varied tasks and activities which are appropriately scaffolded.
Opportunities for group and paired work as well as individual tasks.

How do we assess learning in RE?

Assessment for learning is an important part of every lesson at WHPS in order to check children’s knowledge and understanding. Lessons are carefully planned to provide opportunities for teachers to assess children’s knowledge in a range of ways, which can then support them to adapt future lessons appropriately. Any written work is record in wider curriculum books and is clearly marked with the subject name and learning objective. However, we also recognise that a more active or practical approach may be relevant for some objectives, which is detailed in the unit plans developed by teachers and the subject lead.

In RE, assessment opportunities include:

Observation and questioning.
Paired, group and class discussions/activities.
Do now tasks.
Use of whiteboards.
An assessment task at the end of each unit, matched to the appropriate steps for progress.

What opportunities are there for enrichment in RE?

Our aim at West Hampstead Primary School is to ensure that every child is able to take part in a range of inspiring and exciting opportunities during their time at school. Enrichment opportunities are carefully planned as part of the curriculum in order to:

Bring children's learning to life in a new or different context
Cover or revisit key knowledge and skills from across the National Curriculum
Providing an inspiring or aspirational experience for children
Develop children's confidence and self esteem in a new environment

We are currently working on planning opportunities for children to visit different places of worship throughout their time at our school to see their learning in context.

Impact

How do we monitor the impact of our teaching in RE?

Leaders regularly monitor teaching and learning across the subject throughout the year. Monitoring takes place through:

Planning scrutiny to ensure that planned lessons match the learning objectives and outcomes provided in unit plans
Book looks to ensure that outcomes reflect those provided in unit plans and check that children are making good progress within the subject
Pupil voice to understand children’s perspectives on their learning in the subject and explore whether they have remembered the knowledge identified in the curriculum maps
Learning walks to see teaching and learning in action across the school and ensure high quality teaching is taking place
Teacher surveys or informal conversations to ensure that teachers are confident in their subject knowledge and identify any support needed

Strengths and next steps identified during monitoring are recorded on our monitoring overview document and discussed with SLT.