Religious Education
Intent
At Willow Wood Primary School, we believe that it is vital for all our pupils to learn from and about religion, so that they can understand the world around them. Through Religious Education, pupils develop their knowledge of the world faiths, and their understanding and awareness of the beliefs, values and traditions of other individuals, societies, communities and cultures. We encourage our pupils to ask questions about the world and to reflect on their own beliefs, values and experiences. Our Religious Education curriculum is enhanced further with trips to places of worship in our local area.
In line with our curriculum for Religious Education, Religious Education will be delivered in school to meet aims by:
- Including knowledge and reference to religious and nonreligious beliefs and worldviews, practices and ways of life.
- Develop knowledge and understanding of all members that make up our rich and diverse community.
- As part of the syllabus at each Key Stage, visits to local places of worship are encouraged as are visits by members of SACRE and faith communities to local schools.
- Develop understanding of concepts and mastery of skills to make sense of religion and belief, at an appropriate level of challenge for their age.
- Develop positive attitudes and values and to reflect and relate their learning in RE to their own experience.
- Have the opportunity to learn that there are those who do not hold religious beliefs and have their own philosophical perspectives.
Implementation
RE is taught in a weekly topic block each half term, planned by the teacher to link with key dates and religious festivals, providing opportunities to celebrate festivals and religions with greater relevance and consistency. Work is recorded in topic books and can be evidenced with a variety of outcomes suggested on the scheme of work; written piece, artwork, photo.
Religious education taught in our school:
- Is open and objective, it does not seek to urge religious beliefs on young people, nor compromise the integrity of their own religious position by promoting one tradition over another.
- Endeavours to promote a positive attitude toward people, respecting their right to hold different beliefs from their own.
- Promotes the values and attitudes necessary for citizenship in a multi-faith and multi-racial society through developing understanding of, respect for, and dialogue with people of different beliefs, practices, races and cultures.
- Recognises similarities and differences in commitment, self-understanding and the search for truth. Respecting and valuing these for the common good.
- Is not the same as collective worship, which has its own place in the educational life of the school – together with RE it can contribute to an informed, reflective, compassionate and caring school and community.
- Promotes community cohesion through linking with partner schools through involvement with the Faith & Belief Forum.
Recognises and celebrates the range of cultures and diversity of the school through workshops, assemblies and shared experiences of staff, children and people from the local community.
Impact
At Willow Wood Primary School, we seek to ensure that all pupils in our school are educated to develop spiritually, academically, emotionally and morally to enable them to better understand themselves and others and to cope with the opportunities, challenges and responsibilities of living in a rapidly changing, multicultural world. Regular assemblies and celebrations of work taught and learnt during each year group’s RE curriculum will help to celebrate the diversity of the school community and promote positive images of people in the wider community, including their beliefs, traditions, culture, language and history.
