RE at Thames

At Thames Primary Academy we aim to ensure our Religious Education curriculum is fully inclusive of every child, empowering each one to enjoy and become inquisitive in the subject. This deeper knowledge and empathy, enables them to develop a positive and confident attitude, so that they communicate effectively with people from all faith backgrounds. 

The key aims for religious education are reflected in the two core strands:

• Learning about religion and belief
• Learning from religion and belief

These recognise the diversity of the UK and encompass the local, national and wider global community.

We engage pupils in an enquiry approach where they can develop an understanding and appreciation for the expression of beliefs, cultural practices and influence of principle religions and worldviews. 

At Thames, we provide a broad and balanced curriculum which embraces spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. This presents a range of possibilities for pupils to reflect and develop their own worldview. Community cohesion and high standards of achievement are promoted. We intend for children to develop positive attitudes and values and to reflect on and relate their learning in RE to their own experiences; all contributing to well rounded individuals with a healthy mindset. Children will understand the relevance of RE in today’s modern world and how it affects our lives.

Religious Education at Thames is given the same status as other subjects in the curriculum. It follows the requirement of the Education Reform Act 1988 that the syllabus “shall reflect the fact the religious traditions in Great Britain, are in the main Christian, whilst taking into account the teaching and practices of the other principal religions represented in Great Britain.” 

Our RE curriculum provides a wide breadth of study, incorporating all the content of the National Curriculum. It is an enquiry-based approach with reference to the Lancashire Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education 2021. It is carefully designed and sequenced to ensure a clear progression in the development of knowledge and skills to maximise learning for all pupils. 

It is essential that as pupils learn, they will develop an RE schema which is organised in a meaningful way so that they learn and remember more. They are encouraged to make connections in their learning through the knowledge and concepts that they are taught.  

Making connections and highlighting them throughout the teaching of the breadth to help the knowledge to ‘stick’ in the pupil’s memory is a crucial part of learning. We use retrieval practice to aid pupils in storing knowledge in their long-term memories. We endeavour to build knowledge with an awareness of cognitive loads, and so we start from what children already know, and build on this using a carefully planned progression. Lessons and new topics begin with a review of prior learning to support pupils in assimilating new knowledge with previously introduced concepts. 

RE includes a distinct body of knowledge that will enable all pupils to make effective progress in achieving RE learning outcomes, through a high quality, coherent and progressive scheme of work. Opportunities are maximised to contribute to the cross-curricular dimensions of the wider curriculum. Pupils will be exposed to issues of right and wrong, good and evil, conflict and justice.

Enrichment opportunities include:

• Exploring controversial issues in the modern world
• Working with local communities who promote the beliefs taught in lessons
• Learning outside the classroom by participating in educational visits
• Themed days and assemblies which celebrate different beliefs
• Encouraging pupils to deploy their skills and reflect on questions regarding truth and morality
• Promoting debate and dialogue of pupils within their local community

With our younger children we begin with their own experiences based around themes, e.g. friendship, and build on these with examples of stories both about faith leaders and from faith leaders. As children develop in their understanding, we begin to focus learning on the principles of major world faith groups. We then return to key themes, building a deeper understanding of how these have become established principles for religious groups and by finding threads of similarity.  A bank of both generic and specific vocabulary is gradually introduced at pertinent points throughout the scheme and revisited regularly as understanding grows and develops. 

There are 6 key strands that thread through the RE curriculum. They are:

To improve understanding of each topic, several methods of teaching are deployed including but not limited to:

• Storytelling
• Adult-led activities
• Child initiated activities
• Debating
• Dramatic performance

To improve communication and language in the classroom, teachers will encourage pupils’:

• Organisation, clarification and sequencing of thoughts, feelings and ideas
• Development of their own narratives in relation to the stories they hear in lessons
• Exploration of their feelings and emotions towards set narratives

We ensure all pupils can access our teaching by planning support for those that need it in the form of differentiated resources or additional teacher support.

Our aim is for attainment in line with national expectations. We envisage that pupils will leave us, able to talk about religions in the  UK and the wider world with confidence, understanding the links between and beyond them. They will be able to understand key elements of each faith’s approach towards worship and how they express those beliefs in response to the wider world. They will be confident to form their own opinions about beliefs and completely understand that each individual has the right to follow their own beliefs. 

Assessment allows for evidence of a growing body of knowledge and vocabulary. Teachers use a range of formative assessment techniques as well as making summative assessment judgements at the end of a unit of work.