Religious Education
Intent
At Altofts Junior School, our vision is to, through following the Wakefield Agreed Syllabus; provide opportunities for children to learn about religion and from religion.
The curriculum aims to ensure that pupils:
- know about and understand a range of religious and worldviews;
- express ideas and insights about the significance and impact of religions and worldviews;
- gain and deploy the skills needed to engage seriously with religious and worldviews.
RE enables pupils to build their sense of identity and belonging which in turn enables them to flourish within their communities and as part of a diverse society. At Altofts Junior School, we acknowledge that we are a predominant White British community and therefore seek to develop sustained and substantial links in the wider religious community. Our teaching of RE therefore also aims to develop respect for others through comparing how different communities live.
Implementation
Altofts Junior School follows the Programme of Study for RE as suggested in the Wakefield Agreed Syllabus for RE, 2018 – 2023 and has a scheme of work that reflects this for Key Stage 2. Pupils are taught knowledge, skills and understanding through learning about Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Jewish and Humanist communities. Each unit of work identifies prior learning and shows how this is built upon.
At Altofts Junior School, RE is taught by class teachers or HLTAs. We use a range of teaching and learning styles, including activities such as discussion, role-play, religious stories, circle-time activities and use of artefacts. At Altofts Junior School, children are informed about a variety of religious festivals that take place throughout the year to demonstrate how people with different religious beliefs live and worship alongside each other.
Through whole class teaching, children will learn about and from the religions outlined above through three key strands: BELIEVING, EXPRESSING and LIVING.
Through the Wakefield Agreed Syllabus, knowledge plans and knowledge organisers, each year group is provided with:
- realistic and relevant information.
- specific key vocabulary and its meaning.
- opportunities for the children to work interactively, using other curriculum areas e.g. music, drama, art, with the teacher acting as the facilitator.
- individual reflection on the learning.
Impact
Impact will be shown through outcomes in RE books and through the children’s ability to question and reflect on their learning. At Altofts Junior School, we believe it is important to distinguish between opinion, belief and fact. The impact of children’s learning will be seen in their ability to draw conclusions and form their own opinions based on evidence, dialogue and experience. Spiritual, moral and cultural development is shown through the children’s ability to appreciate human similarities and differences and through communication of their views.
The impact of the curriculum will be monitored through discussions with pupils and staff, through looking at RE books and through lesson observations/coaching sessions. These will then be used to highlight areas for further development.
Parents and carers have the rights to withdraw their child from all or part of RE, should you wish. Please contact your child's teacher to discuss further.
Year 3 Knowledge Organisers