Intent

The principal aim of RE is to explore what people believe and what difference this makes to how they live, so that pupils gain the knowledge, understanding and skills needed to handle questions raised by religion and belief, reflecting on their own ideas and ways of living. At Instow Community Primary and Pre-School, our aim is to deepen pupils’ knowledge about religions and to develop their religious literacy. Pupils encounter core concepts in religions and beliefs, improving their understanding and their ability to explore these key concepts. Our approach sets the context for open investigation of diverse religious traditions as well as non-religious world views. We also include and promote British values, ensuring that children are aware of their rights and responsibilities as UK citizens. Our curriculum is designed to encourage creativity, imagination, inquiry, debate, discussion and independence.

Implementation

Our school uses the Devon Agreed Syllabus for R.E as a basis for our curriculum. The syllabus is designed to support schools in developing and delivering excellence in R.E. This is achieved through studying one religion at a time (systematic units), and then including thematic units which build on the learning by comparing the religions, beliefs and practices discussed. This teaching and learning approach of the Agreed Syllabus has 3 core elements which are woven together to provide breadth and balance within teaching and learning about religions and beliefs. These elements are:

1. Making sense of beliefs – understanding what these beliefs mean within their traditions.

2. Making connections – establishing relationships between these beliefs and the pupil's own lives and ways of understanding the world.

3. Understanding the impact – In this element, pupils examine how and why people put their beliefs into action within their everyday lives, their communities and in their wider world.

The three core elements which underpin the Agreed Syllabus, which has been taken into account, resulting in the following topics being selected for study: Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism. From the syllabus, it is required that:

Early Years Foundation Stage - To prepare children for learning about a wide range of religions, this cohort focusses on the theme of 'discovery'; this spans an understanding of who God is to Christians and the Christian celebrations of Easter and Christmas, before an exploration of special people, places and stories. Early links are made between the different places and stories that are special to people of different religions. Most of all, there is a focus on creating a sense of wonder and curiosity that carries on into their KS1 and KS2 Religious Education. KS1 (Classes 2 and 3) – Christianity, Judaism and Islam are studied. KS2 (Classes 4 and 5) – Christianity, Judaism, Islam and Hinduism are studied.

We follow the Devon and Torbay agreed syllabus and use the objectives for a two-year rolling programme for our mixed-aged classes, ensuring that over the 2 academic years in each class all the key concepts  are taught.

At Instow Community Primary and Pre-School, we value the religious background of all members of the school community and are also fortunate that members of our local church visit us regularly to engage and encourage us by enriching our school values. Their many visits include re-enacting stories from the Bible, giving talks on the significance of different ways of life and providing support throughout the year for services such as Christingle, Harvest and Easter. The Devon syllabus incorporates our four curriculum drivers in all lessons. The children are expected to participate in lessons in a variety of ways, working in various groupings and independently. They are given opportunities to discuss and listen to the ideas, beliefs and opinions of others. Religious education is important because, like every other subject, it provides a particular set of materials through which pupils come to understand important things about the world, and themselves. It is the study of religion and beliefs, and it stands in the curriculum as a set of ideas and practices which have shaped and continue to shape our world. The business of religious education is an exploration of the influence of religions and beliefs on individuals, culture, behaviour and national life. There are many texts and stories that are pivotal to their understanding of RE and children will have the opportunity to listen to and read a rich range of these texts.

Impact

Outcomes: The children at Instow Community Primary and Pre-School extend their knowledge and understanding of religions and world views, recognising their local, national and global contexts. They become encouraged to be curious and ask increasingly challenging questions regarding religion, faith, values and human life. Pupils learn to express their own ideas in response to the material they engage with and are able to give their own coherent reasons to support their ideas and views. Through their R.E. learning, pupils are given the opportunity to wonder about the world, explore connections between beliefs and practices studied and can reflect about life in the world today. The work given to pupils, over time and across the school, consistently matches the aims of the curriculum. It is coherently planned and sequenced towards cumulatively sufficient knowledge and skills for future learning. Pupils are making progress in that they know more, remember more, understand more and do more. They are learning what is intended in the curriculum.