Intent

The aims of religious education at Wellesbourne are:
– acquire and develop knowledge and understanding of principal world faiths practised in Great Britain. These include Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism and Sikhism, as well as the perspectives of those without a faith, such as Humanists.
– develop an understanding of the influence of beliefs, values and traditions on individuals,
communities, societies and cultures;
– develop the ability to make reasoned and informed judgements about religious and moral issues with reference to the teachings of the principal religions
– enhance their own spiritual, moral, cultural and social development by:
– developing awareness of the fundamental questions of life arising from human experiences and how religious beliefs and practices can relate to them;
– responding to the fundamental questions of life in the light of
– their experience and with reference to religious beliefs and practices;
– reflecting on their own beliefs, values and experiences in the light of their study;
– expressing their own personal viewpoints in a thoughtful, reasoned and considerate way;
– recognise the right of people to hold different beliefs within a religiously diverse society.
Through high quality teaching, we intend to develop the following essential characteristics amongst our children:
– curiosity and fascination about the world and its people that will remain with them for the rest of their lives;
– widespread understanding of the ways in which people are interdependent and interconnected;
– cultivate the ability to reach clear conclusions and explain their findings;
– express well-balanced opinions, rooted in very good knowledge and understanding about current issues in society, religions, cultures and the environment.

Implementation
Our curriculum has been carefully planned and learning opportunities and assessment milestones for each year group built in to ensure progression. We believe in a spiral approach and children
may revisit, in an age appropriate way, key learning, knowledge and skills so as to embed these.

In RE we foster a reflective approach to learning by encouraging an open and honest enquiry, an awareness of prejudice, a growing self-understanding and respecting the rights of others to hold
beliefs different from their own by Learning about Religions and Learning from Religion. 

Children will be “Learning about Religions” and “Learning from Religion” through:
– investigation; the use of first-hand and other resources to understand religious people, objects, symbols, places, events, stories, exploring a range of religious stories and sacred writings and talk about their meanings
– questioning; developing curiosity about life, relationships and the natural world
– empathy; developing the power of imagination to identify feelings such
– as wonder, forgiveness, sorrow, joy and to try to see the world through the eyes of others
– reflection; the ability to consider thoughts, feelings, experiences, attitudes, beliefs of oneself and others
– relating; linking significant features of religions, making associations between them, to understand what makes religions distinct and/or similar
– expression; the ability to identify and explain feelings and aspects of religions

Impact
We empower our staff to organise their curriculum as they see fit to suit the needs of the pupils in their care. We feel they are the best people to make these judgements. Staff develop year group
specific long term curriculum maps which identify when the different topics and subjects will be taught across the academic year. Religious Education is taught discretely but staff make meaningful links across subjects to deepen children’s understanding.
In order to ensure that our aims are met, and the Programme of Study is covered the school follows the Liverpool Agreed Syllabus which builds-in coverage and progression in both the content and concepts. This scheme shows how we have planned that “aspects of all six principal faiths are explored over key stage two”.

To some information on our Religious Education curriculum and progression maps please click on the links below.

Progression of Skills in RE (document opens in new window)

RE Curriculum Map (document opens in new window)