Religious Education
Purpose
At Westerton Primary Academy, the purpose of Religious Education is to:
- enable children to explore and gain knowledge and understanding of religious and non-religious views
-learn to show respect for people’s beliefs and practices
-contribute towards their own spiritual, moral, social and cultural development
-promote community cohesion and inclusion in our increasingly diverse society
Teaching
Teaching in Religious Education will:
-enable each child to investigate belief systems and to develop and express their own personal views, as well as an understanding of how these may impact others
-provoke challenging questions about the origins of life, its meaning and purpose and the choices we make
-develop an understanding of values and moral virtues such as truthfulness, empathy, honesty, respect, generosity and compassion
-gain understanding of how they can positively contribute to living within the local and global community
-challenge prejudice, including that based on religious background, race, culture or gender
-build a sense of identity and belonging
-prepare children for responsibilities and challenges in the future
Progression
The syllabus followed is Believing and Belonging in West Yorkshire: The Local Agreed Syllabus for RE, 2019-2024.
In Early Years, RE supports the development of Communication and Language, PSED and Understanding the World. The children begin to explore cultural and religious practices through celebrations and festivals, and exposure to stories from different sources and traditions. They use talk, play and creative arts, to express their thoughts and ideas. Material is drawn from Christianity, Islam and Sikhism.
In Key Stage 1, pupils ‘develop their knowledge and understanding of religion and world views. They use basic subject-specific vocabulary. They raise questions about beliefs and find out about questions of right and wrong, and begin to respond with their own views’. Christianity and Islam are studied, along with other non-religious world views.
In Key Stage 2, pupils ‘extend their knowledge and understanding of religions, beliefs and values, recognising personal, local, national and global contexts. They are introduced to an extended range of sources and subject specific vocabulary. They should be encouraged to be curious and to ask and discuss increasingly challenging questions about beliefs, values and human life, drawing on the insights of religions and other world views. Pupils should respond with their own ideas, identifying relevant information, selecting examples and giving reasons to support their ideas and views’. The children continue to develop their understanding of Christianity and Islam, along with Sikhism, Judaism and other non-religious world views.
Quotes are taken from Believing and Belonging in West Yorkshire: The Local Agreed Syllabus for RE, 2019-2024
