Religious Education

Intent

At St Breward Primary School, our Religious Education (RE) curriculum is designed to nurture a deep understanding and respect for the diverse religious and non-religious worldviews that shape our global community. Grounded in the development of strong values such as responsibility, respect, and compassion our program encourages children to explore, question, and reflect on the beliefs and practices of various faiths and traditions. By fostering an appreciation of the spiritual and moral dimensions of life, we aim to prepare children to navigate the complexities of the wider world with an open mind and a compassionate heart.

In studying religions through multiple disciplines, pupils will:

•Learn about and learn from the different kinds of question human beings can ask about religious origins, beliefs and practices, namely questions that derive from philosophy, theology, social sciences and history, for example, when studying a particular religion in a particular place, asking the following different kinds of question:

- How does this story from the Quran help Muslims to understand this precept from the hadith?

- What does this New Testament story mean to Christians? What are the big ideas that this Hindu story reflects (eg dharma)?

- How are these ideas expressed in other stories and in diverse religious practices across time and space?

- How does this religious community perceive matters of justice?

- How has this religious tradition tackled the challenge of injustice to one another?

- How does this community’s beliefs shape its approach to injustice?

- What does this community teach about injustice and why?

- What insights about injustice can we gain from this religious communities’ texts, art, traditions and practices?

Implementation

Our RE curriculum is carefully planned and sequenced to ensure that children develop a deep understanding of major religions around the world. In Key Stage 1, we follow the Cornwall Agreed Syllabus combined with exploration of celebrations and festivals in EYFS. This provides children with:

- a coherent understanding

- an understanding of core concepts

- a clear learning approach which allows children to make sense of religions and beliefs

- incorporates learning from Understanding Christianity.

In Key Stage 2, children move on to our Opening Worlds Curriculum which provides a rich and diverse understanding of world religions and how they link to learning in other subjects such as history and geography. Children are engaged through storytelling and real images which inspire and encourage discussion.

For more information on the Cornwall Syllabus, click on the link below:

https://www.schools.cornwall.gov.uk/sacre

For more information on the Opening Worlds Curriculum, click the link below:

https://openingworlds.uk/what-is-opening-worlds/

Impact

Children are able to recall information about religious education which are assessed via teacher assessment of learning, pupil voice and reflection activities at the end of units. Children are encouraged to form their own opinions on religions and participate in discussions and debates. We believe that a greater understanding of religions around the world, enables children to be more compassionate, curious, responsible and respectful individuals.