RE at Hadrian Primary School           

Religious Education Curriculum Rationale                       

At Hadrian Primary School, we value Religious Education. We are theologians! We want our children to love learning about religious education. We want them to have no limits to what their ambitions are and grow up wanting to be a clergyperson, an anthropologist, a teacher, or a social worker! We want them to embody our core values. We value our vision - Being unique: believing, achieving, succeeding together. The RE curriculum has been carefully created so that our children develop their SMSC capital. We want our children to remember their RE lessons in our school, to cherish these memories, and embrace the opportunities they are presented with! In Year 1 the children visit our local church St Stephen’s. For many of our children, this is the first time they have been inside a church. During this visit they are introduced to the concept of respect, they display courtesy and good manners, they are given time to reflect on the atmosphere in the church and to verbalize the feelings being in a church creates. They are also introduced to the various artifacts in the church through discussion with the religious leader. The children enjoy discussing their knowledge with the vicar.

Bringing Re alive is important at Hadrian Primary School.

Curriculum Intent

Our religious education curriculum contributes dynamically to pupils’ education by provoking challenging questions. Pupils learn about religious and non-religious worldviews in order to discover, explore and consider different answers to these questions. They learn to interpret, analyse, evaluate and critically respond to the claims that religious and non-religious worldviews make. Pupils learn to express their insights and to agree or disagree respectfully.

RE offers opportunities for personal reflection and pupils’ spiritual, moral, social, and cultural development. It enables pupils to explore their own beliefs, ideas, feelings, experiences, and values in the light of what they learn. At Hadrian Primary RE encourages pupils to develop their own sense of identity, promotes empathy and respect.

Every year our House Captains represent Hadrian Primary at the Remembrance Day service at our local church. The children actively take part in the service by laying a wreath or cross.  

During RE lessons the children develop an aptitude for dialogue so that they can participate positively in our society. RE enables pupils to have a nuanced and informed understanding of political, social, and moral issues that they will need to face as they grow up in an increasingly globalized world. It helps pupils deal positively with controversial issues, to manage strongly held differences of belief, and to challenge stereotypes and prejudice. As such RE is central to good local, national, and global citizenship. It makes a significant contribution to the active promotion of mutual respect and tolerance of others' faiths and beliefs, a fundamental British value. It prepares pupils for life in modern Britain.

This Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education in South Tyneside aims to ensure that pupils:

      • develop deepening knowledge and understanding about a range of religious and non-religious worldviews so that they can:

            - describe and explain beliefs and theological concepts

            - describe and explain some sources of authority and teachings within and across religious and non-religious       traditions

            - describe and explain ways in which beliefs are expressed

            - know and understand the significance and impact of beliefs and practices on individuals, communities, and societies

            - connect these together into a coherent framework of beliefs and practices

      • gain and deploy deepening understanding of specialist vocabulary and terms

      • know and understand about religious diversity within the region, as well as nationally and globally

      • know and understand how religion can be defined and what is meant by the term ‘religious and non-religious worldviews’ and with increasing clarity know that these worldviews are complex, diverse and plural

      • gain and deploy skills that enable critical thinking and enquiry in relation to the material they study

      • reflect on their own thoughts, feelings, experiences, ideas, values and beliefs with increasing discernment

Implementation

At Hadrian Primary School we follow the Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education in South Tyneside. Our curriculum is predominantly Christian in nature with children studying 3 Christian topics per year group. Children will also study other core religions including Sikhism, Judaism and the Hindu religion. To reflect the multicultural diversity of our school we also include at least one Islamic topic per year group.

EYFS

During the Early Years Foundation Stage RE is usually taught as part of a whole class topic and often relates to special times within the year. Children will be introduced to the idea of special days and festivals within religions and how these are celebrated. They will be introduced to ceremonies that show belonging. They will find out about special places and how they are used for worship. They will handle sacred books appropriately treating them with respect and learning their significance for the faith communities. They will listen to religious stories and begin to use some appropriate religious vocabulary.

Key Stage 1

At KS1 children will take part in enquires, finding out about religious and non-religious beliefs and practices using a variety of sources. They will be introduced to the beliefs and features of a religion and begin to use basic subject specific language. They will listen to and begin to re-tell religious stories. They will be given opportunities to raise questions and express their own views. They will be encouraged to reflect on their own ideas and feelings in relation to their learning.

At this Key Stage children will learn about Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. They will be introduced to the beliefs and practices of these religions and investigate their impact.

Key Stage 2

KS2 pupils will build on their learning from the previous key stage. They will extend and deepen their factual knowledge of religious beliefs and practices and continue to develop their range of specific subject vocabulary. They will be encouraged to be curious and ask increasingly challenging questions about religion, beliefs, values, and human nature. They will develop their own reasoned opinions on the materials they have studied, identify relevant information, and use examples to back up their ideas. They will be encouraged to listen carefully to differing points of view and to be sensitive and respectful of these ideas. As the children progress through the key stage they will develop their confidence in order to investigate and enquire independently using a variety of sources.

The vast majority of subjects are taught discretely but staff will make meaningful links across subjects. Our RE curriculum and SMSC curriculum are often interlinked. For example, every year we organize, with the help of various members of our local community, a Mela which is held on our school field. We have a band, various stalls, Henna hand painting, face painting, bouncy castles, games, and lots of delicious food. Some of the stalls are run by members of the community and some are run by our children. Everyone is welcome to join the celebration. 

Impact

By the time our pupils leave Hadrian we would hope that they;

have a love of RE.

are ready to progress to the next steps in their RE learning journey.

have a knowledge and understanding of Christianity and the other core religions studied which can be built upon in KS3.

have a knowledge and understanding of non-religious / secular worldviews.

are able to describe how religious beliefs are expressed.

have a knowledge and understanding of the practices of the regions taught and the significance and impact these have on the believer, the community, and societies around the world.

will know that beliefs can affect the values and actions of people.

are able to use an enquiry based approach to their learning; asking challenging questions and debating these drawing on the sources utilized to back up their viewpoints. 

are able to consider ultimate questions and issues of truth and meaning in both religious and non-religious terms.

to be able to reflect on their thoughts, feelings, and beliefs.

will value diversity and develop respect and tolerance for other faiths and beliefs