We want our school community to SHINE as respectful members of society who show understanding and tolerance towards world religions.

Intent

At Cookham Rise, children will receive a broad and solid religious education about religions from around the world. It is important for all of our pupils to grow up to be understanding, empathetic and tolerant of others. The aim is for the children to have a good knowledge of world religions and the skills to listen respectfully, discuss and develop their understanding, considering some big questions along the way.

We use Kapow Primary’s 'Religion and Worldviews' curriculum which aims to develop deep thinkers who are open-minded about religion and worldviews. The R&W curriculum is relevant to pupils, reflecting and preparing them for life in modern Britain. Through the scheme, children will secure a deep understanding of concepts in order to be able to make connections, ask and respond to challenging questions, learn to respect and appreciate worldviews that are different to their own and consider their personal preconceptions, responses and views. Children will build their conceptual knowledge through studying religions and worldviews locally, nationally and globally in our progressive curriculum, enabling them to make links and connections between worldviews, develop disciplinary skills and build on their understanding of their positionality in relation to their learning . By revisiting key ‘big questions’ and building on prior knowledge, pupils will learn about how religion and worldviews are lived experiences across the world, consider the impact of worldviews on society and have opportunities to consider their personal worldviews. Kapow Primary’s R&W scheme of work enables pupils to meet the government guidance, which states that RE must reflect that ‘the religious traditions in Great Britain are, in the main, Christian while taking account of the teaching and practices of the other principal religions represented in Great Britain’. The scheme has been designed to fulfil the aims of 'A Curriculum framework for Religious Education in England'.

For EYFS, the lessons allow pupils to work towards targeted ‘Understanding the world’ Development Matters statements and Early learning goals, while covering foundational knowledge that will support them in their further Religion and worldviews learning in Key stage 1

Implementation

Reflecting the findings of the Ofsted Research review series: religious education (May 2021), the scheme has the following three strands running through it:

✔ Substantive knowledge (conceptual and worldviews related).

✔ Disciplinary knowledge.

✔ Personal knowledge.

These strands are interwoven across all units to create lessons that build children’s conceptual knowledge and understanding of religion and worldviews (substantive knowledge) and use a range of disciplinary lenses (ways of knowing). Children will also be equipped to explore and express their preconceptions, personal worldviews and positionality (personal knowledge) through varied and engaging learning experiences. The Kapow Primary Religion and Worldviews scheme follows a spiral curriculum model, where units and lessons are carefully sequenced so that previous conceptual knowledge is returned to and built upon. Children progress by developing and deepening their knowledge and understanding of substantive and disciplinary concepts by experiencing them in a range of contexts.

In EYFS, children begin to talk about the beliefs of their immediate family and community, recognising that people have different beliefs and celebrate special times in different ways. They listen to religious and modern day stories and compare and contrast characters, including figures from the past. Children develop their awareness of religion and worldviews in Key stage 1, focusing on conceptual knowledge through the study of a limited range of religions and worldviews represented in the UK, including Christianity. This will support children in building knowledge they can refer to throughout their learning in Key stage 2 while encountering a greater range of religions and worldviews and considering further the diverse nature of religious and non-religious lived experience.

Each unit includes overarching ‘big questions’ which will be revisited throughout key stage 1, lower key stage 2 and upper key Stage 2, allowing children to apply the breadth and depth of their learning across various concepts. These ‘big questions’ are:

Why are we here?

Why do worldviews change?

What is religion?

How can worldviews be expressed?

How do worldviews affect our daily lives?

How can we live together in harmony if we have different worldviews?

Impact

The impact of Kapow Primary’s scheme will be monitored through both formative and summative assessment opportunities with teachers assessing pupils against the learning objectives. Unit quizzes and 'knowledge catchers' will be used by teachers to support assessment. Kapow Primary Religion and Worldviews curriculum equips pupils with a range of disciplinary skills and knowledge to enable them to succeed in their secondary education. They will be prepared for life in modern Britain, being able to interact with others from different religious and non-religious viewpoints in a respectful, knowledgeable and open-minded way. They will be curious learners who ask questions and make connections, confident to explore their personal worldview and have the skills to appreciate, evaluate and respond to religious, philosophical and ethical questions.

The expected impact of following the Kapow Primary Religion and worldviews scheme of work is that children will:

● Meet the relevant Early learning goals at the end of EYFS (Reception) and the End of Key stage 1 and Key stage 2 requirements from the Curriculum framework for Religious Education for England.

● Know and understand religious concepts relating to beliefs, practices, community and belonging, and wisdom and guidance.

● Develop an understanding of the influence of organised and personal worldviews on individuals, communities, countries and globally.

● Understand some of the ways religions and worldviews are studied (disciplinary knowledge).

● Develop understanding of their relationship with the content studied, being able to talk about their assumptions and preconceptions (personal knowledge).

● Build secure vocabulary which allows them to talk confidently and fluently about their learning.

● Answer questions about worldviews through an enquiry-based approach including investigating, interpreting, evaluating, applying and expressing.

● Talk about the similarities and differences between their own and others’ beliefs with respect and open mindedness.

● Understand the lived experiences of religious and non-religious worldviews to be diverse within and between people and communities.

● Develop an understanding of the ways in which personal and organised worldviews may develop and change across time and place.

The guide explains what children will learn, term-by-term and the knowledge and skills that they will develop.