Westonzoyland Primary School ‘Achieving, Learning and Growing Together’
RE Curriculum Information
Religious Education at Westonzoyland Primary School
Statement of intent
At Westonzoyland community primary school we aim to engage, inspire, challenge and encourage pupils, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to answer challenging questions, explore different religious beliefs, values and traditions and develop a rigorous understanding of the numerous religious traditions, worldviews, beliefs and practices that are followed in our multi-cultural society. We want them to know how religious education promotes discernment and enables pupils to combat prejudice, preparing them for adult life, employment and life-long learning.
Our primary aims are
- To develop knowledge and understanding of Christianity and other principal religious traditions represented in Great Britain.
- To develop understanding of the ways in which beliefs influence people in their behaviour, practices and in their communities.
- To reflect on, deepen and clarify their own experiences, worldviews, values and beliefs and those of others.
- To develop awareness of fundamental questions about life arising from human experience and how religious beliefs and practices can relate to them.
- To recognise the right of people to hold diverse beliefs and values and to develop positive attitudes of respect towards other people
- To benefit from opportunities to enhance their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.
Progression and Delivery
Religious Education at Westonzoyland Community Primary starts in our Pre-school, where children aged 2 to 4 learn about special times in theirs and others lives and differences and similarities between them and others by following both development matters and the children’s interests. The Pre-School also cover some key celebrations with the children including Harvest festival, Halloween, Bonfire night, Christmas, Easter St George's day and St Patricks Day and visit the local church.
As children move into the Foundation stage classes, they continue to work towards the Early Learning Goals and the curriculum is also supported by the AMV syllabus. In this year children look at similarities and differences between festivals and between how different families celebrate the same festival, they explore a range of festivals including Christmas, Easter, Diwali, Chinese New Year, Halloween and focus on stories and storytelling including Rama and Sita, Christmas and Easter. This is done in both role play/small world/ godly play and through written retells. They also visit the local church and take part in the whole school Easter service in church.
In both the Early Years and Foundation there is a strong focus on the Characteristics of Effective Learning which allows children to develop the critical thinking skills that will support their RE throughout their school life.
In KS 1 and 2 RE lessons at Westonzoyland follow Awareness, Mystery and Values, the agreed syllabus for religious education in Somerset which are led by enquiry questions. Planning ensures full coverage, coherence and progression in knowledge and skills throughout the school. At Westonzoyland Community Primary we value engaging learning that caters for a variety of learning styles. Skills are used as a vehicle for developing subject knowledge. Deep learning is planned for using the Bloom’s taxonomy question.
Tracking and Assessment
Each Religious Education unit taught is assessed through the Awareness, Mystery and Values assessment records. Teachers and leaders then use this to support further RE teaching and assessment data is passed onto the next class teacher to ensure consistent progression throughout the school.
Curriculum Overview
