Bowmansgreen Primary
School R.E
Differences were meant not to divide but to enrich
-J.H. Oldham
Intent
At Bowmansgreen Primary School, our RE curriculum enables children to explore and learn about the different beliefs and practices of people in their communities and around the world. Our enquiry-based curriculum will allow children to form, share and challenge their own and other’s beliefs and ideas. We follow The Hertfordshire Agreed Syllabus, alongside teachers’ knowledge and expertise, to set high standards of teaching and learning in RE. Our main intention is to provide high quality religious education for all our pupils. It is a statutory requirement that all children from Reception to Year 6 participate in Religious Education lessons.
Our RE Curriculum will:
- Provide a systematic knowledge and understanding about Christianity, principal religions and world views
- Enable pupils to become religiously and theologically literate
- Assist pupils in gaining shared human understanding, developing personal identity and searching for meaning in the context of evaluating different viewpoints
- Enable and encourage pupils to share and celebrate their own religious beliefs and customs with their class and the wider school community
- Encourage children to be inquisitive and respectful about other’s beliefs and customs
- Promote respect, inclusivity and tolerance of the rich and diverse community at Bowmansgreen and the wider world.
Implementation
At Bowmangreen, pupils are taught Religious Education weekly but sometimes it may be delivered through a class topic, whole school themed events or a class trip. Teachers plan from the Hertfordshire Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education 2023-2028. We use the non-statutory guidance ‘Religion for Today and Tomorrow’ to support planning. From Reception to Year 6, all pupils at Bowmansgreen will follow a coherent and systematic study of the principal religion of Christianity across each key stage. All pupils will then be introduced to the other five principal religions represented in Great Britain by the end of key stage 2.
The other principal religions being taught at Bowmansgreen:
- Hinduism
- Sikhism
- Judaism
- Buddhism
- Islam
We also explore non-religious world-views, including Humanism.
All children across the school will cover these eight key areas of learning:
- Beliefs and practices
- Prayer, worship and reflection
- Sources of wisdom
- Symbols and actions
- Identity and belonging
- Ultimate questions
- Human responsibility and values
- Justice and fairness
Impact
The impact of the RE curriculum at Bowmansgreen is demonstrated in the success of pupils and their confidence in demonstrating the knowledge and understanding they have gained in the subject. Achievements in RE are assessed in a variety of ways, including ongoing marking and feedback in pupil books, teacher assessment through verbal discussions, as well as end of key stage outcomes.
Pupil voice activities provide leaders with understanding of how the children feel about their learning and allows children the opportunity to reflect upon their learning, sharing this with staff.
The children at Bowmansgreen Primary will:
- Have a sound knowledge and understanding of Christianity and the other principal religions and non-religious views they have learnt about
- Develop their spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding of the world around them
- Enjoy learning about and celebrating their own and other people’s beliefs and customs
- Show respect and tolerance to others and their religious or non-religious beliefs
The impact of our RE curriculum is continually evaluated by:
- Termly monitoring through our good practice reviews which includes data, book looks, environment walks, lesson drop-ins and pupil voice discussions
- How children respond to questions about faith
Overviews