Carlton Colville Primary School

Below is our whole school RE overview for this academic year. For more detailed information about RE, please view the termly overviews within each of the year group class pages.

At Carlton Colville, we believe that children should be able to investigate and reflect on some of the most fundamental questions asked by people as part of religious education. We develop the children’s knowledge and understanding of the major world faiths especially those within our school. This encourages them to become aware of people’s religious beliefs and practices and the impact they have on lives. Our curriculum offers children an opportunity to develop a better understanding of themselves, people around them and the world in which they live. We help the children learn from religions as well as about religions.

To be a religiously literate pupil at Carlton Colville, we focus on the following RE learning intentions:

• Good knowledge and understanding of major world faiths;
• A strong awareness of how the beliefs, values, practices and ways of life within a religion link together and have an impact on people’s lives;
• Develop an awareness of spiritual and moral issues arising in their lives and other peoples;
• The ability to link the study of religion and belief to personal reflections on meaning, purpose and experiences;
• To develop an understanding and respect for religion traditions and appreciating cultural differences in Britain today;
• To respectfully ask questions as well as explore engaging questions linked to religions;
• To respectfully share and listen to opinions and views with sensitivity for other people and celebrate the diversity in society. 
   

The RE curriculum is led and overseen by our Citizen Team. A regular programme of monitoring, evaluation and staff support takes place along with the celebration and sharing of good practice. There is an ongoing commitment to evolve and improve the quality and impact of RE on offer to all the children through weekly timetabled lessons and whole school faith celebration days. Subject leaders will also liaise with the local churches to arrange visits. This includes all children attending Christmas and Easter services.

RE lessons are taught by the class teacher. We do this through a mixture of whole class teaching and individual, pair or group activities. Each lesson allows the children the opportunity to question, debate and discuss each faith and the opportunity to reflect how the learning impacts and relates to their own lives. We fully adhere to the aims of The Emmanuel Project to ensure all children: learn about and from religions and beliefs. Each unit utilises a key question, often including the key concept, as the title of the unit and more questions throughout help structure the children’s learning and progression.

The Emmanuel Project follows an enquiry cycle model within each unit (ENGAGE/ ENQUIRE / EXPLORE / EVALUATE / EXPRESS). All the units expand the EXPLORE section into three areas (scriptural text or narrative / community practice / daily living) to ensure a balanced approach to religious material, rather than an approach that focuses solely on religious festivals or sacred stories. Similarly, the EVALUATE and EXPRESS lessons focus on providing the children the opportunity to communicate their knowledge and understanding about the unit.

Children are continually assessed focusing on the breadth of their learning, and more importantly, on the depth of their learning. Teachers will continually assess the acquisition of vocabulary, understanding and knowledge throughout each session and will reinforce, support or challenge pupils accordingly to deepen their understanding. Pupils are encouraged to peer and self-assess respectfully by sharing and listening to opinions and views with sensitivity. As the children move through each year group, class teachers are assessing against the key indicators specifically if the children are working at a basic level, advance level or deep level of learning. 

We provide resources to support the teaching and learning of each faith, which include: media for example images, religious extracts and texts, a range of religious artefacts, books and various online videos. Live experiences including visits to local churches and hosting visitors and speakers also enhances the impact of the children’s RE learning.

The teaching of RE offers opportunities to support the social development of our children through the way we expect them to work with each other in lessons. Learning opportunities allow children to work together and gives them a chance to discuss their ideas and opinions. Each unit enables them to develop a mutual respect and tolerance for people’s beliefs and faiths, discern from right and wrong, understand own and others behaviours and beliefs and recognise common aspects across cultural, religious and ethnic communities.

We offer a variety of enrichment opportunities to celebrate different faiths. These include: A whole school R.E day (various faiths), church visits at Christmas and Easter, nativity production, Gideon Bible sessions and the possibility of parent led faith workshops (subject to change due to availability).

Assessment
Our bespoke assessment systems enables teachers to make informed judgements about the depth learning and the progress each pupil has made over time. Critically this then enables teachers to identify and therefore address any gaps in pupil’s RE knowledge.
Through skilled questioning, teachers pick up on any misconceptions which they rectify through live feedback during the lessons and through marking of pupils' work.    
 

Highlighted RE impact includes: (this is not an exhaustive list)

• Children receive a weekly R.E session helping them apply information from their working memory to their long term memory.
• R.E lessons help develop the children's knowledge of world faiths.
• Children are introduced to Christianity and Judaism in year 1 and additional faiths are introduced and re-visited throughout the later years.
• Children are given the opportunity to visit and take part in a church service twice a year.
• Children are given opportunities to take part in whole school faith days.
• Children in the school understand the importance of British Values. Children have developed their knowledge in this area through RE, Personal Development and assemblies.
• Children are encouraged to understand that no one should be treated of, or thought of, as less favourable because they belong to a specific group.
• Children are supported to know that not to be inclusive is to be unjust to some people.
• Children are given the knowledge they need about cultural influence that have shaped the UK and recognise common aspects across cultural, religious and ethnic communities.
   

Teddy - "I enjoyed using stop-go animation for Diwali".

India - "In Year 5, making a Lotus Flower, and learning about its significence for Hindus, was really interesting".

Isobelle - "Learning the Rama and Sita story helped improve my knowledge".

Molly - "During Ramadan, Muslims fast during the day and eat just one meal".