Primary | Religious Education
Aims
To promote the spiritual, moral, social, emotional intellectual and cultural development of the students.
- Extend their understanding of Christianity and other principle religions in a local, national and global context
- Make links between the beliefs (teachings, sources, etc.) of different religious groups and show how they are connected to believers’ lives
KS1:
- Be aware that some questions are puzzling and may not have easy or right answers, even for adults
- Understand that people’s beliefs and values affect the way in which they live
- Make links between their own experiences and those of others.
Lower KS2:
- Develop knowledge and understanding of different religious beliefs and practices as well as secular world views, and begin to recognise diversity within, as well as between, religious and cultural traditions.
- Use religious and other specialist vocabulary with growing confidence, building on and consolidating their learning from Key Stage 1.
- Talk about and respond to questions about their own beliefs and lifestyles, making comparisons with other people’s experiences.
Upper KS2:
- Develop an understanding of the connection between beliefs and actions – increasingly understand some of the ways in which cultural and social influences affect how people practice their religion.
- Compare their own beliefs and lifestyles with those of others.
- Use religious and technical vocabulary with greater confidence, explaining symbolism and abstract ideas with increasing depth of understanding.
- Recognise increasingly that some questions do not have answers or could have a range of answers, depending on beliefs and experience.
Years 1–6
Working to develop understanding of Christianity and at least two other main religions
Big questions for exploring in RE
Year 2 – ‘Can stories change people?’
Year 3 – ‘How are symbols and sayings important in religion?’
Year 4 – ‘What is special to me and the people in my community?’
Year 5 – ‘How do beliefs influence actions?’
Year 6 – ‘How important are the similarities and differences between and within religions?’
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Term 2 – Autumn 2 |
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Year 1–2 (KS1) |
Forgiveness This unit explores a story where a child lies and fails to take responsibility for things they have done wrong. From this pupils are asked to consider why it is important to say sorry, and for others to forgive us when we are sorry. The unit uses Philosophy for children (p4C) techniques to enquire into a story, asking the children to find meaning and questions from it. The unit then draws upon religious values and ask the children to think about these. Links to British Values:
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Year 3–4 (KS2) |
What makes me the person I am? In this unit, pupils are given the opportunity to reflect on different aspects of their identity, on ideas about what is distinctive about them, and what they share with others and the world around them. The unit develops work on special qualities from Year 1 unit: What does it mean to live with family and friends? There is an opportunity in lesson 4 for pupils in bring in a special item to share with others in the lesson, and also for a faith visitor to come into the classroom and talk about a religious object that is special to them. Following this lesson there is an opportunity for the children to go on to visit a place of worship, and discover more special objects used at special times. Links to British Values:
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Year 5–6 (KS2)
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Inner forces In this unit, pupils will explore stories from a range of religious traditions: the story of Adam and Eve (Judeo-Christian tradition), the story of Jonah (Judeo-Christian tradition), the story of Bilal (Muslim tradition) and the story of Buddha. In each they will be encouraged to look for levels of meaning and to apply what they have learnt to their own experiences. There is an opportunity in lesson 2 to invite in a local Christian or Jewish visitor to talk about the story of Adam and Eve – what it means to them and how their faith teaches them to overcome temptation. Links to British Values:
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Term 5 – Summer 1 |
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Year 1–2 (KS1) |
Where did the world come from, and how should we look after it? In this unit children are given the opportunity to learn about creation stories and beliefs in different religions. Children are given the opportunity to reflect on their own beliefs about how the world began, and how people fail and try to look after the world. Links to British Values:
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Year 3–4 (KS2)
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Special signs and symbols In this unit children will consider how art is used to express important beliefs in two religions – Christianity and Islam. In the Muslim religion traditionally God is never pictured, nor anyone mentioned in the Qur’an, but Islamic artists have found ways of producing amazing art within these boundaries. Links to British Values:
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Year 5–6 (KS2)
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Similarities and differences between and within religions Work in this unit will enable children to explore the differences and similarities within Christianity, Islam and 2 other religions or world views of your choice. It will introduce children to the concept worship and community and will enable them to compare the meanings of both in their own lives and within the lives of human beings. This unit gives an opportunity for the class to visit a church and a mosque, and to compare similarities and difference between these two places of worship. Links to British Values:
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Photography © Meg Khan