Religious Education Curriculum Statement  

Our School Vision:  

“The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.” (Matthew 7:25)

Bishop Chavasse Church of England School Policies are all underpinned by our school parable ‘The Wise and the Foolish Builder.’

Jesus is at the heart of Christianity. As a church school we believe that, like the wise man, those who are guided by the word of God in the Bible and trust in him will become wise, compassionate and honest; be empowered to weather all storms, help one another flourish and make a difference in the world.

Bishop Chavasse School knows and values every wonderfully and uniquely created child and adult. Supported by faith, we establish firm foundations for our children to become resilient, curious, confident, community minded courageous advocates who flourish and thrive. We build on and support the development of the whole person in a safe, happy Christian environment. We inspire everyone to fulfil their potential through our high expectations and a broad, creative and inspirational curriculum; rich in opportunity to develop culture capital, have fun and partake in adventures. Everyone will develop an everlasting love of learning. Our dedicated, passionate staff, supported by parents, Governors and the Tenax Schools Trust are committed to nurturing our community to achieve excellence together in an environment where everyone is wise, trustworthy and compassionate. Pupils will make everlasting friendships and exciting life-long memories.

Intent

Religious Education has a significant role for the development of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. It promotes respect and open-mindedness towards others with different faiths and beliefs and encourages pupils to develop their sense of identity and belonging through self-awareness and reflection. The principle aim of Religious Education is to engage pupils in an enquiry approach where they can develop an understanding and appreciation for the expression of beliefs, cultural practices and influence of principle religions and worldviews in the local, national and wider global community.

Implementation

At Bishop Chavasse, we follow the Diocese of Rochester scheme of learning, which incorporates the Understanding Christianity project to promote an enquiry-based approach. Individual lessons and termly units of work focus on three main aspects:

• Making sense of the text – Developing skills of reading and interpretation; understanding how Christians interpret, handle and use biblical texts; making sense of the meanings of texts for Christians
• Understanding the impact – Examining ways in which Christians respond to biblical texts and teachings, and how they put their beliefs into action in diverse ways within the Christian community and in the world
• Making connections – Evaluating, reflecting on and connecting the texts and concepts studied, and discerning possible connections between these and pupils’ own lives and ways of understanding the world.

Within Understanding Christianity, the 'big story' of the Bible is taught across the school through 8 'core concepts' which children encounter a number of times as they move through the school.

There is also opportunity in other terms to learn about world faiths, where different year groups take time focusing on religions around the world. Thematic units are explored in every year group and these give opportunities for children to question and think about themes found in previous RE learning. These also give space to think about non-religious views. Children show their understanding through a variety of creative activities as well as expressing their knowledge through the written word.

Experiences and enrichment opportunities at Bishop Chavasse Primary School

• handling artefacts
• using imaginative play or drama to express feelings and ideas
• responding to images, games, stories, art, music and dance
• meeting visitors from local religious communities
• making visits to religious places of worship where possible, and where not, making use of videos and the internet
• taking part in whole school events
• participating in moments of quiet reflection
• using ICT to further explore religion and belief globally
• comparing religions and worldviews through discussion
• debating and communicating religious belief, worldviews and philosophical ideas and answering and asking ultimate questions posed by these

Early Years Foundation Stage

Pupils in this phase also use Understanding Christianity to build their understanding and knowledge. They are taught about traditions, beliefs and world views outside of their own experiences through exploring other cultures and practices in the wider world.

Learning about religion and belief

Pupils are to be taught to:

• Talk about religious stories, including Bible stories and the Bible passages focusing on Christmas and Easter
• Recognise some Christian religious beliefs or teachings
• Identify simple features of Christian religious life and practice
• Recognise some Christian religious words
• Name and recognise some Christian religious symbols
• Recognise some Christian religious artefacts, including those in cultural and religious use (e.g. Christmas cards, Easter eggs and hot cross buns)

Learning from religion and belief

Pupils should be taught to: 

• Recognise their own experiences and feelings in religious stories and celebrations
• Recognise there are similarities and differences between theirs and other’s lives
• Identify what they find interesting about religious events
• Question what they find puzzling in religious stories
• Say what matters to them and to talk about how to care for others

Key Stage One

During this key stage, pupils are taught the knowledge, skills and understanding through religion and belief as well as wider learning themes. They are introduced in more depth to Christianity, to other principle religions (including Judaism and Islam) and can reflect on prior learning as they progress through the units.

Learning about religion and belief

Pupils should be taught to: 

• Explore a range of Christian religious stories and religious texts and talk about their meaning
• Explore a range of celebrations, teachings and traditions in religions, noting similarities and differences
• Recognise how belonging to a religion is important to people and the impact it has on their lives
• Explore how religious beliefs and ideas are expressed
• Begin to establish a religious vocabulary and suggests meanings for religious symbols

Learning from religion and belief

Pupils should be taught to:

• Reflect on what matters to them and others who hold religious views
• Reflect on moral values of right and wrong
• Recognise there are similarities and differences between theirs and others lives
• Communicate their ideas and ask and respond to questions
• Recognise how religious ideas and beliefs impact people’s lives personally and socially

Key Stage Two

During this key stage, pupils are taught the knowledge, skills and understanding through deeper enquiry into Christianity and Sikhi, Hindu Dharma, Judaism, Humanism and Islam. Pupils in Year 5 and Year 6 consider the impact of beliefs and practices in greater detail and respond to more philosophical questions.

Learning about religion and belief

Pupils should be taught to: 

• Explore and comment on the key aspects of religions, believer’s lives, their stories and traditions and their influence
• Explore how practices are related to beliefs and teachings
• Interpret information about religion and religious beliefs through a range of sources
• Recognise similarities and differences within and between religions
• Consider how religious and spiritual ideas are expressed
• Describe and begin to encounter religious and other responses to ultimate questions and ethical or moral issues
• Use a developed religious vocabulary when discussing and expressing their knowledge and understanding

Learning from religion and belief

Pupils should be taught to: 

• Reflect on what it means to belong to a faith community and how this relates to them and others’ lives
• Recognise how religious practice is conducted in a variety of ways
• Discuss their own and other’s views of religious truth and belief
• Reflect on morality and how people respond to decisions they are faced with
• Reflect on sources of information and what they find value in in their own and other’s lives

Impact

At Bishop Chavasse Church of England Primary School, we envision the Religious Education curriculum impacting the pupils by them being able to remember more, know more and consequently, be able to do more. Our RE curriculum is not only intended to prepare our children for the next stage of their education, but to ensure they are equipped with the knowledge and skills they need to help them function and thrive in an ever-evolving world.

By the end of Key Stage 2, pupils will be able to:

Making sense of the text:

• describe the outline the timeline of the 'big story' of the Bible, explaining the place within it of the core concepts studied.
• identify at least five different types of biblical texts, using technical terms accurately.
• explain connections between biblical texts and the key concepts studies, using theological terms.
• able to consider the contexts, suggest meanings for biblical texts studies, and compare their ideas with ways in which Christians interpret biblical texts, showing awareness of different interpretations.

Understanding the impact:

• make clear connections between the Bible texts and concepts studied with what Christians believe, how Christians worship and how Christians behave in their whole lives, their church communities, and in the wider world.
• show how Christians put their beliefs into practice in different ways, for example denominations.

Making connections:

• identify ideas arising from their study of texts and concepts, and comment on how far these are helpful or inspiring, justifying their responses.
• weigh up how biblical ideas, teachings or beliefs relate to the issues, problems and opportunities of their own lives and the world today, developing insights of their own.

Pupils will also:

• have a knowledge and understanding of other major world religions and beliefs
• have developed a religious vocabulary and interpret religious symbolism in a variety of forms
• be able to reflect on questions of meaning, offering their own thoughtful and informed insights into religious and secular world-views
• have had the opportunity to explore ultimate questions of beliefs and values in relation to a range of contemporary issues in an ever-changing society.

Termly summative assessments are used to determine the children’s’ understanding and inform teacher’s planning and further differentiated support for pupils. This data is reviewed at key points in the year by the subject leader who also carries out learning walks and book scrutinies. The impact our RE curriculum is also sought directly from the pupils as surveys and questionnaires are used to gather pupils’ voice on this subject and together with summative assessment, action can be taken to further develop the Religious Education curriculum.