Loving
Inspirational
Fun
Educational
RE
Our Religious Education Intent – The Roots of Our Curriculum
Our RE curriculum intent is linked to our school values and sets out the core principles of our curriculum.
Loving: We love finding out about people, cultures and beliefs from all over the world and how these beliefs are demonstrated and celebrated. Relevant texts are chosen at the start of each half term unit, to introduce the children to the theme being explored. These form the initial learning, from which we can explore ideas, questions and feelings in an open and respectful manner. Our children leave us understanding that everyone’s viewpoint is valid and we have a responsibility to respect values of all.
Inspirational: Our chosen texts, combined with relevant learning experiences and visits, explore themes that the children are able to relate to their own life experiences, such as festivals and other special events, whilst beginning to explore the experiences of others, in our country and throughout the world. Awe and wonder will be experienced as children discover facts about belief systems and world views and enjoy the diversity of humanity.
Fun: Because so much of our learning is experiential and ‘hands on’ children will discover the fun of finding out about something completely new and sharing their own views and beliefs in a non-judgemental manner. The investigatory manner in which this subject is taught enables children, not only to gain knowledge of different beliefs but to develop a curiosity about the cultures and belief systems of humanity and begin to question and consider their own feelings.
Educational: Our RE curriculum offers children the opportunity to begin to enquire into, investigate and understand the idea of religion/belief systems. Our curriculum is adapted to suit the needs of each individual child, ensuring all can experience success and the opportunity to feel their thoughts and beliefs are valued. Our teaching weaves learning experiences from Early Years to Year 2, ensuring prior learning is built upon, enabling our children to question and consider the viewpoint of others, in an open and non-judgemental setting, using it to inform their own beliefs and ideas as they grow.
Progression in Religious Education (RE)
Our RE Curriculum
At Sawtry Infant School we follow the Cambridgeshire Locally Agreed Syllabus for RE. This specifies what we should be teaching at each stage in a child’s learning journey, but enables a certain leeway in how we deliver each topic area. For EYFS and Key Stage 1, we start each new topic area with a book related to the subject, aimed at the children’s ages and from this we build up learning in an experiential manner.
To ensure detailed and in-depth coverage of each subject area we plan in specific RE days or weeks, so the children have condensed periods to embed the knowledge. Due to some of our classes being mixed year groups, we have a two year rolling programme, ensuring all children will cover every topic area.
Please see our RE curriculum plan below for more information.