Acorn Religious Education

Empowering Learners...Growing Minds

 

We aim to...

Empowering Learners

  • Children at Kidsgrove Primary School will be respectful of the beliefs of others in our diverse World.
  • Demonstrate knowledge, understanding and tolerance of faiths different to that of their own.

 

Growing Minds

  • Children will learn about the fundamental belief, practices and values within a range of World faiths.
  • Children will ask and answer relevant question to further their understanding of and deepen their knowledge of multiple faiths.

 

Intent

At Kidsgrove Primary School, we value the importance of children developing a deep understanding of faith, including key figures, stories and practices. We aim to ensure that children gain knowledge of key historical figures and the influence they had on founding religions around the World and from different periods of time. Curiosity in RE is fostered by centring lessons around key questions for children to reflect upon and answer, therefore developing a sense of responsibility for their own knowledge and learning. Reinforcing the importance of diversity and inclusivity, we ensure that all children learn about a variety of religions and places of worship, with this fostering a further sense of empowerment to explore the wider World around them.

Implementation

At Kidsgrove Primary, our RE curriculum, which utilises the work of Opening Worlds in both Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 is taught as an individual subject in every half-term. These studies have been mapped out by Opening Worlds in advance for each of the year groups from 1-6, working as individual years to cover the National Curriculum objectives.

The key driver behind the Opening World’s curriculum is secure Religious Education knowledge, which is coherent, connected and structured. Thoroughness in knowledge-building is achieved through intricate coherence and tight sequencing.  Within our Opening world’s curriculum, the mastery of prior content plays a huge part in unlocking future content. Pupils advancing through our curriculum feel enabled by what they have already learned, recognising vocabulary, ideas, people and places so that new material makes sense through connection, therefore freeing up working memory.

Distinctive features of Kidsgrove’s Opening World’s curriculum are:

  • Thoroughness in knowledge-building, achieved through intricate coherence and tight sequencing.
  • Global and cultural breadth, embracing wide diversity across ethnicity, gender, region and community.
  • Rapid impact on literacy through systematic introduction and revisiting of new vocabulary.
  • Subject-specific disciplinary rigour, teaching pupils to interpret and argue, to advance and weigh claims, and to understand the distinctive ways in which subject traditions enquire and seek truth.
  • Well-told stories and beautifully written narratives.
  • A highly inclusive approach, secured partly through common knowledge (giving access to common language) and partly through thorough high-leverage teaching that is pacey, oral, interactive and fun.
  • Efficient use of lesson time, blending sharp pace, sustained practice and structured reflection.

At Kidsgrove Primary school lessons are planned using the Opening world long-term planning, which has been adapted to medium term planning overview documents by the school RE lead. Teachers then use this document to plan and deliver 60 - 75 minutes of RE weekly. The Opening Worlds curriculum understands the importance of explicit vocabulary teaching and incorporates it into every lesson. Each unit in KS1 is designed to give children an overarching sense of RE, including significant figures and places of worship within different religions. Each unit in Key Stage 2 is linked to a textbook and this is used alongside the storytelling of the teacher to build the children’s understanding within context. An example of this might be:

In KS1 children are introduced to Christianity and how Jesus is represented in different form during different periods and events. Within LKS2 children build upon this, learning about the story of Mary and Joseph. In UKS2 children then build on the rich vocabulary further using words such as: decree, incarnation, resurrection and symbolise.  This constant build of rich vocabulary sees our children develop a greater understanding of not only the topics but also what they are reading within specific lessons and across the wider curriculum.

How do we provide for all learners?

Most pupils enjoy RE, but some struggle with aspects of reading and writing. Pupils are encouraged to work as independently as possible, but reasonable adjustments are made for those pupils with SEND. Teachers aim to make RE accessible and include pupils of all abilities by modifying planning, pre-teaching of geographical vocabulary; live modelling during lessons; reducing outcome expectations, providing scaffolding, individual or group support or give additional time to complete tasks. RE lessons offer all pupils the chance to explore local and wider environments.

Curriculum Enrichment

Where possible, units of work is enriched by a school trip, or by a visitor coming into school. Trips and visitors are carefully planned to ensure they link with what is happening in the classroom.

Impact

The impact of our Religious Education curriculum can be seen through: the outcomes of pupils, formative assessment, the work that they produce within their books, and through pupil voice.

 

RE Documents

Updated: 05/12/2024 72 KB