Summary of Intent

The learning of the different religions is an integral part of our RE lessons. At Casterton, teachers create a positive attitude to RE learning within their classrooms and reinforce an expectation that all children are capable of achieving high standards in RE.

We want our children to develop their understanding of religious ideas, their values, and attitudes.

We want our children to be able to encounter a rich variety of experiences and a range of environments to widen their horizons and make learning memorable.

We want to inspire our children to have a lifelong love of learning and to understand the broad range of opportunities that are available to them.

We want our children to become active global citizens, contributing to their communities and the wider society.

What RE looks like at Casterton Primary Academy

At Casterton Primary Academy, RE reflects our commitment to promote and encourage a lifelong love of learning.  Running parallel with The Lancashire Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education 2021, it is the quest to understand what it is to be human.  By learning about, and how we can use religion, how we can become more open minded, respectful and achieve greater self-awareness.  The skills and attitudes developed through RE can thus make a significant contribution to promoting British Values and developing community cohesion in Lancashire, Burnley. 

Our whole school approach to the teaching and learning of RE involves the following;

• RE is taught in planned topic blocks by the class teacher.  Using guidance from the Local Authority that all children, of all abilities, are tailored for in each lesson.
• Where possible we teach RE across the curriculum to embed learning and prompt children to identify links across all subjects.
• We plan for real-life opportunities that enable children to find out for themselves. Children are encouraged to ask their own questions and be given opportunities to use their skills and research to discover the answers.
• Planning involves teachers creating practical, engaging lessons with opportunities for questioning in class to test knowledge and skills and assess children regularly to identify those children with gaps in learning.
• Teachers find opportunities to develop children's understanding of the surroundings by accessing outdoor learning both in the local community and wider community and bespoke workshops with experts.

How RE develops in EYFS and transitions into KS1

In EYFS, children are guided to make sense of their physical world and their community

through opportunities to explore, observe and find out about people, places and the environment.  They begin to develop their religious education knowledge by exploring the themes of Special Times, Special Stories, and Special Places.

By looking at these themes the children will think about:

• How and why do we celebrate? What times are special to different people and why? 
• Why are some stories special? What special messages can we learn from stories?
• What buildings and places are special to different people? OR What is special about our world?

Planning Expectations

The Long Term Plans

These show the units we have to cover, grouped into a 2-year cycle; Year A and Year B.

The long term plan also identifies a ‘big question’ for each unit that the children will work towards answering during the unit of work.? The RE units cover each half term during the year.

The Medium Term Plans

For each unit taught, the Medium Term plan will identify prior learning, vocabulary to be taught, key learning, geographical skills, links to the ‘World of Work’ and opportunities for enrichment. Teaching and Learning will closely reflect these plans.

Non-negotiables

• Children will be taught the equivalent curriculum allocation of no less than 5% of the available time.  It is compulsory within the Lancashire Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education 2021 to teach at least 50% Christianity.
• The ‘Big Question’ at the beginning of each unit of work.?
• Each week a smaller question will help to focus that lesson’s work.
• High standards of presentation.
• Work is recorded in topic books.  Practical work can be noted in a sentence with the learning objective and any photo evidence can be stuck in or signposted to e.g. One Drive.
• Objectives linked to religious education learning.? Work needs to be marked against RE objectives.?
• The teacher must teach RE every half term.

Adapting the (subject) curriculum for children with SEND

Religious Education must be taught to all registered pupils in maintained schools, including those in reception, except to those withdrawn by their parents. 

Religious Education is for all pupils.

• RE can help children reflect and connect with issues in their own lives and show how others have faced life challenges.  This is especially appropriate to those who have experienced struggle, bereavement or difficult experiences.

• RE can offer times of peace, reflection and calm.

• RE offers colourful sensory experiences for example: the sound of a call to prayer, the taste of matza, the touch of tefillin, the smell of incense, the sight of a murti.  For pupils who experience the world so strongly through their senses, the subject speaks to them in a direct way.

• RE offers children an opportunity to share meaningful experiences and beliefs. Many pupils with special needs are instinctive individuals who may have deep spiritual insights and experiential moments that are at odds with other areas of understanding.  Children with a faith may also have a pride and openness in sharing elements of their own religion with others and a recognition and connection with home beliefs that link some elements of their lives together (Anne Krisman RE Today 2008).

The curriculum may need to be adapted to meet the needs of pupils with special needs and/or disabilities whilst maintaining the ‘Field of Enquiry’ ensuring that learning is age appropriate and suitably challenging.  This requires a careful analysis of the knowledge and skills which comprise a particular learning task.

Children Who Require Different Objectives:

Before teaching a new unit, teachers will always check that the children have the prior learning needed to undertake new learning.  For pupils who are working significantly below year group expectations, teachers will identify the prior learning using the progression of knowledge in RE and the progression of skills.  Class teachers select appropriate objectives and ways of working for individuals and design learning tasks to match these.  Objectives selected will build on the prior learning of the child and will provide challenge to move the children’s learning forward.

Assessment

Teachers will be using formative assessment, using the learning objectives from that lesson, to monitor student learning to provide ongoing feedback that can be used to inform the next steps of learning.  Summative assessments are made at the end of each Christianity or Islam unit, using the assessment criteria for that topic.  The assessments are recorded on the MT plan and then on the Target Tracker.  This information is used when planning the next topic.

Curriculum Enrichment

• Links with local church and mosque.
• Visitors to school and assemblies.
• Visits to a range of environments.
• Use of a wide range of objects, books and visual resources.