Intent

Here at St Leonard’s we take pride in our inclusivity and school values; believing that all pupils should be ‘educated, engaged and inspired’. It is crucial for our pupils to learn from and about different religions, developing their awareness of the multi-cultural, ever-changing world around them. Through Religious Education, we strive to engage and inspire our pupils with an enquiry-based curriculum, where they are provided with opportunities to learn about world faiths, deepening their understanding and awareness of the beliefs, values and traditions of other individuals, societies, communities and cultures. It plays a significant role in the development of their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and nurtures our pupils to be respectful and open-minded towards different faiths and beliefs, whilst also developing their individual sense of identity and belonging.

Implementation

At St Leonard’s we aim to promote an enquiry-based approach to RE which covers the Staffordshire agreed syllabus for Early Years, Key Stage 1 and 2. During each Key Stage, pupils are taught knowledge, skills and understanding through learning about Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Judaism, Buddism and Sikhism. Each unit of work identifies prior learning and builds on a key question. RE is taught weekly for an hour. We aim to offer our pupils a wide range of religious experiences; where they are learning about religion and from religion.

Experiences at St Leonard’s include:

• Handling artefacts
• Exploring sacred texts
• Visits and visitors to enhance learning of a religion
• Opportunities for celebration, prayer and reflection
• Visits to our local church 
• Comparing religions and world views through discussion
• Responding to images, games, stories, art, music and dance

Assessment of RE is ongoing, to inform teachers with their planning, lesson activities and differentiation. Summative assessment is required at the end of each unit, relating back to the key question. RE is monitored throughout each year group through book looks, learning walks and pupil voices.

Pupils at St Leonard’s with SEND are supported in RE in various ways depending on their individual needs. There is no better place to celebrate the diversity and meaning than within an RE lesson. We aim to support children to develop their self-confidence and awareness, understand the world they live in as individuals and as members of groups, and give opportunities for them to bring their own experiences and understanding of life into the classroom. To ensure pupil are given equal opportunities to reach their full potential teachers can make reasonable adjustments to support pupils in their learning. These might include but are not limited to, reducing the amount of written work for pupils by providing printed templates.

Impact

At St Leonard’s, we foresee our RE curriculum having a positive impact on all our pupils. We aim to extend their knowledge and understanding of religions and beliefs, whilst also developing their religious vocabulary. All pupils are able to reflect on questions, scenarios and situations; offering their own thoughtful and informed insights into religious world-views and showing tolerance towards others. By the end of each key stage, pupils are expected to know, understand and apply skills related to both attainment targets and learning themes within each taught unit of work.