Religious Education
“Religious education in a Church school should enable every child to flourish and to live life in all its fullness. (John 10:10). It will help educate for dignity and respect encouraging all to live well together.”
Key Purpose & Intention
Key Purpose of RE
- Learn about a range of religious and non-religious worldviews.
- Provoke challenging questions about meaning, purpose, and beliefs.
- Develop skills to agree and disagree respectfully, fostering an aptitude for dialogue.
- Educate for wisdom, knowledge, skills, hope, aspiration, community, dignity, and respect.
- Develop relationships with ourselves, others, the world, God, and beyond.
Syllabus Purpose Statements
Underpinned by the Devon and Torbay Agreed Syllabus 2024–2029, teaching equips pupils to:
- Gain systematic knowledge of religious and non-religious worldviews.
- Weigh up wisdom from diverse sources and interpret authority and evidence.
- Articulate personal worldviews clearly while respecting the right of others to be different.
Core Concept & Foundational Skills
Threshold Concepts: Navigating Organised Worldviews & Developing Personal Worldviews
| Pillars / Skills | Progression & Golden Threads Specific to RE |
|---|---|
| Ways of Knowing | • 5–7s: Ask questions; find things out using observation, interviews, stories, texts, art, and data. • 7–9s: Consider best methods to find answers (organised teachings, lived experiences, context); weigh sufficiency of sources; recognise mystery and wonder. • 9–11s: Match questions to disciplines (theology, philosophy, social sciences, creative arts); examine beliefs with varied methods; apply basic evaluation. |
| Making Sense of Belief | • Identify, describe, explain, and analyse beliefs and concepts using appropriate vocabulary. • Explain how and why beliefs are understood differently by individuals and communities. • Recognise how sources of authority (texts, traditions, leaders) are used and interpreted. |
| Making Connections | • Evaluate, reflect on, and enquire into key concepts and questions thoughtfully. • Challenge studied ideas and allow them to challenge personal thinking. • Discern connections between studied ideas and personal worldviews. |
| Understanding the Impact | • Examine and explain how people express beliefs and put them into action in daily life. • Appreciate and appraise the significance of different ways of life and expressions of meaning. |
Practicing & Embedding Foundational Skills
| Area | Opportunities to Practise & Embed Secure Skills |
|---|---|
| Communication & Language | Engage in rich conversations, explore stories and non-fiction, articulate thoughts in full sentences, answer “why” questions, and listen respectfully. |
| Executive Function | Manage feelings, focus and persevere through difficulties, discuss values to make friendships, and form strategies during RE tasks. |
| Reading | Recognise religious vocabulary, retrieve information from diverse sources, build comprehension, and engage with sacred and non-fiction texts. |
| Writing | Develop fine motor skills via art and small world play, label diagrams using SSP phonics, and construct accurate, purposeful sentences. |
| Mathematics | Develop spatial reasoning through places of worship/building models, spot patterns, and sort symbols/objects into faith categories. |
Progression: Early Years (Reception Outcomes)
Foundational Outcomes for RE
- Communication & Language: Gain worldviews vocabulary, engage with stories/rhymes, and offer explanations to ‘why’ questions.
- PSED: Manage emotions through religious stories, talk about caring/sharing values, and learn to resolve conflicts peaceably.
- Physical & Motor Skills: Develop fine motor skills using RE-based arts, crafts, role-play, and visual representations.
- Literacy & Maths: Comprehend stories, write simple RE phrases, notice shapes in places of worship, and sort faith objects simply.
- Expressive Arts & Design: Explore artistic expressions of religion, adapt/recount stories, and create art reflecting diverse beliefs.
- Understanding the World: Visit places of worship, understand community similarities/differences, and reflect on awe and wonder in nature.
Curriculum Overview for RE
Developed from the Devon & Torbay Syllabus and NATRE Primary Curriculum
| Stage / Cycle | Autumn | Spring | Summer |
|---|---|---|---|
| EYFS | F1 God/Creation: Why is ‘God’ important? • F2 Incarnation: Nativity Plays | F4 Being Special: Where do we belong? • F3 Salvation: Why is Easter special? | F6 What times/stories are special and why? • F5 What places are special and why? |
| KS1 Roll A (2026/27) | How should we care for the world? • 1.1 God: What is God like? | 1.4 Gospel: Good news Jesus brings (Pt 1) • 1.5 Salvation: Why Easter matters | 1.4 Gospel (Pt 2) • Who is Jewish and how do they live? |
| KS1 Roll B (2025/26) | 1.2 Creation: Who made the world? • 1.3 Incarnation: Why Christmas matters | Who is Muslim and how do they live? (Pt 1) • 1.5 Salvation: Why Easter matters | Who is Muslim and how do they live? (Pt 2) • What makes places sacred? |
| LKS2 Roll A (2026/27) | What does it mean to be a Hindu in Britain today? • 2a.2 People of God | Festivals & family life in Judaism • 2a.4 Gospel: What world did Jesus want? | L2.13 Celebrating key festivals • Making the world a better place |
| LKS2 Roll B (2027/28) | What do Hindus believe God is like? • 2a.1 Creation/Fall: Creation story | 2a.3 Incarnation/God: The Trinity • 2a.5 Salvation: Good Friday | Festivals & worship in Islam • Life as a journey & significant events |
| UKS2 (2026/27) | Why do Hindus want to be good? • 2b.6 Kingdom of God: What kind of King is Jesus? | Reducing racism: Can religion help? • 2b.5 Salvation: What did Jesus do to save? | Being a Muslim in Britain today • U2.14 Worldviews and caring for the Earth |
| UKS2 Roll A (2027/28) | 2b.1 God: Holy & Loving • 2b.3 Incarnation: Was Jesus the Messiah? | Why is the Torah important? • 2b.4 Gospel: What would Jesus do? | U2.11 Humanism in Britain today • 2b.2 Creation & Science: Conflict or Complementary? |
Ensuring Inclusive Practice
In addition to standard Ordinarily Available Inclusive Provision, these specific adaptations ensure success for all in RE lessons.
| Broad Area of Need | Specific Barriers | Planned Adaptations |
|---|---|---|
| Communication & Interaction | • Expressive language • Receptive language • Social communication | • Sentence starters (“Some Christians believe…”), visual vocabulary boards, and drawing/modelling options. • Pre-teach key vocabulary/metaphors, chunk spoken stories, and use concrete artefacts during storytelling. • Structured partner roles, explicit visual prompts for facts vs. beliefs, and opt-in structured role-play. |
| Cognition & Learning | • Working memory • Dyscalculia • Executive functioning • Dyslexia / Literacy • Aphantasia | • Graphic organisers (storyboards/Venn diagrams) and visible symbol keys. • Colour-coded visual timelines; pre-calculated reference cards for festival dates. • Visual task planners (*1. Choose, 2. Select, 3. Write*) and visual timers. • Simplified scriptures on tinted paper, text-to-speech, and pre-highlighted texts. • Physical artefacts, illustrations, and tactile objects instead of guided mental imagery. |
| Sensory & Physical | • Visual Impairment (VI) • Hearing Impairment (HI) • Sensory Overload (Autism/SPD) • Fine Motor Coordination | • High-contrast/enlarged print, tactile exploration of artefacts (Menorah, Prayer Beads) with audio descriptions. • Subtitled media, repeating peer discussion points, and written transcripts. • Advance warnings for sensory elements (candles/music), noise-cancelling headphones, and quiet pre-visits. • Pre-cut templates, adapted scissors, and digital design options. |
| SEMH | • Anxiety & Perfectionism • Impulse Control | • Frame discussions around open exploration rather than right/wrong; non-verbal post-it sharing. • Explicit rules for handling sacred objects, tactile focus tools, and pre-warnings before calls for responses. |