Religious Education

At Beamont, we believe through the uses of distinctive language and informed conversation, Religious Education develops children' skills of enquiry and response. Religious Education encourages children to reflect on, analyse and evaluate their own beliefs, values and practices and communicate their responses thus promoting mutual respect, tolerance and understanding across different cultures and communities. We have a high proportion of children with English as an Additional Language (24%) and Religious Education makes a unique contribution to the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of children and supports wider community cohesion. We ensure our teaching promotes mutual respect and understanding, whilst not undermining or ignoring the role of families and religious or belief organisations in transmitting values to successive generations.
At Beamont, we ensure adequate curriculum time is given to RE, so that teachers can deliver an ambitious curriculum. Our curriculum contains content that has been identified as most useful, and we have ensured that the content is taught in a sequential and logical progression and is explicit enough for all children to acquire the intended knowledge and skills. We have thought carefully and defined clear end points to which our curriculum is building towards and what children will know and do at these points. Our curriculum has been designed and sequenced to enable children to learn knowledge they need for later topics, providing opportunities to revisit and reinforce prior knowledge and skills. Our curriculum reflects our local context by addressing typical gaps in children’s knowledge and skills and this year curriculum planning accounts for delays and gaps in learning that have arisen as a result of the pandemic.
At Beamont, we expect children to learn from and about religion, so that they can understand the world around them past and present. Through Religious Education, children develop their knowledge of the world faiths, and their understanding and awareness of the beliefs, values and traditions of other individuals, societies and communities, subsequently equipping children with the knowledge and cultural capital they need to succeed in life. Our Religious Education curriculum is enhanced further with trips to places of worship in our local area and visitors to the school.

The curriculum provision at each Key stage is outlined here

EYFS

It is good practice for all early years' settings to teach children to respect and celebrate each other's differences by developing an understanding of diversity beyond their immediate family experience. The promotion of equality, diversity and British values should be at the heart of all early years' settings. During the EYFS children may begin to explore the world of religion in terms of: special people, books, festivals and celebrations, places, objects and visiting places of worship. They may be introduced to a range of religious words and use all their senses in exploring religions and beliefs, practices and forms of expression. They may reflect on their own feelings and experiences and use their imagination and curiosity to develop their appreciation and wonder of the world in which they live. When planning to develop the seven areas of learning, practitioners will search for activities that promote links between a range of different skills. Early Years Foundation Stage planning often uses topics or themes to connect learning so that learning is exciting, engaging and responds to children's interests. The agreed syllabus can particularly support development within:

Personal, social and emotional development.
Communication, language and literacy.
Understanding the world.
Expressive arts and design.

During Key Stage 1 our children will:

Explore different beliefs about God, worship and the world around them. They encounter and respond to a range of stories, artefacts and other religious materials. They learn to recognize that beliefs about what is important to people are expressed in a variety of ways, and begin to use specialist vocabulary. They begin to understand the important questions raised by values, religion, worship and belief, especially for other children and their families. Pupils develop their enquiry skills through asking questions and develop a sense of wonder about the world, using their imagination. They talk about what is important to them and others, valuing themselves, reflecting on their own feelings and experiences and developing a sense of belonging.

Understand other people’s religious views and beliefs.
Understand that there are different religious views and traditions.
Use some religions words and phrases.
Recall religious stories and recognise symbols
Talk about their own thoughts and feelings
Ask some relevant questions
Understand other people’s religious views and beliefs.
Retell and suggest meanings of religious stories, actions and symbols
Use religious words and phrases should be used
Identify some features of key traditions
Begin to identify and describe how different religions are expressed
Ask questions about religions
Be able to talk about what is of value
Be able to talk about what is interesting to them

During Key Stage 2 our children will:

Pupils develop their skills of enquiry. They make connections between universal human concepts, different forms of religious expression while discovering and questioning the beliefs and values they express. They consider the beliefs, teachings, practices, celebrations and lifestyles central to religion. They learn about sacred texts and other sources of authority and consider their meanings. They begin to recognise diversity in religion, learning about similarities and differences both within and, where appropriate, between religions and beliefs while developing key skills and attitudes They extend their range and use of specialist vocabulary. They communicate their ideas, recognising other people’s viewpoints. They consider their own beliefs and values and those of others in the light of their learning in RE.

Begin to show an awareness of similarities in religions.
Identify how religion is expressed in different ways e.g. dress, prayer, and celebrations.
Use a developing religious vocabulary to describe some key features of religious traditions recognising some similarities and differences.
Identify what influences them, making links between aspects of their own and others’ experiences.
In relation to the matter of right and wrong children will be able to recognise their own and others values.
Ask important questions about religion and beliefs and find out answers.
Understand other people’s religious views and beliefs.
Use specific vocabulary to describe key features of living religious traditions and recognise their similarities and differences.
Begin to identify the impact religion has on believers’ lives
Make links between their values and commitments
Ask questions about religions and beliefs and compare to their own experiences
Make links between beliefs and sacred texts including stories and original sources
Suggest meanings for a range of living religious traditions
Describe the impact of religion on people in terms of beliefs, values and personal meaning
Ask important questions about religious beliefs and compare the different viewpoints of the faith groups.
Use developing religious vocabulary to describe and show an understanding for religious traditions including sources, practices, beliefs, ideas, feelings and experience
Explain what inspires and influences them, expressing their own views whilst respecting others
Analyse religious information to begin and develop their own opinions
Ask important questions about religions and beliefs
Compare different viewpoints within a faith group