Intent
At Lent Rise, our intention in Religious Education is to provide children with the opportunity for SMSC development. We believe RE is a vitally important component of children’s personal, social and spiritual development. Developing an understanding of their own and others’ worldviews underpins the growth of empathy and respect. Appreciating that we all see the world through the lens that has been formed by our experiences, upbringing, culture etc and that this influences our decision-making and our own way of seeing the world is so valuable.
Inline with the Buckinghamshire Agreed Syllabus, we use Jigsaw RE across the school and this curriculum treats all the worldviews studied as equally valid and valuable, hence we refer to both ‘religious’ and ‘non-religious’ standpoints as ‘worldviews’ so as not to imply preference or differentiate unfairly. As a school, we feel that this opinion on ‘worldviews’ reflects our school values.
Implementation
The Jigsaw RE programme allows pupils to learn subjects in sufficient depth so that they remember what they have learnt, and the planning is sufficiently detailed and sequenced to allow all children to develop a secure long-term understanding, building on what they have learnt before. Jigsaw RE advocates an enquiry mode, with a 4-step approach as the basis for implementation. Every unit (enquiry) is based around a key question. The key question for the enquiry is such that it demands an answer that weighs up ‘evidence’ (subject knowledge) and reaches a conclusion based on this. This necessitates children using their subject knowledge and applying it to the enquiry question, rather than this knowledge being an end in itself. Jigsaw RE focuses on critical thinking skills, on personal reflection into the child’s own thoughts and feelings. On growing subject knowledge and nurturing spiritual development.
Within the EYFS, Religious Education makes an active contribution to the children reaching the Early Learning Goals in many areas of learning, but particularly for Understanding the World: People, Culture and Communities. We plan opportunities and experiences for the children to learn about the similarities and differences between themselves and others, for example, sharing a wide range of stories from different cultures and religions and exploring the festivals of Diwali, Christmas, Eid ul Fitr and Chinese New Year.
Impact
Our RE Curriculum is designed with the children of our school community in mind. The children at Lent Rise School enjoy learning about 'worldviews’ and why people choose or choose not to follow a religion. Through their R.E. learning, the children can make links between their own lives and those of others in their community and in the wider world, developing an understanding of other people’s cultures and ways of life.
RE-Progression Map-Lent Rise School.pdf
RE-Curriculum-Map-Lent Rise School.pdf
4-7 Folder 02 Discovery RE Overview.pdf
Our belief is that when using this model well, children’s critical thinking skills can be developed, their motivation to learn increased, and their knowledge and understanding of, and empathy with people and their worldviews (religious or otherwise) will be enhanced.
This approach takes very seriously the philosophy that children are free to make their own choices and decisions concerning their own view of the world and their beliefs and morals. RE does not try to persuade, but rather to inform and develop the skills with which evaluation can take place.
