top of page
12 1.jpg

Religious Education

"We may have different religions, different languages, different coloured skin, but we all belong to one human race." - Kofi Annan

​

The member of staff responsible for Religious Education is Ms Cespedes.

 

How Dovecotes Primary School’s Religious Education Curriculum Promotes Our Core Values:

 

Be Creative – To consider how people can express their religion to others. To promote inquisitive minds around fundamental questions concerning the meaning and purpose of life. To reflect upon their own spiritual development and how religion can be used to resolve issues and problem solve.

 

Be Ambitious - To introduce pupils to the best that has been thought and said through studying the work of different religions and their scriptures. To give pupils the skills they need to rationally and intelligently explore the fundamental questions of life.

 

Be Honest - To explore what is right and wrong, through the teachings of moral stories in order to learn about justice and fairness and the impact of different moral choices.

 

Be Kind - To encourage respectful dialogue between each other. To develop positive attitudes and tolerance towards people, communities, beliefs and customs that may be different to our own. 

 

Be Brave - To provide pupils with a safe environment where they feel confident to share ideas, opinions and beliefs through open discussion, learning how to disagree agreeably and talk about their own and the beliefs of others in a respectful and appropriate way.

 

Be Healthy - To recognise how religion can be beneficial for spiritual well-being, promoting positive emotions such as love, hope, compassion, happiness, peace, contentment, gratitude, forgiveness, empathy and acceptance in our lives.

 

Intent – What Do We Aspire For Our Children? 

 

Dovecotes is a multicultural school in a multicultural city.  We celebrate our school’s rich diversity and use our RE curriculum to provide pupils with the skills and knowledge to be well-informed, empathetic citizens. Our children acquire knowledge of different world faiths and the connections between them, learning from religion so that they can better understand the beliefs and values which have shaped and continue to have an important influence on the world we live in. Our R.E Curriculum aims to develop a sense of wonder and prompt philosophical questioning, encouraging pupils to remain openminded about different faiths and world views. Pupils will understand how prayer, worship and reflection plays an important part in developing identity and belonging and will develop respect for and sensitivity to others whose faith and beliefs are different to their own. 

​

The Aim of RE in Wolverhampton – knowing, expressing, gaining skills

 

The curriculum for religious education aims to ensure that all pupils:

​

A. Know about and understand a range of religions and worldviews, so that they can:

Use their knowledge of religions to describe, explain and analyse beliefs and practices, recognising the diversity which exists within and between communities;
Identify, investigate and respond to questions posed by, and responses offered by some of the sources of  wisdom found in religions and worldviews;
Appreciate and appraise the nature, significance and impact of different ways of life and ways of expressing meaning.

 

B. Express ideas and insights about the nature, significance and impact of religions and worldviews, so that they can:
Explain reasonably their ideas about how beliefs, practices and forms of expression influence individuals and communities;
Express with increasing discernment their personal reflections and critical responses to questions and teachings about identity, diversity, meaning and value.
Appreciate and appraise varied dimensions of religion.

 

C. Gain and deploy the skills needed to engage seriously with religions and worldviews, so that they can:
Find out about and investigate key concepts and questions of belonging, meaning, purpose and truth, responding creatively;
Enquire into what enables different communities to live together respectfully for the wellbeing of all;
Articulate beliefs, values and commitments clearly in order to explain reasons why they may be important in their own and other people's lives.

​

By the end of EYFS children will:

 

  • Consider what makes them unique and special.

  • Developing a growing sense of the child’s awareness of self, their own community and their place within this,

  • understand that people have different beliefs and celebrate special times in different ways.

  • Look at different festivals (Christmas, Easter, Eid, Diwali, Chinese New Year) and explore food and clothes linked to them.

  • understand that some places are special to members of my community.

  • Explore the natural world and respond to questions such as What makes the world a wonderful place? Model and encourage responses to ‘why’ questions such as ‘Why should we look after the world?’

 

By the end of key stage 1 and key stage 2:

Implementation – How Will We Deliver The Curriculum? 

 

Knowledge at the Heart of the Curriculum - Understanding Different Types of Knowledge in R.E.

​

Substantive Knowledge 

 

Substantive knowledge is knowledge learnt about various religions and religious traditions (the content taught; the ‘what’).

 

Disciplinary Knowledge  

 

Disciplinary knowledge is ‘the ways of knowing’ that enables pupils to understand and use some of the methods and techniques associated with studying religious and religious traditions. E.g. What a mosque tells us about Muslim beliefs about God and harmony.

 

Personal Knowledge

 

Personal knowledge enables pupils to better understand and interrogate their own position and values.

Our scheme of work draws upon both the local SACRE for Wolverhampton and its religious framework. It is delivered through an engaging enquiry-based approach, which develops our children’s critical thinking skills and knowledge and understanding of different religions.

 

In Early Years, pupils develop an awareness of their own needs, views and feelings and learn how to be sensitive to the needs, views and feelings of others. Through the area of learning ‘Understanding the World’ they develop positive attitudes about differences between people and learn that some places are special to members of my community and that people have different beliefs and celebrate special times in different ways.

In Key Stage 1 and 2, children have a developing respect for their own cultures and beliefs, and those of other people. Our sequences of learning coherently develop the strands of: ‘Traditions, beliefs and teachings’; ‘Inspirational people and leadership’; ‘Celebration and festivals’; ‘Suffering and gratitude’; ‘Religion, family and community’; and ‘Symbolism’. All R.E. lessons are taught weekly by our Higher-Level Teaching Assistants supported by our R.E. Lead.

 

Our children are also given motivating and inspiring cross-curricular opportunities and special experiences to embed essential learning. This enrichment is an essential element of our RE curriculum offer. For example:

  • Visits to places of worship

  • An annual programme of assemblies, incorporating special events in the major world religions.

 

An outline scheme of work for the Wolverhampton primary school: 

Dovecotes Whole School R.E Curriculum

 

  • Year 1

    • First Unit - How can we find out about Christianity today in Wolverhampton? (Christian Belief)

    • Second Unit - Beginning to learn about the Sikhs.

    • Third Unit - How and why are some books holy? Special stories of Christians, Sikhs and Muslims.

    • Fourth Unit - What can we learn about prayer from stories of Jesus?

  • Year 2

    • First Unit - What can we learn from Bible stories about Moses?

    • Second Unit - Beginning to learn from Islam

    • Third Unit - Questions that Puzzle Us

    • Fourth Unit - Holy Places: Worship at the Church, Mandir, Mosque and Gurdwara (includes visiting places of worship Y2+4)

  • Year 3

    • First Unit - What do people believe about God? (Christianity)

    • Second Unit - What is it like to be a Hindu?

    • Third Unit - Exploring Key Leaders: Sikhs and Hindus

    • Fourth Unit - What do we celebrate and why? (Christian, Muslim, Sikh, Hindu)

  • Year 4

    • First Unit - What is it like to be Jewish?

    • Second Unit - Why do some people think Jesus is inspirational?

    • Third Unit - Why does the Prophet matter to Muslims?

    • Fourth Unit - An enquiry into visiting places of worship (includes visiting places of worship Y2+4)

  • Year 5

    • First Unit - Keeping the 5 Pillars of Islam

    • Second Unit - When, how and why do Christians pray?

    • Third Unit - Hindu, Jewish and Islamic Prayer: what difference does it make?

    • Fourth Unit - What can we learn from religion about temptation?

  • Year 6

    • First Unit - What will make Wolverhampton a more respectful community? Sikh, Muslim, Christian, non-religious

    • Second Unit - Christian Aid, Khalsa Aid, Islamic Relief: Can they change the world?

    • Third Unit - Values: What matters most? (Christians and Humanists)

    • Fourth Unit - Sikhs in Wolverhampton: what can we learn? Gurus, worship, service and the Wonderful Lord

​

Impact - How Do We Know Our R.E. Curriculum Is Effective? 

 

Our Religious Education curriculum ensures that children leave Dovecotes:

  • Knowing how to describe and make connections about different religions and world views.

  • Able to describe and understand links between stories and other aspects of different religions.

  • Open to exploring different beliefs, symbols and actions.

  • Able to observe and understand varied examples of religions and worldviews.

  • Able to identify similarities and differences between beliefs and practices of the religions studied.

  • Able to discuss and present thoughtfully their own views.

  • Able to consider how diverse communities can live together.

 

Pupil Voice

 

The RE Lead speaks to pupils to ensure that they enjoy learning about other religions and to check that they are able to 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. 

 

Assessment

 

Teachers check that pupils ‘know more and remember more’ through recall and retrieval questions.  Work is recorded in both floor books and exercise books.

 

For further information about the R.E. curriculum please contact Miss Cespedes our subject lead through the school email address.

bottom of page