At Watling Primary School, we are incredibly fortunate to have a diverse school community enriched by a multitude of cultures and beliefs. Our Watling Way value ‘include’ promotes the inclusion of everyone and celebration of individuality.
Our RE (Religious Education) curriculum aims to foster understanding, kindness, respect and inclusivity in our pupils. Through engaging and active learning processes, children explore and investigate the main world religions of Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Sikhism and Buddhism.
Our RE curriculum is designed to build on children’s learning and understanding of our chosen core concepts: morality, festivals, beliefs, symbols and places of worship. Each half termly RE topic starts with an enquiry discussion where children are encouraged to be curious and show wonder by posing questions and considering possible answers to them.
As pupils progress through the school, they are guided to make connections between religions as they deepen their knowledge and understanding.
We foster inclusivity by teaching our children to understand that their view of the world is only one of many and to recognise the rich diversity of our school community as something to be embraced and celebrated.
We make links to our school commitment to sustainability through our unit of work which poses the question: What are religious and non-religious beliefs about looking after our world?
Our teaching strategies promote teamwork, problem-solving and investigation. We support our children to reflect on and discuss their learning in order to nurture them as effective communicators. We want our children to be confident in their use of technical language and vocabulary and able to verbalise their opinions about religion. We have high aspirations and want all our pupils to develop critical thinking skills when discussing religious beliefs and practices.
By encouraging individuality and personal expression at the same time as developing self-awareness, we aim to nurture a lifelong understanding of our own beliefs, as well as the beliefs of others.
Our Long-Term Curriculum Map for RE gives an overview of what is taught in each year group over the course of each academic year.
Our RE curriculum is relevant to all pupils and celebrates diversity, fostering kindness, respect and inclusivity in and amongst our school community.
At Watling Primary School, our school value ‘include’ reminds us of the importance of welcoming everyone and celebrating individuality. We provide equal opportunities for all, regardless of culture, race, gender, religious beliefs, disability, age or relationships. We positively embrace our differences and believe that all voices have an equal right to be heard. We encourage our children to treat everyone fairly and equip them with the skills and understanding to challenge stereotypes and negative attitudes amongst others.
Our RE curriculum supports this approach by educating our pupils about a diverse range of religions and beliefs and equips our children with the knowledge they need to foster kindness, respect and inclusivity amongst our school community.
In accordance with the School Standards and Framework Act (1998), families have the right to withdraw their child(ren) from Religious Education lessons. As a school, we encourage our families to consider the benefits to their children of learning about different beliefs and religions. Families wishing to withdraw their child from all or part of the RE curriculum should contact the Headteacher to discuss this in more detail.
