Religious Education

Intent

At Nutley CE Primary School, we believe the purpose of RE is to explore what people believe and what difference this makes to how they live, so that pupils can gain the knowledge, understanding and skills needed to handle questions raised by religion and belief, reflecting on their own ideas and ways of living.

We follow the East Sussex Agreed Syllabus ‘Faith and Belief in the 21st Century’ 2022-2027 which provides a coherent framework for setting high standards of learning in RE and enabling pupils to reach their potential in the subject.

The curriculum for RE aims to ensure that all pupils:

1. make sense of a range of religious and non-religious beliefs, so that they can:

identify, describe, explain and analyse beliefs and concepts in the context of living religions, using appropriate vocabulary
explain how and why these beliefs are understood in different ways, by individuals and within communities
recognise how and why sources of authority (e.g. texts, teachings, traditions, leaders) are used, expressed and interpreted in different ways, developing skills of interpretation

2. understand the impact and significance of religious and non-religious beliefs, so that they can:

examine and explain how and why people express their beliefs in diverse ways
recognise and account for ways in which people put their beliefs into action in diverse ways, in their everyday lives, within their communities and in the wider world
appreciate and appraise the significance of different ways of life and ways of expressing meaning

3. make connections between religious and non-religious beliefs, concepts, practices and ideas studied, so that they can:

evaluate, reflect on and enquire into key concepts and questions studied, responding thoughtfully and creatively, giving good reasons for their responses
challenge the ideas studied, and allow the ideas studied to challenge their own thinking, articulating beliefs, values and commitments clearly in response
discern possible connections between the ideas studied and their own ways of understanding the world, expressing their critical responses and personal reflections with increasing clarity and understanding
The spiral nature of the RE curriculum means that pupils will encounter some of the same concepts in different questions at different key stages. Exploring the same concepts again, from a different perspective and using different materials, is essential to support pupils’ ability to connect ideas and develop a coherent understanding of religion and belief, consolidating and embedding learning.

Implementation

Nutley CE Primary School is a Church of England controlled school and we give prominence to the teaching of Christianity through daily collective worship assemblies, through positive relationships which exist within our small school, as well as through the RE curriculum.

The children explore the RE curriculum in a cross curricular and creative way. We follow the East Sussex syllabus ‘Faith and Belief in the 21st Century’ and, within that framework, have fully embedded the ‘Understanding Christianity’ resource from EYFS through to Year 6.

We have close links to St James-the-Less, our local church. Reverend Ben Sear makes frequent visits to the school as he leads collective acts of worship on a fortnightly basis, as well as contributing to our curriculum by being involved in individual lessons. We regularly use St James-the-Less for celebratory Harvest, Christmas and Easter services and visits to learn more about Christianity.

RE at Nutley CE Primary School is taught for at least 10% of curriculum time, which is focused on teaching faiths in depth rather than breadth. To allow for depth, one religion is taught at a time as ‘systematic’ units. Flexible thematic units then allow us to draw on different traditions in our community and wider society, make links and make comparisons and ask ‘big’ questions.

EYFS: The children will learn:

Being special: where do we belong?
Why is Christmas special for Christians?
Why is the word ‘God’ so important to Christians?
Why is Easter special for Christians?
Which places are special and why?
Which stories are special and why?

Key Stage 1

We focus on three religions: Christianity, Islam and Judaism.

Year A:

Who do Christians say made the world?
Who is Jewish and how do they live? (PART 1 and PART 2)
Why does Easter matter to Christians?
What is the ‘good news’ Christians believe Jesus brings?
How should we care for the world and for others, and why does it matter?

Year B:

What does it mean to belong to a faith community?
Why does Christmas matter to Christians?
What do Christians believe God is like?
Who is Muslim and how do they live? (PART 1 and PART 2)
What makes some places sacred to believers?

Lower Key Stage 2

We focus on four religions: Christianity, Judaism, Islam and Hinduism.

Year A

How do festivals and worship show what matters to a Muslim?
What is it like for someone to follow God?
How can following God bring freedom and justice?
What is the ‘Trinity’ and why is it important for Christians?
How and why do people try to make the world a better place?
What kind of world did Jesus want?
How and why do people mark the significant events of life?

Year B

What do Christians learn from the creation story?
How do festivals and family life show what matters to Jewish people?
What do Hindus believe God is like?
Why do Christians call the day Jesus died ‘Good Friday’?
For Christians, what was the impact of Pentecost?
What does it mean to be a Hindu in Britain today?

Upper Key Stage 2

We focus on four religions: Christianity, Judaism, Islam and Hinduism as well as Humanism

Year A

For Christians, what kind of king is Jesus?
Why do Christians believe Jesus was the Messiah?
Why is the Torah so important to Jewish people?
What does it mean to be a Muslim in Britain today?
What difference does the Resurrection make for Christians?
How do Christians decide how to live? ‘What would Jesus do?’
How does faith help people when life gets hard?

Year B

Creation & Science – Conflicting or Complementary?
Why do Hindus want to be good?
Christians believe Jesus did to ‘save’ people?
What does it mean if Christians believe God is holy and loving?
What matters most to Humanists and Christians?

Impact

The children at Nutley CE Primary School enjoy learning about other religions and why people choose, or choose not to follow a religion. Through their RE learning, the children are able to make links between their own lives and those of others in the community and wider world; develop an understanding of other people’s cultures and ways of life; extend their knowledge and understanding of religions and beliefs; develop a religious vocabulary; reflect on questions of meaning, offering their own thoughtful and informed insights into religious and secular world views and explore ultimate questions of beliefs and values in relation to a range of contemporary issues in an ever – changing society.

To view our Progression Grid for RE, click here.

For the agreed East Sussex RE Syllabus Faith in the 21st Century 2022-2027 click here.