Religious Education

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION AT WYBOURN COMMUNITY PRIMARY

At Wybourn Community Primary School we teach R.E through ‘Wonder Weeks’ using the Sheffield Agreed Syllabus.

At Wybourn Community Primary, we believe that religious education is crucial to the holistic development of all the children in our school. In a community which is becoming more ethnically or religiously diverse, the teaching of religious education is vital for promoting the acceptance of different religions. Religious education at Wybourn Community provokes challenging questions about human life, beliefs, communities and ideas. Children are encouraged to express ideas and insights of their own into significant human questions which religions address. Our religious education curriculum follows the Sheffield Agreed Syllabus, revised in September 2019.

Religious education is planned and delivered on a two year rolling cycle through three themed ‘Wonder Weeks’ each year, addressing a different religion each week. Over a two year period, pupils will learn about Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism and Sikhism. Each of the other religions are compared to the key beliefs and practises of Christianity.

Intent

• To know about and understand a range of religions and worldviews.
• To describe and explain beliefs and practises, recognising the diversity which exists within and between communities.
• To investigate and respond to questions posed by, and responses offered by, some of the sources of wisdom found in religions and worldviews.
• To appreciate the nature, significance and impact of different ways of life and ways of expressing meaning.
• To express ideas and insights about the nature, significance and impact of religions and worldviews.
• To explain reasonably their ideas about how beliefs and practices influence individuals and communities, and to learn to disagree respectfully.
• To express with increasing discernment their personal reflections and critical responses to questions and teachings about identity, diversity, meaning and value.
• To find out about and investigate key concepts and questions of belonging, meaning, purpose and truth, responding creatively.
• To enquire into what enables different communities to live together respectfully for the wellbeing of all.
• To articulate beliefs, values and commitments clearly in order to explain reasons that they may be important in their own and other people’s lives.
• To enrich other areas of the curriculum.

Implementation

Termly plans for each religion’s ‘Wonder Week’ show a balanced coverage of teaching and learning and progression throughout each Key Stage. These plans are divided into paired year groups (FS2, Y1/2, Y3/4 and Y5/6) as children will alternate which three religions they study in a given year in order to cover six religions over two years: Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism and Sikhism. These plans ensure experience of lines of enquiry for children to investigate a range of beliefs and practises, whilst discussing and applying their own ideas to key questions which religions address.

Teaching should clearly focus on the core beliefs and practises of the central religion being taught as well as developing the ability to discuss their own ideas about ethical questions, learning to agree and disagree respectfully. Making comparisons between different world views is a thread running throughout the teaching in each ‘Wonder Week’.

The starting point for all learning is to find activities which interest, motivate and challenge all pupils, often with a visitor from the focus religion.

Impact

Through their R.E. learning, the children 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. Children learn to respect all people from all cultures. It also brings together parents and families from our community.

Visits and visitors  

For every Wonder Week, we try to incorporate visits to local places of worship wherever possible. Visits include all 6 places of worship- a synagogue, a mosque, a Hindu and Sikh temple, two different churches and a Buddhist temple. Visitors are regularly invited into school to share their beliefs and practices in whole school assemblies as well as workshops for year groups who are not planned to visit the relevant place of worship.

Planning 

RE planning is informed by the content of the Sheffield Agreed Syllabus. Suggested lines of enquiry are developed by the RE coordinator to ensure planning is in line with the Sheffield Agreed Syllabus. This information is developed by staff into more detailed plans for each Wonder Week.