Religious Education

Valley Road Academy is made up of pupils who originate from many nationalities, cultures and faith groups. As a school, we aim to celebrate this diversity and offer a welcoming and inclusive environment for all our pupils, including new arrivals and non-native English speakers. We believe that Religious Education provides an opportunity to celebrate and foster awareness of these differences within our school and the wider world. It gives children an opportunity to celebrate their beliefs and share them with others. We love to celebrate various religious festivals throughout the year to help us learn more about them including Eid, Easter, Chinese New Year and Diwali.

Intent

We follow the Sunderland Agreed Syllabus for RE (SACRE) to deliver our RE curriculum.

The overarching aims of the syllabus ensure that all pupils:

Make sense of a range of religious and non-religious beliefs
Understand the impact and significance of religious and non-religious
beliefs, so that they can:
Make connections between religious and non-religious beliefs, concepts,
practices and ideas studied

Article 29

I have the right to an education which develops my personality,

talents and abilities

Implementation

The syllabus is based around a key question approach, where the questions open up the content to be studied. The syllabus gives key questions to help deliver the statutory
Programmes of Study.

The teaching and learning approach has three core elements, which are
woven together to provide breadth and balance within teaching and learning
about religions and beliefs, underpinning the aims of RE outlined on p.8.
Teaching and learning in the classroom will encompass all three elements,
allowing for overlap between elements as suits the religion, concept and
question being explored.

Impact

Early Years: RE is a compulsory part of the basic curriculum for all Reception-age pupils. Children in EYFS will encounter religious and non-religious worldviews through special people, books, times, places and objects and by visiting places of worship. They should listen to and talk about stories. Children can be introduced to subject-specific words and use all their senses to explore beliefs, practices and forms of expression. They ask questions and reflect on their own feeling sand experiences. They use their imagination and curiosity to develop their appreciation of, and wonder at, the world in which they live.

Key Questions in Reception

In Key Stage One, pupils should develop their knowledge and understanding of religions and worldviews, recognising their local, national and global contexts. They should use basic subject-specific vocabulary. They should raise questions and begin to express their own views in response to the material they learn about and in response to questions about their ideas.

In Key Stage 2, pupils should extend their knowledge and understanding of religions and worldviews, recognising their local, national and global contexts. They should be introduced to an extended range of sources and subject-specific vocabulary. They should be encouraged to be curious and to ask increasingly challenging questions about religion, belief, values and human life. Pupils should learn to express their own ideas in response to the material they engage with, identifying relevant information, selecting examples and giving reasons to support their ideas and views.

Below is an overview of the Key Questions to deliver the statutory programme of study from Year 1 to 6

Curriculum Coverage SACRE:

RE Progression in skills