Intent

At Pyrcroft Grange we follow Kapow Primary’s Religion and Worldviews curriculum. This aims to develop deep thinkers who are open-minded about religion and worldviews.

Our Religion and Worldviews curriculum is relevant to pupils, reflecting and preparing them for life in modern Britain. Our Religion curriculum forms an integral part of our moral ethos offer and enriched curriculum. Through the scheme, children will secure a deep understanding of concepts to be able to make connections, ask and respond to challenging questions, learn to respect and appreciate worldviews that are different to their own and consider their personal preconceptions, responses and views. Children will build their conceptual knowledge through studying religions and worldviews locally, nationally and globally, progressively, enabling them to make links and connections between worldviews, develop disciplinary skills and build on their understanding of their positionality in relation to their learning. By revisiting key ‘big questions’ and building on prior knowledge, pupils will learn about how religion and worldviews are lived experiences across the world, consider the impact of worldviews on society and have opportunities to consider their personal worldviews.

This is in line with government guidance, which states that Religious Education must reflect that ‘the religious traditions in Great Britain are, in the main, Christian while taking account of the teaching and practices of the other principal religions represented in Great Britain’.

For EYFS, the Religion and Worldviews lessons allow pupils to work towards targeted ‘Understanding the World’ Development matters statements and Early Learning Goals, while covering foundational knowledge that will support them in their further Religion and Worldviews learning in Key Stage 1.

Implementation:

There are no presumptions made as to the religious backgrounds and beliefs and values of the pupils and the staff. We value the religious background of all members of the school community and hope that this will encourage individuals to share their own experiences with others freely. All religions and their communities are treated with respect and sensitivity, and we value the links, which are, and can be made between home, school, and a faith community. We acknowledge that each religion studied can contribute to the education of all our pupils.

At Pyrcroft Grange we focus on the following three strands, which run throughout the Religion and Worldviews curriculum:

✔ Substantive knowledge (conceptual and worldviews related).

✔ Disciplinary knowledge.

✔ Personal knowledge.

These strands are interwoven across all units to create lessons that build children’s conceptual knowledge and understanding of religion and worldviews (substantive knowledge) and use a range of disciplinary lenses (ways of knowing). Children will also be equipped to explore and express their preconceptions, personal worldviews and positionality (personal knowledge) through varied and engaging learning experiences.

The Kapow Primary Religion and Worldviews scheme follows the spiral curriculum model, where units and lessons are carefully sequenced so that previous conceptual knowledge is returned to and built upon. Children progress by developing and deepening their knowledge and understanding of substantive and disciplinary concepts by experiencing them in a range of contexts. In EYFS, children begin to talk about the beliefs of their immediate family and community, recognising that people have different beliefs and celebrate special times in different ways. They listen to religious and modern-day stories and compare and contrast characters, including figures from the past. Children develop their awareness of religion and worldviews in Key Stage 1, focusing on conceptual knowledge through the study of a limited range of religions and worldviews represented in the UK, including Christianity. This will support children in building knowledge they can refer to throughout their learning in Key Stage 2, while encountering a greater range of religions and worldviews and considering further the diverse nature of religious and non-religious lived experience. Each unit includes overarching ‘big questions’ which will be revisited throughout Key Stage 1, Lower Key Stage 2 and Upper Key Stage 2, allowing children to apply the breadth and depth of their learning across various concepts.

These ‘big questions’ are:

Why are we here?

Why do worldviews change?

What is religion?

How can worldviews be expressed?

How do worldviews affect our daily lives?

How can we live together in harmony if we have different worldviews?

A more specific, focused enquiry question frames the learning across each unit. Both the ‘big questions’ and the focused enquiry question will allow children to explore the content they are studying, make comparisons and links within and across religions and worldviews, and explore their personal views. The Religion and Worldviews curriculum

emphasises the importance of diverse representations within and across religions and worldviews, focusing on real people’s lived experiences of their beliefs. Lessons are designed to be varied, engaging and hands-on, allowing children to learn and record their thoughts, answers and ideas in various ways. In each lesson, children will participate in activities involving disciplinary and substantive concepts, developing their knowledge and understanding of diverse religions and worldviews. With a representation of their learning recorded within their class floor books. Pupils can browse through the floor book individually or with their peers. This enables activation prior learning and reflection.

Strong subject knowledge is vital for staff to deliver a highly effective and robust Religion and Worldviews curriculum. Each unit of lessons will focus on the key subject knowledge needed to deliver the curriculum, making links with prior learning and identifying possible misconceptions.

At Pyrcroft Grange we aim for all children to feel a sense of belonging and understand they have a voice, that can be expressed. Throughout the units, children will learn skills to have respectful discussions and respond sensitively to one another.

Parents and carers have the right to withdraw their child from all or part of the Religious Education curriculum.

Impact:

The impact of the Kapow Primary Religion and Worldviews curriculum can be constantly monitored through both formative and summative assessment opportunities. Each lesson includes guidance to support teachers in assessing pupils against the learning objectives

After the implementation of the Religion and Worldviews curriculum, pupils will be equipped with a range of disciplinary skills and knowledge to enable them to succeed in their secondary education. They will be prepared for life in modern Britain, being able to interact with others from different religious and non-religious viewpoints in a respectful, knowledgeable and open-minded way. They will be curious learners who ask questions and make connections, confident to explore their personal worldview and have the skills to appreciate, evaluate and respond to religious, philosophical and ethical questions.

Our pupils will be provided with the knowledge, skills and understanding to discern and value truth and goodness, strengthening their capacity for making moral judgements and for evaluating different types of commitment to make positive and healthy choices.