At Long Itchington CE Primary Academy, we ensure the provision, profile and priority of religious education is at the forefront of what we teach on a daily basis. We use bible quotes alongside all of our lessons and encourage staff and pupils to upkeep and demonstrate  the values of our school by reinforcing these through our daily tasks, RE lessons, PSHE lessons and morning collective worship. We understand that all pupils from EYFS to Y6 has a right to access good quality RE lessons.

We use the new SACRE resource alongside the Understanding Christianity units because Coventry and Warwickshire have come together to create a syllabus that promotes good, effective and thought-provoking RE which takes full advantage of the local context and is written in keeping with national developments with regards to the subject. In the spirit of reconciliation, which is at the heart of our syllabus, this collaborative working builds bridges in the name of great education. Pupils are invited, through the syllabus, to explore matters of faith, spirituality, peace, reconciliation, community and morality. This new curriculum reflects more of the area we live in, being of a multi-cultural society and linking enquiry questions to all of the main religions as well as none-faiths, pagans and humanists. This means they get a more rounded view of what we all believe, and it also reinforces their own beliefs as being just as valuable so they can have more time to reflect upon these together in a safe, respectful environment.

We teach RE weekly for approximately 45 minutes in KS1 and 1 hour in KS2 but sometimes our PSHE lessons also lead us to reflect on what the bible teaches us. Staff have access to all of the RE curriculum and resources. We teach around 70% Christianity and 30% other worldviews within the curriculum. This year the RE lead has provided teaching materials to support the integration of the new curriculum. Staff have also had CPD on the new SACRE so that they can better understand how to deliver it to their students.

RE will be delivered through art, stories, drama, fact files, discussions, interview with specialists, visits to places of worship and visiting buildings where the architecture reflects historical changes of religion in time or how religion and history impacted our local area. We also celebrate important festivals together as a whole school that reinforces the importance of the Christian calendar.

The RE lead teaches some RE lessons weekly across the school so that they can review and evaluate the implementation of the new SACRE and hear the pupil’s own opinions of faith and their worldview. This in turn helps to develop their own understanding of how to ensure that the curriculum continues to constantly develop and improve to engage pupils. It also leads to pupils voice being heard on a weekly basis.

The RE lead has had training in the new SACRE and UC units and how to plan, develop, deliver and assess them across all key stages. They have a secure understanding of where pupils in EYFS begin their journey of understanding different worldviews and also how the curriculum develops by the end of KS3. This means that staff can see the building blocks each unit starts with and progresses to; so they see the pupils journey in learning and understanding of different faiths, cultures, views and reasons they chose to live the way they do.

Leaders have time allocated each term to observe RE lessons, talk to pupils, develop and evaluate the curriculum and talk to other leaders. They also take time to share with parents any work, displays, trips and visits and special assemblies through our school’s social media platforms. Parents are invited to share some of these experiences with us through special assemblies each class delivers, trips to places of worship and events at the local village church.

Please see below our long term plan for RE

Our syllabus is established on a foundation of seven core concepts and makes use of enquiry questions that drive learning in each unit. Case studies are drawn from worldviews, including those of the six major world religions alongside less common worldviews and non-religious perspectives. The syllabus meets the requirement for content to be ‘in the main Christian’ , with content drawn from Christian worldviews making up the majority of worldview case studies suggested to teachers.

Enquiry questions are in the main thematic, posing questions relevant to a range of worldviews. However, careful consideration of a potential need for more systematic study of organised worldviews, such as a deeper exploration of the major religious traditions, especially during the earliest days of the implementation of this syllabus, has led to the inclusion of ‘layover units’ that focus on enquiry questions aimed at exploring the key concepts for Christian, Islamic, Jewish, Hindu, Sikh and Buddhist worldviews.

This syllabus is designed with the pedagogies of a religion and worldviews approach in mind:

•            Beginning with the particular (individual and communal worldviews), connections are then made with the general (organised and/or institutional worldviews)

•            Making use of the local context and the rich resources of Coventry and Warwickshire in terms of people, places and history.

•            Focusing on the diverse lived expression of embodied religion and worldviews

We ensure that the approach to teaching RE moves beyond an assumed set of beliefs and practices, to a religion and worldviews approach which recognises and explores the nuances of individual and communal worldviews which may, or may not, have some alignment with organised worldviews such as religious traditions.

At the end of each year parents are informed of their child’s progress and effort in RE.

We aim to make sure that with all of this information, children will flourish in our school and be able to be confident in their beliefs and have an informative education that leaves them with the foundations to build their own faiths, ensuring they continue to reflect the school values in their life ahead.

Please see below for our medium term plans for RE