The RE Curriculum at Oakley Infant School

Intent

At Oakley Infant School we believe that RE is important to help foster in pupils a reflective approach to life in order to develop their own spirituality and to understand religious diversity. We want children to be able to celebrate the rich and culturally diverse society that they are growing up in. Our RE curriculum will help the children to begin to express their own values and beliefs whilst promoting open mindedness towards those with different beliefs, faiths or points of view. Through the study of RE the children will consider the effects that religion has on people’s lives and they will learn respect for a variety of beliefs and so foster community cohesion.

Implementation

The teaching of Religious Education at Oakley Infant School follows the LEA Agreed Syllabus “Living Difference IV.” The Syllabus requires that children of infant school age study Christianity and one other religion. At Oakley Infant School we have chosen Sikhism as the other religion that the children will follow.

Sikh values closely align with the Golden Rules that underpin the values that we follow as a school community for e.g.

Honesty: we are honest.

Compassion and Generosity: we are kind and helpful.

Integrity: we are honest, we look after our property

Service: we work hard

Spirituality: We are gentle

A three year programme of topics is followed throughout the school. This encourages continuity, progression and coherence. Lessons are planned and delivered in a variety of ways. There is a mix of whole class, co-operative group, and individual teaching approaches using mostly mixed ability groups with tasks appropriate for children’s ages and abilities, ensuring that lessons are inclusive for all.

RE teaching is blocked into one or two week periods or fully integrated into a topic and links are made with the creative arts and ICT. Behaviours including respect for different faiths and cultures are learned in RE along with the Rights Respecting Education programme.

Pupils’ progress in RE is assessed using the expected outcomes outlined in the Agreed Syllabus. Whilst tracking individual pupil’s progress, we bear in mind that the pupil’s personal views and ideas are not subject to formal assessment but are central to good RE teaching.

Impact

The teaching of Religious Education at Oakley Infant School will support children to reflect and think about their own beliefs and gain confidence to ask questions about others. It will extend their knowledge and understanding of religions and beliefs. It will help the children to develop a religious vocabulary and interpret religious symbolism in a variety of forms. It will allow the children to show respect to individual’s beliefs and religions and to value the skills and knowledge they gain from this.