Joydens Wood Junior School

Intent

At Joydens Wood Junior School, we believe it is important for our children to be religiously literate. Our RE curriculum is well informed, accessible, equitable and encourages children to build on previous learning, therefore encouraging balanced and well-informed conversations about religion and belief. It develops children’s knowledge and understanding of Christianity and other principal religions, whilst also nurturing respect and sensitivity towards others whose faith, traditions, beliefs and values are different from their own. Our children are taught to celebrate diversity in society through social awareness and understanding differences, and RE lessons offer opportunities for personal reflection and spiritual growth.

As an academy without a religious character, we are required to follow the locally agreed syllabus for Religious Education. By following this syllabus, we will ensure that learning from religion is:

• Relevant to all pupils, regardless of their religious (or non-religious) background
• Inextricably linked with learning about religions
• About the concepts in religions
• Concerned with the active response of pupils to what they are learning about
• Helping pupils to apply the meaning and significance of religious ideas to their own lives
• Valuing pupil’s own ideas and concerns
• Sometimes challenging pupil’s own ideas and putting alternative views forward for consideration
• About developing skills e.g. ‘the skill of living in a plural society’, and attitudes e.g. ‘empathy’
• Raising questions from religious teaching that speak to pupils’ human/personal experience
• Open-ended, allowing the exploration of ideas
• Enabling pupils to evaluate their own conclusions
• Assessable in terms of standards of the skill of response

Implementation

Our syllabus is predominantly about all religions and faiths. As well as the units which focus on major world religions, our scheme of work also includes thematic approaches and big questions which draw on a number of religions and how they may relate in different ways. Our curriculum enables the children to consider challenging questions about the ultimate meaning and purpose of life, beliefs about God, the self and the nature of reality and issues of right and wrong. It allows pupils to develop knowledge and understanding of different faiths, religious traditions and worldwide views. Therefore, RE provides valuable opportunities for reflection and encourages our children to develop their sense of identity.

We aim to use an active approach to learning that is multisensory, creative and far removed from simply relying on children’s literacy skills to show progression, knowledge and understanding. We achieve this through role play, storytelling, discussion, group work, some artistic and practical work. We recognise interesting hooks such as visiting places of worship and welcoming visitors from different faith communities not only ignites children’s interests, but also helps make learning memorable.

At JWJS:

• RE contributes to pupils’ education in schools by provoking challenging questions about meaning and purpose in life, beliefs about
• God, ultimate reality, issues of right and wrong and what it means to be human.
• Pupils learn about and from religions and worldviews in local, national and global contexts, to discover, explore and consider different answers to these questions.
• They learn to weigh up the value of wisdom from different sources, to develop and express their insights in response, and to agree or disagree respectfully.
• Teaching equips pupils with knowledge and understanding of a range of religions and worldviews, enabling them to develop their ideas, values and identities.
• Pupils develop an aptitude for dialogue so that they can participate positively in our society, with its diverse religions and worldviews.

• Pupils gain and deploy the skills needed to understand, interpret and evaluate texts, sources of wisdom and authority and other evidence. They learn to articulate clearly and coherently their personal beliefs, ideas, values and experiences while respecting the right of others to differ.