An Daras Multi Academy Trust has used the latest pedagogy, research and understanding of local contextual needs to structure the curriculum design to ensure the growth of capability mature children who exhibit a sustained curiosity for learning. The ‘lived values and experiences’ of pupils are determined by the individual school and should run through all operational elements of curriculum provision.

 

The principal aim of religious education is to explore what people believe and what difference this makes to how they live, so that pupils can gain the knowledge, understanding and skills needed to handle questions raised by religion and belief, reflecting on their own ideas and ways of living.

 

Religion and beliefs inform our values and are reflected in what we say and how we behave. RE is an important subject in itself, developing an individual’s knowledge and understanding of the religions and beliefs which form part of contemporary society.

 

RE also contributes to pupils’ personal development and well-being and to community cohesion by promoting mutual respect and tolerance in a diverse society. It offers opportunities for personal reflection and spiritual development, deepening the understanding of the significance of religion in the lives of others – individually, communally and cross-culturally.

 

 Pedagogy

 

Our RE curriculum focuses on developing our pupils through the acquisition of WISDOM, KNOWLEDGE and CAPABILITIES. These have been selected because they ensure the whole development of the child will be prioritised, they enable pupils to meet the expectations of the Cornwall Agreed syllabus 2020-2025 and have ambitions beyond this. Impact scales will measure the effectiveness of curriculum provision on the growth of children within these three equally important themes.

 

WISDOM

Children develop wisdom in RE through:

Learning about religious traditions and to reflect on what the religious ideas and concepts mean to them.

Extend their own sense of values and promotes their spiritual growth and development. Encouraging children to think about their own views and values in relation to the themes and topics studied in the RE curriculum, while developing a respectful and accepting approach to the views and feelings of others.

 

KNOWLEDGE

Children acquire knowledge in RE:

Building on their own experiences and extend their knowledge and understanding of religious traditions, using a wide range of resources (texts, pictures, films, visitors).

Using their experiences at religious festivals such as Easter, Christmas etc. to develop their religious thinking.

Organising visits to local places of worship and invite representatives of local religious groups to come into school and talk to the children.

Carrying out research into religious topics.

Studying particular religious faiths and also compare the religious views of different faith groups on topics such as rites of passage or festivals.

Discussing religious and moral issues through whole class discussion and working individually or in groups.

 

CAPABILITIES

Our RE curriculum is entirely inclusive, but we recognise the fact that all classes in our school have children of widely differing experience and abilities, so we provide suitable learning opportunities for all children by matching the challenge and focus of the task to the ability and needs of the child.

 

We achieve these capabilities by:

setting common tasks which are open-ended and can have a variety of responses;

setting tasks of increasing difficulty (we do not expect all children to complete all tasks); Providing individually tailored tasks, specifically focused on the needs of that child;

Providing stimulation and challenge for all abilities;

providing resources of different complexity, adapted to the ability of the child;

using classroom assistants to support the work of individuals or groups of children.

 

Through partner, group and whole class discussions we encourage collaborative learning and give meaningful opportunities to develop communication and respectful leadership skills. The inquiry based learning model encourages planning and problem solving and promotes resilience and creativity in achieving the aims of the unit. Supported discussions and debates give children the opportunity to grow in confidence and develop their abilities to formulate their own ideas and opinions and respond in a respectful and measured way to those of others. In coming to have a more self-reflective approach to learning and relationships, the children also gain valuable experience in recognising and managing their feelings in an increasingly effective manner.

 

At Callington we follow the 2020 Cornwall Agreed Syllabus which has been created for Cornwall SACRE and approved by Cornwall Council. It provides a syllabus for RE which explains the value and purposes of RE for all pupils and specifies for teachers what shall be taught in each age group. It provides a coherent framework for setting high standards of learning in RE and enabling pupils to reach their potential in the subject.

 

The Cornwall Agreed Syllabus 2020 asserts the importance and value of religious education (RE) for all pupils, with on-going benefits for an open, articulate and understanding society. The following purpose statements underpin the syllabus, which is constructed to support pupils and teachers in fulfilling them:

- Religious education contributes dynamically to children and young people’s 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.

- In RE, pupils learn about religions and beliefs in local, national and global contexts, to discover, explore and consider different answers to these questions.

- Pupils 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, therefore, should equip pupils with systematic knowledge and understanding of a range of religions and beliefs, enabling them to develop their ideas, values and identities.

- RE should develop in pupils an aptitude for dialogue so that they can participate positively in our society, with its diverse religions and beliefs.

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

 

In EYFS, all areas of learning and development are important and inter-connected. These are stipulated in the ‘Statutory framework for the early years foundation stage’. The most relevant statements for RE are taken from the following areas of learning:

- Personal, Social and Emotional Development

- Understanding the World

 

Teachers should help pupils with SEND to overcome any barriers to participating and learning and make any ‘reasonable adjustments’ needed to include pupils. To make lessons inclusive, teachers need to anticipate what barriers to taking part and learning may pose for pupils with SEND. Some modifications or adjustments will need to be made or smaller steps to achieve the learning goal. Occasionally, pupils with SEND will have to work on different activities, or towards different objectives, from their peers.