Religious Education and Collective Worship

Our intent is to equip our learners with knowledge and understanding of principal religions and world-wide views, which will foster confidence in individual beliefs and values and develop respect for religious and cultural difference.

We follow the Lincolnshire Agreed Syllabus for Education 2018 -2023, which  is designed to encourage balanced and informed conversations about religion and belief.

Religious Education offers a positive moral view of the world and the child's place in it. We encourage tolerance of all beliefs and views. We learn about other religion and  explore human religious experiences and we learn from religion and respond to our and other’s experiences.

As a parent or guardian you have a legal right to withdraw your child from collective worship, Religious Education, or both. Parents considering exercising this right or those who have any questions in this respect are asked to discuss this with the Head Teacher. 

Our Religion and worldviews curriculum aims to develop deep thinkers who are
open-minded about religion and worldviews. We aim to ensure that our R&W curriculum is relevant
to pupils, reflecting and preparing them for life in modern Britain. Through the scheme, children will
secure a deep understanding of concepts in order 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 in our progressive curriculum, 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.

Reflecting the findings of the Ofsted Research review series: religious education (May 2021), our
scheme has the following three strands running through it:
✔ 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. Children will also be equipped to explore and express their preconceptions,
personal worldviews and positionality (personal knowledge) through varied and engaging learning
experiences.

Our 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. 

Children begin to 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.
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.
Every lesson can be adapted to ensure that all pupils can access lessons, and opportunities to stretch pupils’ learning are available when required. Strong subject knowledge is vital for staff to deliver a highly-effective and robust R&W curriculum.

The impact of our Religion and Worldviews scheme is constantly monitored through both formative and summative assessment opportunities. 

After the implementation of our Primary 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 enquiring learners who ask questions and make connections. They
will be confident to explore their personal worldview and have the skills to appreciate, evaluate and
respond to religious, philosophical and ethical questions.

The expected impact of following our Religion and worldviews scheme of work is that children will:
● Know and understand religious concepts relating to beliefs, practices,
community and belonging, and wisdom and guidance.
● Develop an understanding of the influence of organised and personal worldviews
on individuals, communities, countries and globally.
● Understand some of the ways religions and worldviews are studied (disciplinary knowledge).
● Develop understanding of their relationship with the content studied, being able to talk about
their assumptions and preconceptions (personal knowledge).
● Build secure vocabulary which allows them to talk confidently and fluently about their
learning.
● Answer questions about worldviews through an enquiry-based approach including
investigating, interpreting, evaluating, applying and expressing.
● Talk about the similarities and differences between their own and others beliefs with respect
and open mindedness.
● Understand the lived experiences of religious and non-religious worldviews to be diverse
within and between people and communities.
● Develop an understanding of the ways in which personal and organised worldviews may
develop and change across time and place.