Religious Education

Intent, Implementation and Impact Statement

Intent

We live in a world that is increasingly diverse in terms of belief and the world’s moral compass is constantly changing. Our children face uncertain times with challenges that those who went before us could not have imagined. Religion is frequently in our news and children hear stories every day about intolerance and prejudice.

The aim of Religious Education (RE) at Ilmington School is to give children the chance to stand still and take stock. We want the children to leave with their own view of those key questions such as ‘Why are we here?’ or ‘Who made us?’, whilst still grounding them in our Christian values of love and compassion.

RE lessons provide children with the opportunity to explore difficult questions in a safe environment where their views will be respected. Children learn to disagree respectfully, to think deeply about what sort of person they want to be, based on what they believe.

Whilst we are proud to be a church school, our RE is not just about Christianity; it is about understanding why people choose to live differently based on what they believe and exploring the richness of faith in its broadest sense.

Our Religious Education curriculum:

Provides the children with age-appropriate opportunities to explore life’s ‘Big Questions’ by finding out how different religions address these questions
Allows the children to reflect on the answers they find, making sense of religion and finding their own view of these challenging questions
Provides for children to see how what a person believes in affects the choices they make in their lives
Allows children to practise their debating skills, to think philosophically and evaluate different arguments
Gives opportunities for teamwork and presentation skills
Provides opportunities to think more deeply about the meaning of popular festivals such as Christmas and Easter
Values reflection time; children are actively encouraged to use reflection spaces in school to consider where they are in life and what they stand for
Prepares children for the increased diversity they will encounter as they grow and leave a Warwickshire village environment, allowing them to value and respect difference, rather than being wary of it.

Implementation

As a Voluntary Controlled Church of England School, the locally agreed syllabus has been adopted (Warwickshire Agreed Syllabus) and is used as the backbone for the planning and delivery of lessons. This is supported by selected units from the resource ‘Understanding Christianity‘, with the school working on a 2 year cycle, save for Pippin Class whose cohort changes annually.

As a church school, Ilmington School teaches predominantly Christianity with comparison against other world religions, and includes enquiry into ‘non-faith’ based religion, such as the way Humanists live their lives. Particular focus is given to the second and third biggest religions of Islam and Hinduism, with study also being undertaken into Judaism to support and build with Christianity. Children are given theme days to be immersed into the remaining two world religions of Sikhism and Buddhism, as well as exploring the views and opinions of atheists and agnostics.

RE is taught using the three strands of Believing, Expressing and Living. Every unit from the WAS is delivered in this way, so the children become used to seeing WALTS framed around these 3 key strands, which reflect the nature and purpose of RE. The units in the Understanding Christianity Resource follow a ‘deepening’ cycle, so the children are exposed to the eight key themes at different levels as they progress. Both of these are referenced in the two Year Cycle in the Curriculum Overview.

RE work is presented in its own book, but mirrors the non-negotiables of the school and marking is delivered in line with the school policy. In addition, staff may encourage deeper thinking by the children by bespoke feedback, in the form of questions, which children can respond to orally, or in their books.

Children at Ilmington School are taught RE in specific lesson once a week, save for Reception where it is delivered in line with the Early Years Goals, using themes as set out in the Curriculum Overview. In Years 1 and 2, children have one lesson of RE per week, for up to an hour, in line with the recommended time by WAS. In Years 3,4, 5 and 6, children have the same hourly lesson, but also have one theme day each year, immersing themselves in one of the remaining world religions they do not study weekly.

In Key Stage 2, every lesson will have a WALT, with three success criteria, including an ‘Expert Stretch'. Children are reminded of what they have done previously and how this will help them in their learning in each lesson. Children apply the school Progress Check at the start and end of the lesson, as well as reflecting on their Key Vocabulary. This vocabulary is specially referred to in the target sheet of their RE book and is referenced throughout the lesson. At the beginning of the lesson children look at the success criteria for them to meet the WALT. They decide where they are starting (B, C or P) and what they need to do to meet the WALT by the end of the lesson. Children complete a progress check at the end of the lesson, decide against the success criteria whether they are B, C P or E and they may be asked to verbally outline what progress they have made and how/why/what they need to do next to move their learning forwards.

In Key Stage 1, children also have a WALT, as well as three success criteria including an Expert Stretch, but the Progress Check is simplified, using a star rating. Children in Year 2 are encouraged to complete this independently, but those in Year 1 are usually supported in this part of the task.

Lessons include visual prompts such as candles and water, reflection time to allow children to experience awe and wonder and many opportunities for discussion. Learning is recorded in a number of ways; photographs of activities, artwork, written pieces and formal reflection on what has been learnt that lesson.

Children are introduced to their RE targets each year and this forms part of the assessment process. Both the child and the teacher may asses the learning against the target, which then informs the school wide attainment grids completed at the end of each term. This is then reviewed by the Subject Lead and forms part of Pupil Progress Meetings. SEN children are ‘flagged’ centrally by the school, and their progress in RE is monitored by the Teacher and Subject Lead.

Over every year, Subject Leader conducts two learning walks (with a specific focus from the action plan), pupil conferencing, and book looks. These can be seen on the monitoring schedule.

Impact

Religious Education is a key part of weekly school life at Ilmington. It is taught in every year group, in a way that is age appropriate, building on previous knowledge and skills, so that by the time children leave Ilmington they have developed a deeper understanding of Christianity alongside an appreciation and understanding of world religions. Religion is not taught as an abstract concept, it is looked at through the eyes of those who believe, so as to make it as real as possible to the children.
Children leave Ilmington understanding why a person may wear a head covering, why someone might not eat meat of any kind, why some people may not celebrate Christmas in a traditional way or at all, and how all of these things are related to what a person believes about how to live a good and respectful life.
Most learners will achieve age related expectations by the end of each year, with children who traditionally do not do well in other subjects often achieving well in the subject; in the words of one child ‘ …….it’s about what I think, not what I know, and I can talk about that, so I can do well in that subject.’
Whilst the traditional Ilmington pupil may not have many interactions with those of other faiths, children leave with a good understanding of the world of Muslims, Hindus and Jews, and an appreciation that although people of no faith may not be part of organised religion, they still have a code for living, which may be similar to those of faith.
Children leave Ilmington prepared to talk about faith, and what they do or do not believe. This is because the school allows children to ask and answer difficult questions, reflect of where they stand on current religious related issues, as well as why it is important to find and consider what they believe in and how they choose to live their lives.
Children leave Ilmington, a traditional rural Church of England Primary School understanding that there may not be one religion that answers all life’s questions, that there are people of many different faiths and that there is beauty and richness to be found in each.