‘Religious education emphasises respect for others, regardless of their beliefs, race or social status’

Victoria Purcell

Intent

At Plover School, religious education encourages children to explore and ask big questions about life, to find out and celebrate what people believe and what

difference this makes to how people live. We want our children to be

able to make sense of religion and world views, reflecting on their own

ideas and ways of living. We strive for our children to be well-informed

about the different religions in the world and in our community.

Through the study of RE and our expeditions, we aim for our children to develop a stronger understanding of the world around them and to make a difference through our three curriculum seams: Protecting our Planet, Standing for Justice and Cultivating Diversity and Belonging,

Our expeditionary curriculum is centred around the concept of stewardship. By studying RE through the lenses of our three seams, we encourage students to be stewards of the world, our communities, ourselves and each other by not just looking inward, but by looking up and out and by looking around us.  

Using the seams above as a cornerstone and utilising the Doncaster Agreed Syllabus for planning RE, we ensure that we are building character and, consequently, endeavouring to make the world and our communities better places, and ourselves and each other better human beings.

Our three-dimensional approach to learning provides the platform on which we have built our curriculum offer at Plover School. As geographers, we aim for our children to achieve academic success which is enhanced through character growth and is expressed through the beautiful work they produce.

Implementation

Each RE big question is rigorously mapped against the National Curriculum Standards and Early Years Foundation Stage framework to ensure coverage and depth. RE slices are carefully planned and sequenced to build on prior learning and experiences, thus giving the children the knowledge and self-belief they need to succeed in life and become well-educated citizens.

While RE is mainly taught as a discrete stand-alone subject, many of the concepts are developed through our expeditionary curriculum. These are wide-reaching in their connectivity, contextualisation and relevance.

This is evidenced through our primary trust standards map that outlines the subject-specific knowledge and skills that are needed for students to access a progressively demanding curriculum, thereby achieving academic success.

The sequence of our RE curriculum is apparent in our curriculum overviews that we have for each phase, over a two-year cycle. These individual maps allow us to plan carefully for, and consider progression deeply.

Impact

Because our children’s work is relevant, purposeful and authentic, this encourages students to craft their best work and grow their character. Our approach encourages the development of socially responsible citizens who care about each other and understand their agency for positive change in the world.

Our curriculum is designed to have a positive and enduring impact.

Due to the nature of this curriculum area, RE monitoring takes various forms. A key component of this is pupil voice. School leaders use pupil voice as an effective tool to ascertain the pupils’ ability to express themselves, through questioning and discussion. Expedition book monitoring throughout all year groups also takes place regularly to complement this, allowing leaders to ensure our theologists have the opportunity to develop their knowledge fully and showcase their understanding. Examples of our theologists’ work are exhibited throughout the school, by sharing our stories on the school website and within the local community.