Intent

At Wigton Moor everyone learns, everyone achieves and everyone matters!  This is seen in our RE curriculum in a variety of ways.  For example: the chance for all children to discuss key questions and share opinions either in talk partners, small group discussion or the whole class; or by sharing aspects of their faith and talking about religious artefacts brought from home.  There is a no ceiling approach to differentiation: vocabulary is always explained; appropriate support and resources are provided to SEND children to enable them to access the curriculum; and all children, not just the more able, are given the opportunity to tackle challenge questions. 

At Wigton Moor, we believe RE is a very important tool for tackling stereotyping, misunderstanding and division and for fostering community cohesion and the development of British values.  We want our pupils to develop a deeper understanding of world faiths and beliefs, both religious and non-religious, and to develop respect and empathy for differences in beliefs and cultures.  This vision is reinforced across the curriculum through discussions in PSHE on subjects like racism and bullying, in history when pupils in Year 5 learn about emigration to the UK during the 20th century from Commonwealth countries; and in our annual celebrations of One World Week. 

It is important to us, too, that RE lessons are enjoyable and interesting.  To this end, we aim to provide pupils with the experience of hearing from other people about their beliefs, either through visits to places of worship or from visitors in school, and, of course, from each other.  Our RE curriculum also provides pupils with the opportunity to explore important ethical and philosophical questions and to develop their critical thinking skills.

Implementation

At Wigton Moor we follow the agreed Leeds RE syllabus, Believing and Belonging, designed by the local authority's standing advisory council on religious education (SACRE).  The current syllabus was introduced in September 2019.  The topics studied in each year group are based on materials and resources the school subscribes to from the West Yorkshire RE hub, which teachers adapt to meet the needs of their pupils.  The materials are aligned to the Leeds RE syllabus and basing our planning on these ensures that our RE curriculum provides progression through building on prior learning and covers the aims of the syllabus.

The aims of the syllabus are that pupils should:

• Investigate the beliefs and practices of religions and other world views
• Investigate how religions and other world views address questions of meaning, purpose and value
• Investigate how religions and other world views influence morality, identity and diversity.

These aims recognise that the universal provision of RE must help pupils to gain increasing understanding and empathy of our wide and diverse communities, as well as developing religious literacy, thinking skills and ethical judgement.

The topics that go with the syllabus are listed below:

Topics studied in Reception

How are special times celebrated?

What can we see in our wonderful world?

What makes a good helper?

Who and what are special to us?

Topics studied in Year 1

How and why do we care for others?

How do we celebrate special events?

What does it mean to belong to a church or mosque?

Which books and stories are special to us?

Who brought messages about God?

Topics studied in Year 2

How and why do people pray?

How can we look after the planet?

How can we make good choices?

How is new life welcomed?

What did Jesus teach and how did he live?

Topics studied in Year 3

How do Jews remember God's covenant with Abraham and Moses?

What do Christians believe about a good life?

What do creation stories tell us about the world?

How do people express spirituality?

Who can inspire us?

Topics studied in Year 4

How are important events remembered in ceremonies?

How do the Five Pillars guide Muslims?

What faiths are shared in our countries?

Why are Gurus at the heart of Sikh belief and practice?

Topics studied in Year 5

Should we forgive others?

What do Christians believe about the old and new covenants?

What values are shown in codes for living?

Why are some places and journeys special?

Topics studied in Year 6

How do Jews remember kings and prophets in worship and in life?

How does growing up bring responsibilities and commitments?

What do Christians believe about Jesus' death and resurrection?

Impact

To assess that children have learnt more and remember more in their weekly RE lessons, assessment for learning is embedded deeply across the school and can be seen in all year groups and in all lessons.  Pupils regularly use white boards and other aids to enable teachers to judge their level of understanding and recall.  Pupils complete assessment quadrants at the end of a topic to gauge their understanding and to assess their own progress.   

R.E. at Wigton Moor

Some examples of R.E. work and enhancements. 

Year 6

Year 6 had a visit from Reverend Corley and learnt about Easter. Year 6 pupils have been studying the topic 'What do Christians believe about Jesus' death and resurrection'. They have learnt about what happens in Church during Holy Week.

Year 1

Year 1 pupils have been studying the topic 'How do we celebrate special events?'  They have learnt why Harvest Festival is important to Christians and they have written their own harvest prayers.

Year 3

Year 3 have been studying the topic, 'What do creation stories tell us about our world?'  They have written letters to the world leaders gathering in Glasgow for COP 26 to explain what they have learnt from the creation stories about the importance of looking after our world.

Year 5

Year 5 have been studying the topic, 'Why are some places and journeys special?'  They have learnt about the importance of the Western Wall in Jerusalem to Jews and written their own prayers for the Western Wall.  They have also learnt about the importance of the Hajj to Muslims.