At Northgate our primary intent is to have an engaging and inspiring curriculum with high academic ambition for all pupils. In RE, we aim to ensure that all pupils develop a good knowledge an understanding of sources of wisdom and their impact whilst exploring personal and critical responses. We want the children to understand, accept and respect cultural similarities and differences.
Our Religious Education curriculum follows the Emmanuel Project, a scheme of work for Primary RE. The curriculum an Enquiry Cycle model within each unit (Engage / Enquire / Explore / Evaluate / Express). All the units expand the EXPLORE section into three areas (scriptural text or narrative / community practice / daily living) to ensure a balanced approach to religious material, rather than an approach that focuses solely on religious festivals or sacred stories.
The Curriculum focuses on key beliefs and concepts of six different faiths and a non-religious worldview, as the driver to get to the heart of faith and link together stories, practices, festivals and ways of life.
Engaging starters link children into the key beliefs at the beginning of the unit and teaching utilises a key question, often including the key concept, as the title of the unit. More questions throughout the unit help structure the learning and activities Learning is adapted to different age ranges by the use of imaginary children of different faiths in units for younger children to help introduce religious material at an appropriate level and encourage ‘owning and grounding language’. Later a set of symbols is used to represent the key beliefs and acts as a practical learning aid.
The implementation of the RE syllabus is monitored to ensure it is full and broad, not repeated and there are no gaps within the school.
Assessment is ongoing and used to identify gaps. There are end of unit and year expectations for all 6 strands of the syllabus, adjusted to the content of each unit.