Our RE curriculum supports pupils in understanding the religious and secular views of others and helps them to begin to shape their own worldview.  A proudly diverse and tolerant school, we nurture and promote community cohesion within our local area, and beyond, through our links with local places of worship, our families and through sharing our pupils’ experiences with other, less diverse, school settings. We strive to be a beacon of ‘togetherness’ and understand the unique role that RE plays in our pupils’ personal development. We ensure that our pupils see beyond stereotypes and realise that there is also diversity within belief groups and that ‘not all’ people see their faith or belief systems in the same way. We are committed to ensuring that our pupils are equipped with the knowledge and understanding to enable them to navigate and embrace life in our pluralistic, multifaith and secular society. 

Our curriculum is based upon the Newcastle SACRE but is enriched using high quality materials from sources such as NATRE (National Association of Teachers of RE), Culham St Gabriels, Understanding Humanism, RE Today, The Jo Cox Foundation and ‘Theos’. 

Our curriculum is real and relevant. Each year group conducts some of their learning outside, at places of worship, or in school with leaders or believers from different groups. We value the role that our pupils play in their role as ‘expert’: pupils regularly bring in special objects to share and demonstrate their faith such as Hindu pupils showing how to meditate and how to perform puja. Many of our Muslim pupils read the Qur’an for their peers in Arabic and some children proudly demonstrated a rak’ah together. This happens because of the pride and the ethos of ‘no outsiders’ that permeates our school community. Our pupils are encouraged to articulate how the thoughts of different faith groups may be relevant to non-believers, for example extracting the moral from faith tales or identifying the message in a psalm or hadith. During ‘Inter Faith Week’ we look at the key ‘golden threads’ in all major faiths and Humanism, supporting our key message of ‘more in common’. We build links within the community that our pupils live and broaden their worldview. Our pupils have many opportunities for reflection and empathy - considering the thoughts, feelings, experiences, attitudes, beliefs and values of others: highly-prized skills for tomorrow’s workforce and society.  

Across school, we study in some detail: Christianity, Judaism, Islam and Hinduism and we also look at secular viewpoints including Humanism. We appreciate that it is not possible to study all belief systems in depth, but we do note aspects of Sikhism and Buddhism in some of our more thematic units. These faiths are then looked at in greater depth within the KS3 and KS4 Newcastle SACRE.  

Units of work are planned so that prior knowledge is considered and the opportunity to revisit and build upon knowledge is thought through. This helps pupils to remember more, dig deeper and make links between belief systems. Our progressive units of work make note of the key ‘sticky knowledge’ and subject-specific vocabulary that must be explicit.  

Our pupils are introduced to the skills and relevant disciplines in RE (theology, philosophy, and social sciences). Pupils learn to interpret texts looking for meaning and, in upper Key Stage Two, begin to explore differing interpretations – such as liberal and fundamentalist Bible interpretations of creation. Pupils are taught to see links and understand that there are many areas of overlap within faiths, such as within the Abrahamic texts, within practices of birth rituals, prayer practices and so on. Pupils have opportunities to research for themselves and question how society is changing locally and nationally, making use of Census data – using the Office for National Statistics website. We ask and research using various sources including interviewing ‘real people’ and exploring the number and location of places of worship using Google Maps. Our pupils begin to explore philosophically and debate some of the bigger questions in life. Pupils spot similarities and differences, for example in the way that God is perceived by different faith groups, atheists, and agnostics. Our pupils build upon their ability to draw meaning from artefacts, works of art, and texts (including poetry and symbolism).  

We want our pupils to be engaged and interested in this fascinating subject. Evidence of a stimulating and diverse series of lessons can be seen in pupils’ books, on Seesaw and in portfolios of work. Opportunities for oracy are plentiful and it is made clear to pupils that it is fine to change your mind following discussion and exploration. For examples pupils may plot themselves on a sliding scale from ‘agree to disagree’ and decide to change their position throughout the lesson. Debates take place, such as ranking who was responsible for the crucifixion of Jesus. 

Pupils also take part in practical activities such as designing and creating Mezuzah boxes or creating 3D symbols. Some activities involve responding through art, poetry, creative writing, or drama. We compare ideas and beliefs making use of Venn diagrams and write in role to elicit empathy. Pupils explore artefacts, investigating their use and significance. 

At the heart of each lesson is the intent for pupils to learn and remember the RE curriculum, developing subject-specific knowledge and skills while developing personally.

‘Every time you break down that narrative of otherness, the narrative of togetherness grows.’ Brendan Cox