Curriculum Intent

At Istead Rise we aim for all children to become aware of the world’s religions and to develop a tolerance and understanding of people’s beliefs and cultures. We teach RE to all children with the intention to engage, inspire, challenge and encourage pupils to consider different points of view and to respect these. We wish to equip them with the knowledge and skills to think about and discuss challenging questions, explore different religious values and traditions and develop a more rigorous understanding and appreciation of people in a multicultural world. 

Curriculum Implementation

To ensure children learn about different religions we focus on one per term:

• Term 1: Sikhism

• Term 2: Christianity  

• Term 3: Hinduism 

• Term 4: Buddhism 

• Term 5: Islam

• Term 6: Judaism 

We have developed our own RE programme of study which  aims to facilitate meaningful discussions and provide a stimulating learning environment. Each year group in the school focuses their RE learning on a theme which runs throughout the year. The themes chosen ensure that children will be able explore the beliefs, practices and traditions associated with each religion as the year progresses. For year 6, this also includes elements of philosophy and ethics. The themes are: 

• Year 1: Places of worship and religious symbols

• Year 2: Festivals and special food

• Year 3: Creation stories and other religious stories 

• Year 4: Religious sites and pilgrimage 

• Year 5: Important people in religions and religious teachings

• Year 6: What is the purpose of life? What happens to us when we die? 

We believe that we can provide every child with accessible learning by ensuring that questions are age appropriate, work is engaging and interesting so that children are able to think deeply about their learning. By teaching RE lessons regularly children will be able to explore a ‘theme’ within the religion they are studying. During lessons, children use Knowledge Organisers to see areas that will be covered in a term, refer back to prior learning and help information to be retained. Children’s work is assessed by the class teacher using an end of unit online quiz so that lessons can be adapted and enhanced to reflect the needs of the class and school community as a whole.