Purpose of Study

RE is for all pupils in all schools, every pupil has a legal entitlement to RE. It is a necessary part of a ‘broad and balanced curriculum’ and must be provided for all registered pupils in state-funded schools in England, including those in the sixth form, unless withdrawn by their parents (or withdrawing themselves if they are aged 18 or over). This requirement does not apply to pupils below compulsory school age (although there are many examples of good practice of RE in nursery classes).

Schools are not obliged to provide R.E. to pupils who are under compulsory school age (section 80(2)(a) of the Education Act 2002), although there are many instances of good practice where R.E. is taught to these pupils. 

Aims

Our Agreed Syllabus, Living Difference IV seeks to introduce children and young people to what a religious way of looking at, and existing in, the world may offer in leading one’s life, individually and collectively.

It recognises and acknowledges that the question as to what it means to lead one’s life with such an orientation can be answered in a number of qualitatively different ways.

These include the idea that:

• to live a religious life means to subscribe to certain propositional beliefs (religion as truth)
• to live a religious life means to adhere to certain practices (religion as practice)
• to live a religious life is characterised by a particular way of being in and with the world: with a particular kind of awareness of, and faith in, the world and in other human beings (religion as existence).

Intent

At Woodcot Primary School, our intent in Religious Education (RE) is to provide a high-quality, well-rounded education that encourages all pupils to explore and understand the diverse religious beliefs, practices, and ethical values that shape our world. We aim to:

Develop Knowledge and Understanding: Equip students with the knowledge and understanding of major world religions, their beliefs, cultures, and practices, helping them to appreciate the richness of different faiths and the significance they hold in people's lives.

Foster Critical Thinking: Encourage pupils to think critically and reflectively about complex moral and ethical issues, promoting healthy discussions that facilitate respect for differing viewpoints.

Cultivate Empathy and Tolerance: Instil a sense of empathy and understanding, enabling pupils to engage positively with diverse communities and promoting a culture of tolerance.

Support Personal Development: Provide a space for pupils to explore their own beliefs and values, encouraging personal growth and spiritual development while respecting the views of others.

Implementation

To realise our RE intent, we adopt a robust and carefully structured curriculum enriched with best practices. Our implementation strategy includes:

Comprehensive Curriculum Design: Our RE curriculum follows our Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education - Living Difference IV, ensuring the coverage of Christianity alongside other world religions such as Islam, Hinduism and Judaism. Each unit is designed to be engaging and age-appropriate.

Active Learning Experiences: We employ a range of interactive teaching methods, including group discussions, debates, role-play, and creative projects, to engage learners actively. When appropriate, opportunities for This approach caters to different learning styles and fosters a deep understanding of the subject matter.

Use of Educational Resources: We incorporate a variety of high-quality resources, including religious texts, artefacts, digital materials and the use of persona dolls, to enrich the learning experience. Visits to places of worship and invitations to guest speakers enhance students’ practical understanding.

Professional Development: Continuous professional development for our teachers ensures they are knowledgeable, confident, and informed about current trends and perspectives in religious education.

Effective Assessment Practices: Our assessment strategies involve both formative assessments to monitor understanding during lessons and summative assessments at the end of units. This data informs future teaching, ensuring that we meet the needs of all learners.

Impact

The impact of our RE curriculum is evident in several ways:

Increased Knowledge and Understanding: Pupils demonstrate a strong grasp of various religious beliefs and practices, evidenced by their ability to articulate their learning clearly and thoughtfully during discussions and assessments.

Enhanced Personal Development: Students show increased confidence in expressing their own beliefs while showing respect and empathy towards the beliefs of others. This is reflected in their interactions within the school community and beyond.

Positive Learning Environment: A culture of respect and openness towards diversity is evident within the school, as pupils engage in meaningful dialogue about different faiths and moral issues, which fosters an inclusive and harmonious school environment.

Community Engagement: Links with local faith communities and organisations provide pupils with real-life contexts for their learning and promoting social cohesion.

Critical Thinking Skills: Through the syllabus, pupils are developing well-rounded critical thinking skills, enabling them to approach complex ethical issues thoughtfully and responsibly. This is validated through their contributions to classroom debates and written reflections.

In summary, our approach to Religious Education not only aligns with our Agreed Syllabus' expectations but also enriches our pupils’ lives, preparing them to thrive in an increasingly diverse and interconnected world.

In reception, our RE curriculum is interwoven into our driver projects and our mini-projects which run throughout the year. These projects cover many important religious events, festivals and celebrations relevant to the time of year to help our children build up a contextual picture of the world around us. Throughout these projects, the children:

• Continue to develop positive attitudes about the differences between people.

• Develop their sense of responsibility and membership of a community

• See themselves as a valuable individual

• Think about the perspectives of others.

• Talk about members of their immediate family and community.

• Name and describe people who are familiar to them.

• Understand that some places are special to members of their family.

• Recognise that people have different beliefs and celebrate special times in different ways.

• Talk about the lives of people around them and their role in society.

• Understand the past through settings, characters and events encountered in books read in class and storytelling.

• Show sensitivity to their own and other’s needs.

Example Project

Sparkle and Shine Project - Spring Term

In the Sparkle and Shine project, your child will explore different celebrations that take place in autumn and winter, focusing on the significance and symbolism of light at this time of year. They will take part in a variety of creative activities and discover more about how Christmas, Diwali and Hanukkah are celebrated around the world.

Supporting your child at home

• Talk about special events that you celebrate at home.
• Share photos of events that you celebrate.
• Talk about how you prepare for special celebrations including the clothes you wear, food you prepare and gifts you give or receive.
• Share learning between school and home with our 'Did you know?' resources. 

Autumn

Spring

Purim - Judaism

Purim is a lively festival that commemorates the strength of the Jewish people. Practising Jews wear costumes and visit the synagogue to listen to the story of Queen Esther who prevented Haman, her husband's servant, from killing the Jewish people. After attending the synagogue, families and friends gather together to eat, dance and exchange gifts.

Summer

Naam Karan - Sikhism

The Naam Karan is a Sikh baby naming ceremony, and many Sikh parents bring their newborns to the Gurdwara (the Sikh temple) as soon as they are able to visit. The Granthi (reader of the scriptures) opens the holy book, the Guru Granth Sahib, at random, and the first letter of the first word on the left-hand page will be the first letter of the baby's name.

Family relationships are important in Sikhism. After the Naam Karan, many Sikh children will continue to learn about the Sikh faith at home and at the Gurdwara. Some may also attend Punjabi lessons so they can read the Guru Granth Sahib themselves.

Esala Perahera - Buddhism

Esala Perahera, also known as the Festival of the Tooth, is celebrated in Kandy, Sri Lanka, during July and August. The festival lasts for 10 days and begins when Jak tree cuttings are planted outside four temples called Devalas.

Torch lit processions (peraheras) of dancers, drummers, acrobats and highly decorated elephants fill the streets and visit the different temples during the festival. The most spectacular elephant carries a replica of the Buddha's tooth casket, which is kept in the Temple of the Tooth in Kandy.

Autumn 

Navratri - Hinduism

Navratri is celebrated for nine nights and 10 days. Hindus worship a different form of the mother goddess Durga every day, including Lakshmi (the goddess of good fortune and wealth) and Saraswati (the goddess of wisdom). In India, clay statues of Durga are placed in homes, temples and street shrines during the festival. On the tenth day (Dussehra) the statues are paraded in the streets and put into water to disintegrate.

Hanukkah - JudaismHanukkah is the Jewish Festival of Lights that is celebrated every autumn in November or December. The festival celebrates the victory of Judah Maccabee and his Jewish followers over the Syrian Emperor Antiochus and the miracle of the lamp, which burned for eight days in the regained temple in Jerusalem, even though there was only enough oil for one day's light.

Christmas - Christianity

Christmas is a Christian festival that marks the birth of Jesus Christ, over 2000 years ago. It is celebrated by billions of people around the world. Christians call the period before Christmas, Advent. The word Advent means 'coming' and is the time when Christians wait to celebrate the arrival of baby Jesus and think about the second coming of Jesus that they believe will happen in the future.

Spring

Losar - Buddism

The Tibetan Buddhist New Year holiday, Losar, starts on the first day of the first month of the Tibetan calendar, which is usually in February.

The celebrations last between three and 15 days and are a mixture of early Bon traditions and later Buddhist traditions. Tibetan Buddhists may perform rituals and dances to ward off evil spirits, present offerings to Buddha's shrine and hang up new prayer flags during Losar.

Anand Karaj - Sikhism

Before a Sikh wedding, the bride and groom may have a Kurmai engagement ceremony and receive a ring. Gifts are exchanged and many special preparations are made in the days and weeks before the wedding.

On the morning of the wedding, the bride and groom's family meet at the Gurdwara and share food before the ceremony. The Sikh wedding ceremony is called the Anand Karaj. The Granthi leading the service recites prayers and hymns and the bride takes hold of a scarf that the groom wears over his shoulder. Four wedding hymns, called Lavans are said and then sung. After each Lavan, the couple walk round the holy book, the Guru Granth Sahib, which is witnessing their marriage. They also bow to the Guru Granth Sahib to show they agree with the readings. The Lavans act as the binding promises or vows.

Summer

Jumu’ah - Islam

Jumu’ah are Friday prayers. Before Jumu’ah, many Muslims wash, put on perfume or aftershave and dress in clean clothes. Just after lunchtime, worshippers meet at the mosque to say special prayers and listen to a talk by the Imam. The importance of saying Friday prayers is mentioned in the Qur’an and Muhammad called Friday the best day.

Autumn

Ganesh Chaturthi - Hinduism 

Hindus celebrate the birthday of Lord Ganesh during Ganesh Chaturthi. They pray to Ganesh to remove obstacles when starting something new and mention his name first when they perform puja to make sure nothing will get in the way of their worship and prayer.

Guru Nanak Gurpurab - Sikhism

Gurpurabs are celebrations which commemorate the anniversaries of the Sikh Gurus. Guru Nanak's Gurpurab is usually celebrated in November.

Guru Nanak is the founder of the Sikh religion. He was born a Hindu in 1469 but when he was 30 years old, he bathes in the Kali Bein, the Black River and disappeared. He returned after three days and declared he had been with God. He taught his followers that all religions worshipped the same God, and everyone on Earth should be treated equally and with respect.

All Gurpurabs are celebrated in a similar way. The whole of the Guru Granth Sahib may be read over a period of two days, finishing on the day of the festival. There may also be a Nagar Kirtan, a parade of the Guru Granth Sahib, through the streets accompanied by music and dancing. Many Sikhs will also help to prepare langar, which is free food. Langar may be served on the streets during the Nagar Kirtan or in the langar hall.

Spring

Lent - Christianity

Lent is a time for Christians to fast, think about God, say sorry for the things they have done that they regret, pray and learn more about the life of Jesus. It last for 40 days (excluding Sundays), because this is the same amount of time that Jesus spent fasting and thinking about God in the desert before he started teaching and performing miracles.

Summer

Vesak - Buddism

Vesak is an important Buddhist festival, which commemorates the birth, enlightenment and sometimes death of Prince Siddhartha, who became known as Buddha. Most Buddhists celebrate Vesak when there is a full moon in May or June because they believe his birth, enlightenment and death all happened at this time.

Shavuot - Islam

The word Shavuot means 'weeks' and the festival of Shavuot is celebrated 50 days (seven weeks) after Passover. Practising Jews celebrate the gift of the Torah and the Ten Commandments by visiting the synagogue, studying the Torah scrolls (sometimes all night) and possibly eating cheesecake. Shavuot is also a harvest festival that celebrates the end of the barley harvest and the beginning of the wheat harvest in Israel.

Hajj - Islam

The Hajj is a pilgrimage Muslims make to the holy city of Mecca. Pilgrims spend five days praying and worshipping both in Mecca and the surrounding desert. It is a spiritual pilgrimage that every adult Muslim must perform at least once in their lives if they are physically able and can afford it.

Autumn 

Janmashtami - Hinduism 

The festival of Janmashtami celebrates the birthday of Lord Krishna and falls in August or September. Krishna is one of the Hindu faith's most popular gods.

The festival lasts for two days. Worshippers may sing songs, tell stories of Krishna's life, dance, rock his cradle and wait for midnight to arrive to mark his birth. Some Hindus fast during the day of Janmashtami and only eat after midnight.

Kathina - Buddism

Kathina is a celebration held in October or November after Vassa, the Rains Retreat, which is sometimes known as the Buddhists Lent. Buddhist monks stay in a vihara or monastery during the rainy season in Asian countries and spend time studying the Dharma (Buddha's teaching) and meditating.

Spring

Vaisakhi - Sikhism

Sikhs usually celebrate Vaisakhi on the 13th and 14th April. It is the most important festival day for Sikhs because, in 1699, Guru Gobind Singh created the Khalsa. The Khalsa are ordained Sikhs who make promises to wear the Five Ks and follow the Sikh religion faithfully. To become part of the Khalsa, Sikhs drink a sugary liquid called amrit and have it sprinkled onto their eyes and hair. Some Sikhs choose to take amrit during Vaisakhi.

Holy Week & Easter - Christianity

Holy Week is the last week of Lent. It starts with Palm Sunday, which commemorates Jesus' arrival in Jerusalem over 2000 years ago. During Holy Week, the story of Jesus' last supper and trial are commemorated. Good Friday is a day of mourning in many Christian churches as Jesus' crucifixion is remembered.

Summer

Shabbat - Judaism

Shabbat (Sabbath) is the Jewish day of rest. Jews believe God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh. Shabbat begins at sunset on Friday and ends on Saturday. During Shabbat, families spend time together, rest, eat special meals and attend the synagogue. However, there are many things to prepare before Shabbat arrives and rules to follow to make sure that Shabbat is truly a day of rest.

Eid ul-Adha - Islam

Eid ul-Adha, also known as the Greater Eid, is the second most important festival in the Muslim calendar. It commemorates the Prophet Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice his son when Allah ordered him to.

Muslims believe that Allah appeared to Ibrahim in a dream and asked him to sacrifice his son Isma’il as an act of obedience. The devil tempted Ibrahim by saying he should disobey Allah and spare his son. As Ibrahim was about to kill his son, Allah stopped him and gave him a ram to sacrifice instead.

Autumn 

Dharma Day - Buddism

Dharma Day, or Asalha Puja, is celebrated in July by Buddhists around the world. The word Dharma means teaching and Dharma Day commemorates Buddha's first sermon in the Deer Park in Varanasi, India, over 2500 years ago. Buddhists celebrate Dharma Day by studying Buddha's teachings and feeling graduate for what they have learned.

Spring 

Holi - Hinduism

Holi is celebrated throughout India and beyond. Bonfires are lit on the first day of Holi to remind Hindus of the story of Holika and Prahlad. Coloured paint is thrown or squirted at friends, family and even strangers on the second day of the festival. This commemorates a story about the young Krishna and his beloved Radha. The festival also marks the winter harvest, welcomes spring and celebrates love.

Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr - Islam

Muslims fast from dawn to dusk during the holy month of Ramadan. After each day of fasting, many families share iftar, their evening meal, together. All Muslims who are old enough and well enough are expected to fast. School and work life carries on as normal, even though no food or drink is consumed during daylight hours.

Passover - Judaism

Passover is one of the most important Jewish festivals. It commemorates the time Moses led the Israelite slaves to freedom over 3000 years ago. The word Passover refers to the final plague of Egypt, when God 'passed over' the houses of the Israelites and killed the first born sons of the Egyptians. After this plague, Pharaoh set the Israelites free and they were led into the desert by Moses. This is known as the Exodus.

Summer

Pentecost - Christianity

Pentecost is celebrated 50 days after Easter. According to the Bible, Jesus had ascended into heaven 10 days earlier and the disciples were waiting to receive power from God to help them spread Jesus' message. When the Holy Spirit filled the disciples, they started speaking in different languages so that the people in the crowd could understand them. That day, 3000 people were baptised as Christians. Therefore, Pentecost is seen as the birthday of the Christian church.

Guru Arjan Gurpurab - Sikhism

Gurpurabs are special celebration days that commemorate the lives of the Sikh Gurus. Guru Arjan achieved many things during his lifetime. He completed the Golden Temple in Amritsar in 1604 and promoted the Sikh principle of dasvandh, giving 10% of earnings to help others as an act of service to God who Sikhs call Waheguru. He also collated the hymns and teachings of the first five Gurus and created the Adi Granth, the book that would eventually become the Guru Granth Sahib. Guru Arjan also became the first Sikh Guru to be martyred for his faith.

Autumn 

Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur - Judaism

Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year and it begins with the sound of a shofar (ram's horn). Sweet foods are eaten in the hope of a sweet New Year and the ritual of Tashlich is performed. The Days of Repentance follow, when Jews think back over the past year and make amends for their sins.

Bandi Chhor Divas - Sikhism

The Sikh celebration of Bandi Chhor Divas coincides with the Hindu festival of Diwali. During the festival, Sikhs celebrate Guru Hargobind, who released 52 Hindu princes from Gwalior Fort in 1619. The main themes of the festival are religious freedom and helping others who are weaker or in need.

Spring 

Parinirvana - Buddism

Parinirvana is celebrated on the 15th of February and commemorates the death of Buddha and his passing into Nirvana. During Parinirvana, Buddhists share the story of Buddha's death and think about their own lives. A key teaching of Buddhism is that everything is impermanent so many Buddhists think about changes in their lives, their own deaths and rebirth into a different life. Many Buddhists also think about loved ones who have recently died. Buddhists may also visit temples to share food and give gifts to the monks during Parinirvana.

Lailat al Miraj - Islam

Lailat al Miraj celebrates the story of Muhammad’s Night Journey. The angel Jibreel (Gabriel) is said to have visited Muhammad while he slept near the Kabah in Mecca and taken him on a 666 mile journey to the farthest mosque, the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, on the back of a winged creature called Buraq.

Summer

Kumbh Mela - Hinduism

The Kumbh Mela is the largest gathering of people on Earth. Four Kumbh Mela pilgrimages take place at four sacred sites, Haridwar, Allahabad, Nasik and Ujjain, over a period of 12 years.

Washing in holy river water is at the centre of the Kumbh Mela as Hindus believe this cleanses them of bad karma. The 2013 Kumbh Mela, held at Allahabad on the confluence of the Yamuna and Ganges Rivers, attracted around 120 million pilgrims, nearly twice the population of the UK.

Sunday - Christianity

In most Western countries, Sunday is part of the weekend and most Christians see it as a day of worship and rest. Practising Christians worship in many different ways and have different traditions but most will go to church, sign hymns, listen to Bible readings, say prayers and spend time together.

Worshippers from other faiths and cultures also celebrate holy days, but at different time of the week. Friday is a day for Muslims to gather in the mosque for prayers and Saturday (Shabbat) is a day of rest for Jewish people.