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Religious Education
We are currently teaching a new scheme for RE, introduced to Northamptonshire for first teaching in 2025. It is a really exciting opportunity for our pupils to explore different Worldviews (both religious and non-religious) and ways of looking at the world, examining key questions in light of different views and beliefs.
A worldview is like a pair of glasses that helps people see and understand the world around them. Just like how glasses help you see better, a worldview helps people make sense of life, including what’s right and wrong, what’s important. A worldview is shaped by belief, experiences and education and can be influenced by friends, family and culture.
The Northamptonshire agreed syllabus for RE emphasises the importance of religious education in helping pupils become well-rounded individuals who can positively contribute to society.
RE teaching aims to help pupils understand how both religious and non-religious worldviews offer ways of answering life’s big questions. Pupils will explore how these beliefs shape personal identity, influence moral choices, and contribute to how people make sense of the world and their place within it. Through this, they begin to see the impact worldviews can have on individuals, communities, and wider society.
A key aim is for pupils to recognise that worldviews (whether religious or otherwise) are rich, varied, and often complex. They learn about concepts such as religion, spirituality, and secularity, and how these ideas are understood differently across time, cultures, and places. Pupils are encouraged to appreciate that people may draw on more than one tradition, and that beliefs can evolve and change.
Religious Education encourages pupils to engage thoughtfully and respectfully with a wide range of beliefs and practices. This includes exploring texts, rituals, art, and other forms of expression that communicate values and meaning. Pupils are given opportunities to study different worldviews through academic enquiry and meaningful encounters, guided by a '3 lenses' approach.
- Theology - understanding the core beliefs and ideas that shape someone's view of the world.
- Social Science- understanding how and why people put their beliefs into action
- Philosophy - understanding how someone's beliefs may shape their perspective on 'big' ethical questions.
RE in EYFS and Key Stage 1 follows the recommended scheme for Northamptonshire, in line with the rest of the school. This aims to provide a good foundation of knowledge before the pupils progress through the rest of the scheme, developing their learning and understanding as they themselves grow and develop and their own worldview changes and adapts to reflect this. The scheme focuses on the 'worldviews approach' throughout.
EYFS pupils will encounter Christianity and other religious and non-religious worldviews as part of their growing sense of self, community, and place within it. In EYFS, pupils will consider questions such as: 'What special times do we celebrate?' 'Why is the nativity story important to Christians?', 'where do we belong and what makes it special?' and 'What stories are special and why?'.
Key Stage 1 pupils will encounter Christianity, Judaism and Islam and other worldviews, covering topics such as 'What do Christians say God is like?' 'What do Jews believe and how do they live?. They will also begin to consider key questions thematically, considering different view points such as 'Why are holy books important?' 'How do people know how to treat each other?'.
The learning in RE across EYFS and KS1 is woven into the continuous provision available for the pupils; content is delivered through a play-based and child-centered approach, promoting engagement and exploration while aligning with the children's interests and natural curiosity, building on the pupil's experiences.
Curriculum Map for RE
Please open the following file for an overview of our curriculum for RE.
Assessment in RE
Learning in RE is regularly assessed to ensure that pupils are making progress and building understanding of the beliefs of others and an appreciation and respect for different viewpoints. Pupils are assessed by means of ongoing teacher assessment in each lesson, to reinforce key vocabulary and key concepts within each topic (and worldview) studied. The units are based around a key question, which will encourage enquiry and will be explored in a variety of ways. For example in EYFS, pupils will consider what is special about the world, in Year 4, pupils will learn about the 5 pillars of Islam and how they help Muslims to live a good life and in Year 6, pupils will question whether we should be able to use the natural world as we wish.
At the end of a unit each term, pupils will complete an assessment which will encourage them to reflect on the key unit question and show what they have learned. This will be done in a variety of ways, depending on the year group and topic. This should build pupils' knowledge and understanding of the world and different beliefs and enable them to appreciate different ways of viewing the world and some of life's key questions.
These assessments will form the basis of the levels awarded at the end of each year for reports as we build up a picture of how the pupils are progressing.
Would like to know more?
Please contact our RE Lead, Miss V Cave, through our school office or by using the contact form.