Religious Education

Our Religious Education (RE) curriculum is designed to develop children’s curiosity and fascination about the world and its people that will remain with them for the rest of their lives. We are lucky to have a culturally diverse community and we respect and celebrate different beliefs. We follow the West Sussex RE syllabus to inform our RE teaching.

RE Curriculum Intent

Pupils investigate a range of faiths and beliefs to develop understanding and tolerance of others’ cultures. We are committed to providing pupils with opportunities to investigate and make enquiries about the diversity of cultures and beliefs in their local area of Gossops Green and the wider area of Crawley, so that they can develop a real sense of who they are, their heritage and what makes our local area unique and special.

Our RE Curriculum encourages our children to develop their empathy to care about their local community and other communities around the world.

Progressive layering of knowledge, embedded in long-term memory:

Understanding belonging as part of a community (e.g. family, religion, school)
Knowing the core foundations of different faiths and their perspectives on key concepts (e.g. afterlife, creation, Holy scriptures)
The knowledge of the importance of different faith’s etiquettes and values (e.g. attendance of places of worship, prayer)
An insight to the importance of different places of worship for different faith groups (e.g. Mosque, Gurdwara, Synagogue)
Vocabulary related to religions and faiths (e.g. Bible, Qu’ran, Torah)
The exposure to a variety of artefacts and symbols relating to the different faith denominations (e.g. symbols of faiths, challis, prayer mat)
Learning about the significant people in faiths (e.g. Jesus, Mohammad, Buddha)

Conceptual Understanding: occurs when new information and ideas are incorporated into pupils’ existing knowledge framework and includes:

To have the understanding of what is right and what is wrong despite differing opinions (e.g. morals)
Ability to be respectful towards peers and adults with differing perspectives
Gain knowledge of different perspectives from other faiths and beliefs in the wider community
An appreciation of faiths, cultures and perspectives within the school and the wider community
Having an understanding of the significant people in different faiths and the impact that they have on their faith denomination
Knowing the different places of worship and the significance that they have to people
An understanding of how people of faith can be discriminated against (Year Group appropriate)
The knowledge that faiths have similarities and differences and all are to be equally respected
Knowing that each person of faith has the freedom to practise their faith to their own discretion

RE Curriculum Implementation

To achieve our intent, our RE curriculum will provide the following:

A progressive, sequential journey of knowledge, skills and concepts from EYFS to Year 6, encompassing the depth and breadth of the RE curriculum
Immersion in discussions relating to a wide range of local, national and world religions
Opportunities to address cultural capital disadvantage
A focus on subject specific vocabulary to equip children with the language to express their religious and philosophical knowledge with precision and confidence
Explicit links with high quality texts and artefacts which provide contextual links and reinforce religious knowledge
Key outcomes, described as ‘sticky knowledge,’ which form the foundation of prior and subsequent learning
Higher order, subject-specific questions for pupils to respond to and demonstrate knowledge and understanding of
Enhanced learning through memorable experiences and visiting experts
Adapted learning and teaching to support those with additional needs, including English as an additional language, through the pre-teaching of religious-related vocabulary, the use of peers as examples and a focus on creating cross-curricular links between RE and other subjects
Adapted learning and teaching to challenge all pupils to understand concepts on a deeper level such as why people of different faiths choose to follow religious practises which differ from others and relating their knowledge to current events in and around the world
Learning opportunities that encourage pupils to develop a genuine interest in and appreciation for other communities and faith groups, both in the local area and beyond.
Using current events around the globe and in the news to support and expand our learning, giving pupils the opportunity to apply their RE knowledge to different and similar contexts

RE Curriculum Impact

Pupils enjoy learning about different religions and cultures and foster a sense of curiosity when met with differing viewpoints.
Pupils discuss knowledge and concepts they have learned confidently and enthusiastically
Pupils understand a wide range of religious specific vocabulary and knowledge
Pupils can recognise a wide range of religious artefacts and symbols
Pupils have a clear understanding of religious places of worship and their importance and can make comparisons between them
Pupils understand and can discuss faiths and explain their morals and values
Pupils can articulate their own beliefs and viewpoints in depth
Pupils will be respectful members of society and demonstrate British Values
Pupils will gain confidence in discussing different faiths and viewpoints