Amberley Primary School

Religious Education Teaching and Learning Profile

Curriculum Intent

At Amberley Primary School we believe that all pupils can achieve in Religious Education. As detailed in our overall curriculum intent, R.E. teaching at Amberley embraces all three of our core values: nurturing, innovation and aspiration.’  We believe that at each stage of learning, children should be able to demonstrate deep, conceptual understanding of a range of religions.  We encourage children to use and develop their skills in R.E. and to participate in critical thinking. We aim to ensure that the R.E. curriculum is challenging, dynamic and relevant to pupils of all ages. Children are taught to understand and respect the importance of religious beliefs in the world around them; including Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam and Judaism. 

Through RE we encourage pupils to learn from these different religions, beliefs, values and traditions while exploring their own beliefs and questions of meaning. We challenge pupils to reflect on, consider, analyse, interpret and evaluate issues of truth, equality, belief, faith and ethics and to communicate their responses. At Amberley, we encourage pupils to develop their sense of self-worth, identity and belonging. Our aim is to enable pupils to flourish individually within their own communities and as citizens in a plural society and global community.

We believe Religious Education has an important role in preparing our pupils for adult life, employment and lifelong learning. We encourage our pupils to develop respect for, sensitivity to and acceptance of others, in particular those whose faiths and beliefs are different from their own. Through teaching RE we aim to promote discernment and enable pupils to combat prejudice and racism, ensuring our children are able to function well within a modern, multicultural and democratic Britain.

Curriculum Implementation

Our Religious Education lessons follow the new North Tyneside Agreed Syllabus for Foundation Stage, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2.  From this we have provided a clear and comprehensive programme of study for our pupils. Our R.E. curriculum is organised into units of learning for each half term.  There are 3 elements of R.E. at Amberley - Knowledge and Understanding, Critical Thinking and Personal Reflection. These elements are interlinked and enable pupils to make good progress in R.E. 

The sequence in which the units are taught also supports the children’s ability to create links between different learning objectives and therefore deepen their understanding.  For example children are taught about Buddhism in both Year 1 and Year 2 in order to build on their former knowledge, ensuring curriculum progression. Some religious festivals are revisited in each year group ensuring that children’s knowledge can be built upon and levels of understanding deepened.

Through the cycle of enquiry pupils are encouraged to engage, explore, enquire, evaluate, present and reflect.  A typical R.E. lesson at Amberley may begin by activating prior knowledge that children may need to access from their long term memory to help them to learn the new focus for that day. The lesson will then progress through a number of small steps to develop understanding of what is being taught, often based around an enquiry questions such as "How is light important to Christians?". 

Teachers use a range of artefacts, visual supports, i-pads, external visitors and non-fiction books to support pupils’ learning.  Differentiation is provided through adult support, vocabulary banks and challenges to ensure children can deepen their understanding and remember what they have learnt.

British values are taught within our R.E. lessons as well as providing pupils with an understanding and appreciation of other cultures and religions.  We also explore these themes within our regular key stage and whole school assemblies. Religion Education is celebrated though drama, classroom displays and links to our topic, music and art work. For example rehearsing and performing an ‘Easter Story’ assembly, constructing Jewish Synagogues, participating in Buddhist meditation and creating Hindu rangoli patterns.  Each class participates in daily collective worship and each year group learns a class prayer to recite within our school assembly.

At Amberley Primary School parents have the right to withdraw their child/ren from all or part of the Religious Education lessons.  Any concerns about the subject should be discussed with the class teacher/s or Headteacher. Parents who wish to withdraw their child/ren must provide written notification to this effect. The aim of R.E. is not to convert children to a particular viewpoint or imply that all ethical standpoints are necessarily religious ones, but to promote tolerance and understanding of all faiths.

Curriculum Impact

At Amberley Primary School, teaching staff use formative assessment tools during the lesson to judge the impact that the teaching is having on the children’s learning.  Teachers use Target Tracker statements to assess children’s attainment and progress in R.E.  They assess the children’s knowledge and understanding at the end of each unit of work.

The R.E. coordinators monitor the planning and delivery of the North Tyneside syllabus, through book looks and pupil interviews.  Time is given to update and feedback to staff on relevant changes within the curriculum.  Staff are provided with creative learning ideas and opportunities for visits, to enhance the pupils’ depth of understanding and make important links to the wider community. 

R.E. coordinators carry out regular evaluations of assessment data, which enables them to identify and support pupil’s individual needs. They ensure a well managed bank of artefacts is available to support and enhance the teaching of each religion.

Photographs of visits, events and displays around school.

Years 1 and 2 had a visitor from the Buddhist Centre to talk about the story of Siddhartha Gautama, to do some meditation with the children and to show them some special Buddhist objects such as the Buddha statue, the lotus flower, incense burner, bells and flowers.