Intent

At Gretton Primary School, our Religious Education curriculum, guided by the Kapow Primary mixed-age scheme of work, aims to develop children’s understanding and appreciation of a range of religious and non-religious worldviews. Through engaging, age-appropriate lessons, we encourage curiosity, respect, and open-mindedness, enabling pupils to explore beliefs, practices, and values in a safe and inclusive environment. Our RE curriculum supports spiritual, moral, social, and cultural development, helping children to reflect on their own beliefs and those of others, fostering empathy, tolerance, and a deeper understanding of the diverse world around them.

Children are taught to:

Make sense of a range of religious and non-religious beliefs, so that they can:

• Identify, describe, explain and analyse beliefs and concepts in the context of living religions, using appropriate vocabulary.
• Explain how and why these beliefs are understood in different ways, by individuals and within communities.
• Recognise how and why sources of authority (e.g. texts, teachings, traditions, leaders) are used, expressed and interpreted in different ways, developing skills of interpretation.

Understand the impact and significance of religious and non-religious beliefs, so that they can:

• Examine and explain how and why people express their beliefs in diverse ways.
• Recognise and account for ways in which people put their beliefs into action in diverse ways, in their everyday lives, within their communities and in the wider world.
• Appreciate and appraise the significance of different ways of life and ways of expressing meaning.

Make connections between religious and non-religious beliefs, concepts, practices and ideas studied, so that they can:

• Evaluate, reflect on and enquire into key concepts and questions studied, responding thoughtfully and creatively, giving good reasons for their responses.
• Challenge the ideas studied, and allow the ideas studied to challenge their own thinking, articulating beliefs, values and commitments clearly in response.
• Discern possible connections between the ideas studied and their own ways of understanding the world, expressing their critical responses and personal reflections with increasing clarity and understanding.

By the end of Key Stage 1, our children will learn to:

• Identify core beliefs and concepts studied and give a simple description of what they mean.
• Give examples of how stories show what people believe (e.g. the meaning behind a festival).
• Give clear, simple accounts of what stories and other texts mean to believers.
• Give examples of how people use stories, texts and teachings to guide their beliefs and actions.
• Give examples of ways in which believers put their beliefs into practice.
• Think, talk and ask questions about whether the ideas they have been studying have something to say to them.
• Give a good reason for the views they have and the connections they make.

By the end of Key Stage 2, our children will learn to:

• Identify and explain the core beliefs and concepts studied, using examples from texts/sources of authority in religions.
• Describe examples of ways in which people use texts/sources of authority to make sense of core beliefs and concepts.
• Give meanings for texts/sources of authority studied, comparing these ideas with some ways in which believers interpret texts/sources of authority.
• Make clear connections between what people believe and how they live, individually and in communities.
• Using evidence and examples, show how and why people put their beliefs into practice in different ways, e.g. in different communities, denominations or cultures.
• Make connections between the beliefs and practices studied, evaluating and explaining their importance to different people (e.g. believers and atheists).
• Reflect on and articulate lessons people might gain from the beliefs/ practices studied, including their own responses, recognising that others may think differently.
• Consider and weigh up how ideas studied in this unit relate to their own experiences and experiences of the world today, developing insights of their own and giving good reasons for the views they have and the connections they make.

Implementation

Please see attached document below that details the long-term curriculum plan for RE using the Kapow mixed -age scheme of work. 2025/2026 cycle will be updated, when made available by Kapow. 

Impact

The impact of RE and the progress made by the children will be measured through:

• Work scrutiny across all year groups and a range of different abilities. Work is recorded in RE floor books across the school.
• Pupil Conferencing: Do they enjoy their lessons? Can they answer the unit question once each topic has been taught? Are they able to recall learning from previous year groups?
• Discussion with staff, both internally and within the wider academy through Primary Quest, in order to share resources and best practice.
• Recorded assessment data using Insight completed each term.