R.E.

At Yardley Primary school we teach R.E. using the Kapow scheme of learning. Our aim is to develop deep thinkers who are open-minded about religion and worldviews. Our R.E. curriculum is relevant to pupils, reflecting and preparing them for life in modern Britain. Through the scheme, children will secure a deep understanding of concepts in order to be able to make connections, ask and respond to challenging questions, learn to respect and appreciate worldviews that are different to their own and consider their personal preconceptions, responses and views. Children will build their conceptual knowledge through studying religions and worldviews locally, nationally and globally in our progressive curriculum, enabling them to make links and connections between worldviews, develop disciplinary skills and build on their understanding of their positionality in relation to their learning.

Reflecting the findings of the Ofsted Research review series: religious education (May 2021), our scheme has the following three strands running through it: 

• Substantive knowledge (conceptual and worldviews related). 

• Disciplinary knowledge. 

• Personal knowledge. 

These strands are interwoven across all units to create lessons that build children’s conceptual knowledge and understanding of religion and worldviews (substantive knowledge) and use a range of disciplinary lenses (ways of knowing). Children will also be equipped to explore and express their preconceptions, personal worldviews and positionality (personal knowledge) through varied and engaging learning experiences. The Kapow Primary R.E.  scheme follows the spiral curriculum model, where units and lessons are carefully sequenced so that previous conceptual knowledge is returned to and built upon. Children progress by developing and deepening their knowledge and understanding of substantive and disciplinary concepts by experiencing them in a range of contexts.

Each unit includes overarching ‘big questions’ which will be revisited throughout key stage 1, lower key stage 2 and upper key Stage 2, allowing children to apply the breadth and depth of their learning across various concepts. These ‘big questions’ are: 

• Why are we here? 

• Why do worldviews change? 

• What is religion? 

• How can worldviews be expressed? 

• How do worldviews affect our daily lives? 

• How can we live together in harmony if we have different worldviews? 

A more specific, focused enquiry question frames the learning across each unit. Both the ‘big questions’ and the focused enquiry question will allow children to explore the content they are studying, make comparisons and links within and across religions and worldviews, and explore their personal views.

The Kapow Primary R.E. curriculum emphasises the importance of diverse representations within and across religions and worldviews, focusing on real people’s lived experiences of their beliefs.

After the implementation of the Kapow Primary Religion and worldviews curriculum, pupils will be equipped with a range of disciplinary skills and knowledge to enable them to succeed in their secondary education. They will be prepared for life in modern Britain, being able to interact with others from different religious and non-religious viewpoints in a respectful, knowledgeable and open-minded way. They will be curious learners who ask questions and make connections, confident to explore their personal worldview and have the skills to appreciate, evaluate and respond to religious, philosophical and ethical questions.

Children will learn some of the key universal vocabulary of religious and non-religious world views that will allow them to explore, explain and interrogate their own views and the views of others as they move on through their primary education. This will be done as part of their everyday learning and through special topic modules based on a selection of festivals from across different faiths. 

The aim is to develop the children’s awareness of their own beliefs and cultures and for them to recognise that there are similarities and differences with those of others. 

To find out more about our early years curriculum, visit our E.Y.F.S. page here.

If you require any further information about this curriculum area or any other, please do not hesitate to contact us.