At North Lakes school, we believe that it is vital for all our pupils to learn from and about religion, to help them to understand the world around them. Through Religious Education, pupils develop their knowledge of the world faiths, and their understanding and awareness of the beliefs of others. This also contributes to their developing knowledge, understanding, skills and attitudes, which are necessary for their self-fulfilment and their development as active and responsible citizens.  

We acknowledge our moral responsibility in this role supporting our pupils to develop into rounded individuals capable of understanding different religions in society and appreciating varying points of view.  We strive to support pupils to leave our school in Year 6 being culturally aware of their local community, the region they live in and with wider world religions and beliefs.  

We encourage our pupils to ask questions about the world and to reflect on their own beliefs, values and experiences. Our curriculum is enhanced further with trips to places of worship in our local area. We welcome guest speakers from different religions and walks of life into our school to allow the children to learn about different faiths first-hand and to build connections. 

We believe that RE makes an important contribution to our school’s determination to promote community cohesion. It provides a key context to develop young people’s understanding and appreciation of diversity, to promote shared values and to challenge racism and discrimination. North Lakes school believes that effective RE will promote community cohesion in the school community, the locality, the UK and the global community’. 

Children at North Lakes school will: 

• Acquire and develop knowledge and understanding of Christianity and two other principal religions (Islam and Hinduism) represented in Great Britain;  
• Develop an understanding of the influence of beliefs, values and traditions on individuals, communities, societies and cultures;  

• Develop the ability to make reasoned and informed judgements about religious and moral issues, with reference to the teachings of the principal religions. 

Children will enhance their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development by: 

• Developing awareness of the fundamental questions of life raised by human experiences, and of how religious teachings can relate to them; 
• Responding to such questions with reference to the teachings and practices of religions and other belief systems, relating them to their own understanding and experience;  
• Reflecting on their own beliefs, values and experiences in the light of their study;  

•  Develop positive attitudes of respect towards other people who hold views and beliefs different from their own, and towards living in a society of diverse religions;  
• Using questioning strategies to reflect on stories from other cultures and religions to gain a deeper understanding

Section 78 (1) of the 2002 Education Act states that all pupils should follow a balanced and broadly-based curriculum which ‘promotes the spiritual, moral, cultural, social, mental and physical development of pupils and of society, and prepares pupils for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life’. Learning about and from religions and beliefs, through the distinct knowledge, understanding and skills contained in RE within a broad-based curriculum, is essential to achieving these aims. 

Teachers follow the agreed Cumbria Syllabus to teach RE. As part of their planning, they also follow a knowledge organiser which outlines knowledge (including vocabulary) all children must master for that unit of Religious Education. 

A cycle of lessons is provided for Religious Education, which carefully plans for progression and depth, including exit tickets to ensure clear understanding and time to revisit if not. Retrieval practices are used to ensure knowledge is learnt and stored in the long-term memory. 

Learning about religion includes enquiry into and investigation of the nature of religious faith, its key beliefs and teachings, practices, their impact on the lives of believers and communities and the varying ways in which these are expressed. It also includes the skills of interpretation, analysis and explanation. Pupils learn to communicate their knowledge and understanding using specialist vocabulary. It also includes identifying and developing an understanding of ultimate questions and ethical issues. In the Local Agreed Syllabus (LAS), learning about religion covers pupils' knowledge and understanding of individual religions and how they relate to each other as well as the study of the nature and characteristics of religion. 

Learning from religion is concerned with developing pupils' reflection on, engagement with and response to their own and others' experiences and their learning about religious faith. It develops pupils' skills of application, interpretation and evaluation of what they learn about religion. Pupils learn to develop and communicate their own ideas, particularly in relation to questions of identity, belonging, meaning, purpose, truth, values and commitments. In teaching RE, it is vital that the skills are developed through the knowledge and understanding, and vice-versa. It is also important that pupils understand how their learning in RE is progressing, and what they need to do to improve it 

Our Religious Education Curriculum is high quality, well thought out and is planned to demonstrate progression. If children are keeping up with the curriculum, they are deemed to be making good or better progress.

Cultural Capital: 

In our RE programme children are challenged in their thought process to acknowledge, accept and understand different religions and ways of thinking.  By visiting different places of worship, handling different artefacts, being immersed in culture, food, singing, dancing, festivals children will build up not only a tolerance but a deep respect for our community and the wider world we live in. 

In Cumbria it is important to broaden the cultural experiences as our county has relatively limited access to different religions.  It is our vision and mission to open children's eyes to the vibrancy and wonder of the world around them.  By the time children leave us in Year 6 we want them to have developed a love of culture and a curiosity to develop this in Year 7 by having the discussion and thinking skills to consider other points of view that are different to their own.    

July 2022