Engaging, exciting and empowering lifelong learners through a creative, mastery-based curriculum 

 Our curriculum is centred around developing the whole child: from their head, to their heart, to their hand.  

The characteristics of a theologian at East Farleigh Primary:

• An outstanding level of religious understanding and knowledge.

• A thorough engagement with a range of ultimate questions about the meaning and significance of existence.

• The ability to ask significant and highly reflective questions about religion and demonstrate an excellent understanding of issues related to the nature, truth and 

value of religion.

• A strong understanding of how the beliefs, values, practices and ways of life within any religion cohere together.

• Exceptional independence; the ability to think for themselves and take the initiative in, for example, asking questions, carrying out investigations, evaluating ideas 

and working constructively with others.

• Significant levels of originality, imagination or creativity, which are shown in their responses to their learning in RE.

• The ability to link the study of religion and belief to personal reflections on meaning and purpose.

• A wide knowledge and deep understanding across a wide range of religions and beliefs. 

At East Farleigh Primary School, our religious education aims to engage children to learn about and from religions and worldviews in local, national and global contexts. They will discover, explore and consider different answers to questions regarding different faiths.  They will learn to weigh up the value of wisdom from different sources, to develop and express their insights in response, and to agree or disagree respectfully. By investigating key texts and traditions within different religions and belief systems the children will develop a mastery approach – looking in depth at different belief systems. Artefacts will be used as a way of understanding beliefs and practice. Both visits and visitors will provide a unique insight to lived religions and belief, similarly art, architecture and music are powerful sources as ways of understanding and expressing religion. Pupils should gain and deploy the skills needed to understand, interpret and evaluate texts, sources of wisdom and authority and other evidence.  They will learn to articulate clearly and coherently their personal beliefs, ideas, values and experiences while respecting the right of others to differ.

Engaging pupils in systematic enquiry into significant human questions, which religion and worldviews address, empower children to develop the understanding and skills needed to appreciate and appraise varied responses to these questions, as well as develop responses of their own. 

By using the Kent Syllabus, the children will make secure progress by exploring three strands that run throughout it: believing, expressing and living. This guarantees that there is not an over-emphasis or exclusion of any of these strands and that progress and knowledge is built upon year by year.

●      Strand 1 (believing) incorporates beliefs, teachings, sources of authority, and questions of meaning, purpose and truth.

●      Strand 2 (expressing) incorporates religious and spiritual forms of expression; questions about identity and diversity.

●      Strand 3 (living) incorporates religious practices and ways of living; questions about values and commitments.

An overarching question represents each phase of work, linking to prior knowledge, allowing children to thoroughly explore and raise their own questions.

Religious education at East Farleigh will encourage children to study religions and beliefs and it stands in the curriculum as a set of ideas and practices which have shaped and continue to shape our world. Focus will be on understanding, going deeper to enrich children’s learning.

The curriculum for RE aims to ensure that all pupils:

Know about and understand a range of religions and worldviews1, so that they can:

●      describe, explain and analyse beliefs and practices, recognising the diversity which exists within and between communities and amongst individuals

●      identify, investigate and respond to questions posed, and responses offered by some of the sources of wisdom2 found in religions and worldviews

●      appreciate and appraise the nature, significance and impact of different ways of life and ways of expressing meaning.

Express ideas and insights about the nature, significance and impact of religions and worldviews, so that they can:

●      explain reasonably their ideas about how beliefs, practices and forms of expression influence individuals and communities

●      express with increasing discernment their personal reflections and critical responses to questions and teachings about identity, diversity, meaning and value, including ethical issues

●      appreciate and appraise varied dimensions of religion.3

Gain and deploy the skills needed to engage seriously with religions and worldviews, so that they can:

●      find out about and investigate key concepts and questions of belonging, meaning, purpose and truth, responding creatively

●      enquire into what enables different individuals and communities to live together respectfully for the wellbeing of all

●      articulate beliefs, values and commitments

As part of our curriculum philosophy, built on around the concept of mastery and learning being a change to long-term memory, it is impossible to see impact in the short term. We do, however, use assessment based on deliberate practice. This means that we look at the practices taking place to determine whether they are appropriate, related to our goals and likely to produce results in the long run. We use comparative judgement in two ways: in the tasks we set (POP tasks) and in comparing a child's work over time. We also use lesson observations to see if the pedagogical style matches our depth expectations.