At Eastcote Primary Academy our aim is to provide pupils with:
- knowledge and understanding of different beliefs and world views
- opportunities to express their own insights and ideas
- the confidence and ability to agree or disagree respectfully.
Through the Primary Years Programme IB philosophy, inquiry is intended to support pupils to find possible answers to key questions about meaning, belonging, purpose and truth, about what enables many individuals and communities – locally, nationally and globally – to live together respectfully for the wellbeing of all. It is our intention that RE will enable children to reflect upon and understand their own beliefs as well as those of others, knowing more and remembering more, building on these foundations as they move through education and throughout their lives.
Eastcote’s RE curriculum uses the inquiry-based key question approach, as planned in the Bexley SACRE Agreed Syllabus (2021-2026). Where relevant, it is taught within the six transdisciplinary themes of the Primary Years Programme. It is an inclusive, wide-ranging curriculum that offers sequenced substantive content & concepts alongside the broadening of children’s ‘ways of knowing’. RE takes place in lessons, collective worship, as well as through class visits and whole-school events.‘Ways of knowing’ include opportunities to handle artefacts, to question people directly and to share their personal knowledge and experiences of religious and world views. It is systematic in its approach and is mindful of pupils’ personal knowledge, offering reflective opportunities to consider what they think they know and how growing substantive knowledge may play a part in shaping people’s personal ideas, values and identities. Through the EYFS and Key Stages 1 & 2 programme of study, children progressively gain and deploy skills to understand, interpret and evaluate texts, sources of wisdom and other evidence.
A clear progression map has been created collaboratively with PYP, the Agreed Syllabus and knowledge of the Eastcote religious demographic in mind. This, along with ongoing teacher assessments, enables teachers to ensure learning is spiral and pertinent to the needs of the cohort they are teaching, ensuring that pupils know more and remember more.
The impact of RE will be evident through the way in which pupils are able to articulate their subject knowledge and reflect upon their developing personal beliefs, ideas, values and experiences, while respecting the right of others to differ. Equipping them with RE knowledge cumulatively built upon, along with their own experiences, will enable pupils to build further knowledge throughout their lives, becoming thoughtful, reasonable, spiritual citizens and contributing to society meaningfully and respectfully. They will have a knowledgeable foundation upon which to enquire further about the multi religious, multi secular world in which they are a citizen.