Blackgates

Lead: Hannah Poskett

Curriculum Intent

At Blackgates Primary Academy we provide children with a high quality curriculum following ‘The Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education in Calderdale, Kirklees and Leeds’. The aim of the curriculum is to ensure that pupils gain a good understanding of how the beliefs and values of themselves and others are diverse. Pupils will be able to explore and inquire about the similarities and differences in religions and the impacts these have on society.

In the Early Years, children will begin our studies of Religion by exploring stories, poems and artefacts that will focus on Christianity and Islam in order to develop the children’s understanding of themselves and other people around them. It is particularly beneficial to our topic of the ‘Local Area’ as the children in the Early Years will begin to develop an understanding about the children and families in our school and local area. The exposure to Religious Education in the Early Years will particularly help the children in their communication and language development, personal, social and emotional development and understanding of the world. The children will be encouraged to ask questions, use talk to clarify thinking, ideas and speak about their own personal experiences. They will begin to develop an understanding that other people’s beliefs and views are different and value this with respect. The children will begin to recognise that communities and traditions of families are diverse and maybe different to that of their own. The study of Religious Education in the Early Years is also linked to the development of literacy skills as they will be exposed to a wide range of text.

Throughout KS1 the children will further develop their study of Christianity and Islam. After developing some basic knowledge in the Early Years, the children will become more informed of these religions on a local, national and global context and understand how these religions are followed by many people worldwide. The children will be encouraged to raise questions and share their views as they study how these religions worship, celebrate and follow rituals. The children will also be exposed to a wider range of festivals and rituals of other religions that will be included as appropriate throughout the year. The children will express their ideas through words, drama, music and art. The work in KS1 links greatly to our Superhuman topic as they explore ‘What makes our bodies super’ in Year 1 and ‘Superhumans who help us’ in Year 2.

Children in KS2 will revisit Christianity and Islam, in addition to extending their religious studies to Judaism and Sikhism. Year 5 will study in detail ‘Why Christ the Redeemer and the Machu Picchu are wonderous’ for our topic of our wonderous world in the Spring term. Children will be encouraged to be curious and to ask and discuss increasingly challenging questions about beliefs, values and human life, drawing on the insights of religions and other world views. The children will draw on from their previous knowledge to describe and understand links between stories and other aspects of the communities they are investigating, responding thoughtfully to beliefs and teachings that arise from them. The children will also explore other festivals of other religions throughout the year in which they will make connections between different features of the religions and other world views, discovering more about prayer, celebrations, worship, pilgrimages and the rituals which mark important points in life.