Intent:

Our R.E. curriculum is designed so that our learners:

• develop thinking skills which enable them, over time, to navigate an increasingly complex world
• understand how as well as what to learn through disciplinary and substantive knowledge
• understand that diversity exists between and within religions and worldviews
• know and understand about non-religious and secular perspectives
• reflect upon, and respond to, the ways in which local, national and world events are linked to beliefs, communities, identities, expressions of faith and conflicting interpretations.
• understand the impact religions and worldviews have on people’s lived experiences.
• receive a balanced and inclusive approach to teaching and learning about religion and belief.
• receive high-quality RE which reflects the diversity of religious beliefs and practices.
• follow a curriculum that is inclusive, informative, engaging and which fosters a deeper understanding and respect for different faiths and worldviews.
• experience visits and visitors in order to bring depth to learning about different religions and worldviews.

Implementation:

At Sutton on Sea Community Primary School, we use the Lincolnshire County Council agreed syllabus for Religious Education, 2025-30.

The syllabus is the result of close collaboration with members of Lincolnshire SACRE, primary and secondary school teachers and headteachers, a range of faith communities as well as local and national experts in the field.

Our R.E. curriculum is taught:

• Progressively so that it begins in the Early Years, where the children’s awareness of world religions and worldviews is developed to support their knowledge and understanding of the world. This early understanding is then developed throughout the school where children broaden and deepen their knowledge and understanding of world religions and worldviews, considering how religions exemplify aspects of wider questions that are explored. Progression strands are mapped out within the syllabus for teachers from Reception to the end of Key Stage 2 to ensure progression. They are based on key concepts common to all religions and inform the learning objectives, learning outcomes and assessment.
• Through recommended allocation of time to the subject as follows:

Reception: delivered flexibly according to the statutory requirements of the EYFS Framework and to help meet the early learning goals (ELG).
Key Stage 1: 36 hours per year
Key Stage 2: 45 hours per year

• Through fulfilling the requirement of the Education Reform Act 1988. It is written to ‘reflect the fact that the religious traditions in Great Britain are in the main Christian whilst taking into account the teachings and practices of the other principal religions represented in Great Britain.’
• Through units of study for each year which all include medium-term plans covering one term or more. For each year, we follow the guidance which is provided through the syllabus, about which religions and worldviews (RWs) must be covered, i.e. which religions and worldviews are compulsory, ensuring that Christianity and the other principal religions represented in Great Britain are taught. In addition to Christianity, teachers are provided with choices regarding other compulsory RWs.
• Thematically – we follow the themes set out by the syllabus for each year, along with the key learning questions for each unit. Teachers may change the order in which the themes are taught during the year and may take a flexible approach towards how the content is taught. Content for our R.E. curriculum is set out on our long term curriculum maps for each class and teacher complete medium and short term plans which show how they have decided to deliver the curriculum.
• Through including different types of knowledge:
  In its 2021 ‘Research Review series: religious education’, Ofsted sets out three main types of knowledge:
• Substantive knowledge
• Disciplinary knowledge
• Personal knowledge

Teaching includes all three types of knowledge and these are clearly set out in the syllabus. Learning is led by disciplinary knowledge, which allows the pupils to focus upon how they are going to learn. This then leads to the substantive knowledge that pupils need to know and understand, i.e. what they need to know. In practice, the two types of knowledge are integrated, i.e. the ‘what’ should be taught alongside the ‘how.’ Personal knowledge allows pupils to reflect upon what they have learnt.

Impact:

The impact of our R.E. curriculum will be assessed in the following ways:

• against the key questions at the beginning of each term or terms
• against the learning outcomes set out in the unit plans, which are based on the progression strands
• against outcomes evidenced through things such as interviews with pupils, scrutiny of pupils’ work, double page end of unit summaries in books and assessment tasks.

The impact of the R.E. curriculum at Sutton-on-Sea Primary can be seen through:

• Our children understanding that diversity exists between and within religions and worldviews.
• Our children knowing and understanding about non-religious and secular perspectives.
• Our children reflecting upon, and responding to, the ways in which local, national and world events are linked to beliefs, communities, identities, expressions of faith and conflicting interpretations.
• Understand the impact religions and worldviews have on peoples’ lived experiences.
• Our children meeting the expectations for the end of each key stage as outlined in the National Curriculum and Lincolnshire Syllabus for Religious Education 2025-30, by developing their knowledge and skills through our curriculum.

R.E. Curriculum Statement

[pdf 387KB]