Intent

 

At Becket Primary School, we aim for Religious Education to provide rich opportunities for pupils to recognise and appreciate the diversity of religions and non-religions. The RE curriculum is a broad-based curriculum that helps to promote the spiritual, moral, cultural, social and mental development of pupils. Pupils will learn from religions and worldviews about different ways of life. They will discover, explore, and consider many different ways to answer questions about human identity, meaning, and value.

Children will develop an understanding of the values and practices of Christianity and the other main faiths in the world. They will be given opportunities to develop respect, tolerance and an understanding for the beliefs of others—enabling pupils to be academically challenged and personally inspired. Where possible, pupils will have first-hand experiences of places of worship, celebrations, and festivals.

By the time they leave, pupils will have a deeper understanding of Christianity and a respect and appreciation of other faiths. They will appreciate differences in the school community and the wider world and will have nurtured the values of respect and tolerance as they make the transition to the next phase of their education.

In the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), Religious Education also supports the following Early Learning Goals (ELGs):

• Listening, Attention and Understanding: Children listen attentively and respond to what they hear with relevant questions, comments, and actions during class discussions and small group activities. They make comments on what they have heard and ask questions to clarify their understanding.
• Self-Regulation: Children show an understanding of their own feelings and those of others, and begin to regulate their behaviour accordingly.

People, Culture and Communities: Children know some similarities and differences between different religions and cultural communities in this country, drawing on their experiences and what has been read in class. They can also explain some similarities and differences between life in this country and life in other countries, using knowledge from stories, non-fiction texts, and—when appropriate—maps

Implementation

RE is a discrete, foundation subject which comes under the Historical, Geographical and Social Understanding area of learning. The school follows the Derbyshire Agreed R.E syllabus 2025 - 2030.

At Becket Primary School, Religious Education is implemented through a carefully structured and coherent curriculum that enables pupils to make sense of religious and non-religious worldviews. The curriculum is designed around the three strands of Believing, Expressing, and Living, with each strand broken down into progressive threads to ensure continuity and depth of learning across year groups.

Teachers sequence units to build systematically on prior knowledge, beginning with focused studies of individual religions before moving into thematic comparisons. This approach helps pupils to develop a clear narrative of their learning journey and supports long-term retention and understanding.

Core concepts are selected to reflect the heart of religious and non-religious worldviews. These are explored from multiple perspectives—across time, place, and tradition—encouraging pupils to engage critically and empathetically with diverse beliefs and practices. Pupils encounter contemporary and contextual examples, avoiding generalisations and instead recognising the rich diversity within and between traditions.

The curriculum provides repeated opportunities for pupils to revisit and apply their learning through engaging activities that promote recall, interpretation, and reflection. Technical vocabulary is clarified and reinforced, and pupils are encouraged to articulate their own ideas, beliefs, and responses—developing respectful dialogue and critical thinking skills.

RE at Becket Primary also makes space for pupils’ personal worldviews, including those who identify as non-religious. Pupils are supported in exploring what they believe, why they believe it, and how those beliefs influence their lives.

Through this approach, Religious Education contributes meaningfully to pupils’ personal development, fostering respect, tolerance, and the ability to make connections between their learning, their own experiences, and the wider world.

 Impact

Our Religious Education Curriculum impacts pupils in the following ways:

• Extends their knowledge and understanding of religions and beliefs
• Develops a religious vocabulary and interpret religious symbolism in a variety of forms
• Reflects on questions of meaning, offering their own thoughtful and informed insights into religious and secular world-views
• Explores ultimate questions of beliefs and values in relation to a range of contemporary issues in an ever-changing society

By the end of each key stage, pupils are expected to know, understand and apply skills related to attainment targets and learning themes embedded with in the Derbyshire Agreed Syllabus for RE.  The impact of RE curriculum will be measured through learning walks, professional dialogues with teachers and conducting pupil interviews.