RE

At Monks Orchard, children are introduced to many different faiths and cultures. Religious Education (RE) aims to help develop pupils’ knowledge of the world's principal religious traditions and worldviews. It promotes tolerance and understanding which is an integral part of society. By educating our children to gain an unbiased understanding of RE, we are helping them to discover, explore and consider different insights, and to value these in an open-minded way.

Here at Monks Orchard, we aim to teach our children the importance of wisdom from different sources, to develop and express their insights in response, and to agree or disagree in a comfortable yet respectful way. We want to teach them to have pride in themselves and in their identities. Our syllabus promotes pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and aims to prepare all pupils for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of the present and the future.

Learning about RE can help our children to believe in themselves, express themselves and most importantly, to have faith in themselves.

Year 1

Recognise some religious symbols and words.
Identify what they find interesting and puzzling in life.
Recognise symbols and other forms of religious expression.
Recall features of religious and moral stories and other forms of expression
Recognise and name features of religious life and practise
Identify aspects of own experience and feelings in relation to the religious materials studied.
Identify things they may find interesting or puzzling in relation to religions materials studied.
Identify what is of value and concern to themselves in religious material studied.

Year 2

Show understanding of meanings in religious symbols and stories.
Recognise that some questions about life are difficult to answer through debate.
Ask questions about own and others' feelings and experiences.
Identify possible meanings for symbols and other forms of religious expression.
Retell religious and moral stories, identify some religious teachings
Identify some religious practises and know that some are characteristics of more than one religion
Respond sensitively to the experiences and feelings of others including those with faith.
Realise that some questions that cause people to wonder are difficult to answer.
Respond sensitivity of the values of others in relation to matters of right and wrong.

Year 3

Make links between symbols/stories, and the beliefs or ideals that underlie them.
Investigate and connect features of religion and beliefs.
Ask significant questions about religions and beliefs
Describe and suggest meanings for symbols and other religious expressions.
Make links between beliefs stories and practices.
Describe how some features of religions studied are used in festivals or practices.
Show basic knowledge of ways of belonging to a faith.
Compare aspects of their own experience and those of others, identifying what influences their lives.
Compare their own and other people's ideas about questions that are difficult to answer.
Make links between values and commitments including religious ones and their own attitudes and behaviour

Year 4

Show how religious beliefs, ideas and feelings can be expressed in a variety of forms.
Giving meanings for some symbols, and messages of stories.
Gather, select and organise ideas about religion and belief that help answer tough questions.
Suggest answers to some questions raised by the above.
Suggest meaning for a range of forms of religious expression using appropriate vocab.
Describe the impact of beliefs on individuals, groups and communities.
Describe the key beliefs of religions studied connecting them with other features of the religion.
Show understanding of the ways of belonging to the religions.
Ask questions about the significant experiences of key figures from religions studied and suggest answers from own and others' experiences.
Ask questions about puzzling aspects of life and suggest answers making reference to the teaching of religions studied.
Ask questions about matters of right and wrong and suggest answers that show understanding of moral and religious issues

year 5

Compare the different ways in which communities and individuals express their faith.
Give meaning for symbols, and morality of stories.
Suggest lines of enquiry to answer questions raised by the study of religions and beliefs.
Suggest answers to questions using relevant sources and evidence across religions
Recognise and explain diversity within religious expression using appropriate contexts.
Explain connections between beliefs, values and practices in different belief systems (across religions using Christianity as the basis)
Recognise and explain the impact of beliefs and ultimate questions on individuals and communities
Explain how selected features of religious life and practise make a difference to individuals and communities.
Make informed reflections on experiences of religious figures and how this helps to shape religion and beliefs.
Make informed responses to questions of identity, belonging and morality using Christianity as a basis.
Make informs responses to people's values and commitments (including religious ones)

year 6

Explain how some forms of religious expression are used differently by individuals and communities.
Show understanding of reasons why religion is expressed differently.
Identify the influences on and distinguish between different viewpoints within religions.
Interpret religions from different perspectives.
Interpret significance and impact of different forms of religious expression. - Positive/negative
Make comparisons between key beliefs teachings and practices of the Christian faith and other faiths studied, using a wide range of appropriate vocab.
Explain some of the challenges offered by the variety of religions in the contemporary world.
Explain the reasons for and effects of diversity within and between religions. .
Explain how the lives of religious figures directly influence the teachings of a religion and beliefs of individuals.
Discuss and express their views on some fundamental questions of identity, meaning, purpose and morality related of Christianity and other faiths.
Make informed responses to people's values and commitments including religious ones.

assessment - early years

In Nursery and Reception, children are assessed against the Development Matters Curriculum Guidance.
The assessment of RE will be made through teacher judgement. Teachers and support staff will work in collaboration to make an informed decision about whether your child has met the requirements for the subject.
By the end of Reception, children should have an awareness of their own religious identity (if any) and should understand that others in their school and community can have different identifies.