Intent

At the Queens’ Federation we aim to foster ‘Learning for Life.’

We will provide a rich, relevant and inspirational curriculum that promotes a lifelong love of learning and equips our pupils with the key knowledge and understanding, skills and personal qualities that they will need to thrive in a rapidly changing world. Our curriculum is designed to be relevant to our children and is linked to the context of our school and the local community.

At the Queens’ Federation, the aim of our RE curriculum is to promote religious understanding, respect and open-mindedness towards others with different religious and non-religious worldviews. It encourages pupils to develop their sense of identity and belonging through self-awareness and reflection.

The curriculum reflects the Cambridgeshire 2023 Agreed Syllabus for RE, which emphasises exploring religion and worldviews through an enquiry-based approach. Pupils engage with big questions about beliefs, values and practices to develop their understanding and appreciation of the beliefs, cultural practices and worldviews within the local, national and global community.

By integrating the study of both religious and non-religious perspectives, such as Humanism, our curriculum fosters tolerance, inclusivity and respect. Through this approach, pupils build the knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary to engage thoughtfully with the diverse world in which they live.

Implementation

Our RE curriculum focuses on developing religious and worldview literacy. Pupils explore Christianity alongside other major religions and non-religious worldviews, learning to appreciate both their own beliefs and those of others.

Using an enquiry-based approach, pupils engage with big questions about beliefs, values and practices that deepen their understanding of themselves and the wider world. Pupils explore how faiths and worldviews approach moral questions and compare responses across different traditions. Learning is contextualised through connections to family, local, national and global communities. This curriculum fosters critical thinking, empathy and respect, preparing pupils for life in a multicultural and interconnected society.

The RE curriculum is enriched through school assemblies and visitors from a wide range of faith communities. These have a valuable role to play in providing pupils with access to outside experiences and expertise. They also provide a link with the wider community. Our pupils have access to first-hand experiences of other faiths through visits to different places of worship, offering hands-on learning of how different faiths practice their beliefs, rituals and traditions, as well as providing opportunities to handle artefacts and engage with religious art and music, thus supporting creativity. We also welcome visitors from charities, such as those addressing homelessness, to support pupils in exploring big question units from a non-religious perspective.

Assessment is holistic and ongoing, using observation, questioning, dialogue and creative outcomes to track pupil progress. Assessment criteria, which are set as progression targets for the end of each year group, ensure pupils achieve the key knowledge and skills outlined in our units of work.

Impact

By the end of their time at Queens’ Federation, pupils will be able to hold thoughtful and respectful discussions about religion and beliefs, demonstrating respect and appreciation for the beliefs, values and traditions of others, including non-religious perspectives. They will retain a secure understanding of key concepts, practices and ideas across religious and non-religious worldviews and exhibit tolerance, open-mindedness and inclusivity, celebrating the diversity of their community and the wider world.

Pupil outcomes reflect a broad and balanced RE curriculum that prepares them to engage thoughtfully with others, equipping them to become compassionate and thoughtful members of society.

Yearly Overview

Religious Education may be taught weekly or through a full day or week’s learning on a specific question enquiring into a religion or worldview and its practices. This gives the pupils opportunity to engage fully with a topic. During their time at the Queens’ Federation, pupils complete an in-depth study of Christianity and other major religions and worldviews represented in the local community and the United Kingdom. The units of study are grouped to ensure pupils develop a sound understanding across the area of focus. The information below outlines in more detail the religions and questions covered in each year group

In the EYFS, pupils explore religions and religious understanding through the People, Culture and Communities strand of Understanding the World.  Pupils investigate some similarities and differences between different religious and cultural communities in this country, drawing on their experiences and what has been read in class. Activities include learning about special times, such as birthdays, holidays and the arrival of a new family member; celebrating key events from home and key local events; learning about religious festivals; for example, Eid, Diwali, Hanukkah, Holi, Christmas, Chinese New Year, Ramadan, Easter and Bonfire Night. Pupils find out about special places and places of worship and visitors share information about their own communities and beliefs. Activities are practical and cross-curricular and include art, role-play, dance and music. 

In Key Stage 1, pupils begin their journey with a unit called ‘Me in My World,’ exploring their place in the world through both religious and non-religious perspectives. This unit emphasises tolerance, open-mindedness and the celebration of diversity. Across the key stage, pupils learn about Christianity, Islam, Judaism and Sikhism, alongside broader questions such as ‘How do people show they are thankful? and ‘How is the birth of a baby celebrated?’ from various cultural and belief-based viewpoints.

In Key Stage 2, pupils deepen their understanding by studying Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism and non-religious worldviews, such as Humanism, developing their ability to reflect on and compare diverse beliefs. Learning is contextualised through connections to family, local, national and global communities. Big questions explore moral, ethical and philosophical themes from both religious and non-religious perspectives; for example, ‘How and why do we help people without a home?’, ‘How do people care for our world?’ and ‘How can we answer life’s ultimate questions?’ These units encourage pupils to think deeply and make connections across a range of traditions and worldviews.

This broad and balanced curriculum fosters a deeper appreciation of diversity, leading to greater understanding, respect and tolerance of the beliefs and values of others.

Information for Parents

At Queens’ Federation we openly encourage parents, other relations and members of specific faiths to come in to provide a personal and accurate explanation of their beliefs. These experiences are invaluable to the children and their understanding, due to the fact that they hear first-hand what it means to be part of different faith communities. If you would be interested in helping out in this way please speak to your class teacher.

Pupils Voice

Miss Stubbs has been talking to pupils throughout the school, finding out about learning in RE. RE stands for Religious Education. At Queen Emma, pupils in KS1 learn about Christianity, Islam, Judaism and Sikhism whilst pupils in KS2 develop their understanding of these religions and begin to learn about Hinduism, Humanism and Buddhism too. We also aim to promote religious understanding, respect and open-mindedness towards others with different faiths and beliefs. Our RE curriculum also encourages pupils to develop their sense of identity and belonging through self-awareness and reflection.

All of the pupils spoke very positively about their learning in RE and were very knowledgeable about a wide range of world religions. They all look forward to learning more in the future too.

Pupils were asked ‘Why is it important to learn about RE?’

• We learn what different people do and say and feel. It helps us to not laugh at other people and their religions. It helps us to be kind to others. (Y2)
• In RE, we learn about what other people believe in, what other people do, what they wear. (Y3)
• We learn about other people and what is important to them. (Y4)
• We know about different religions, how it feels to be part of their religion and how to support and help others. It’s good to find out similarities and differences between religions. (Y4)
• It’s important to learn about different people’s cultures and develop an understanding of others. (Y4)
• You get to find out things about other people and their religions so that when you talk to others, you can understand their beliefs. (Y5)
• We learn about RE so that there is no misunderstanding about different things, we don’t say offensive things to others and we are aware of what is important in other people’s religions. (Y6)

Pupils were then asked what it would be like if we didn’t learn about RE.

• We would not be kind about other religions and wouldn’t show respect to others. You would only know what you believe in and not what others believe in. If we learn about others, we can help others. (Y3)
• If we went to a different country or met someone different to us, we might offend them and they may feel disrespected. (Y3)
• If we didn’t learn about RE, you wouldn’t know about different people and you might say something rude or disrespectful to them. (Y5)

 

Pupils could talk about their current learning. Pupils in Year 1 told Miss Stubbs all about the events of Palm Sunday. ‘People waved palm leaves at Jesus, they put them on the floor, like a red carpet.’ Year 3 shared their knowledge of their Hinduism unit of work ‘Why do Hindus want to collect good karma?’ ‘It’s like a snakes and ladders game. If you do a good action, you go up a ladder, if you do a bad action, you go down a snake. If you get to the top, you are born again.’ Pupils in Year 5 talked about their Christianity unit of work ‘What is the best way for Christians to show their commitment to God?’ ‘Christians go to church, pray and celebrate Jesus. They sing hymns too.’

 

Pupils take part in a wide range of activities in RE lessons. Pupils in Year 1 listen to a range of stories, take on roles of others whilst acting out stories from the Bible, use video clips to support learning, share thoughts and knowledge during circle time activities and link learning in art and RE when creating palm leaves as part of their unit of work focusing on the events of Palm Sunday. Pupils in Year 2 also use strategies such as role play, drama techniques and class and paired discussions to facilitate learning. A wide range of written work is produced in Year 3. Pupils create fact files, cartoon strips and posters to share their knowledge about Hindu gods, the story of Rama and Sita and celebrations linked to Easter. Artefacts are used in Year 3 to demonstrate the act of ‘puja’ during a Hinduism unit of work and a range of stories from both the Bible and the Panchatantra are used as a basis for learning. Pupils in Year 4 use role play, video clips and stories to support their learning and learn about the lives and impact of key individuals such as Mother Theresa and the roles of local and national charities. Year 5 incorporate time for reflection and discussion into lessons and study poems to help identify similarities and differences between Christian and Humanist celebrations. Pupils in Year 6 use bibles to help them to add more detail and quotations to their work, use stories and works of art to support discussions about incarnation and practise meditation to support their understanding of Buddhist beliefs.

Finally, the pupils were asked ‘How the 7 Habits help with their learning in RE?’

• I certainly think you need to use the habits when learning in RE. I think you need to use Habit 6: Synergize – you help each other learn about different religions. (Y2)
• You use Habit 5: Seek First to Understand – you listen about their religion and then you can understand. (Y2)
• I think Habit 6 would fit. You have to work together. Habit 1 would fit too. You have to be responsible for your actions – like in Hinduism and karma. (Y3)
• Habit 5 helps us to listen and then learn about other religions and other people. (Y3)
• I think the habits really fit in with RE. The 7 habits are what many religions do and follow. Habit 4 helps people be fair about everyone. Habit 5 helps people listen to each other. People pray together to one God and believe that God will help them. This links with Habit 6. Habit 7 helps us to look after ourselves. (Y4)
• The 7th habit helps you to be a better person, just like RE does. RE helps you to understand others and learn about what is important to them. (Y5)

Well done to everyone who took part in these discussions. It was great to hear our pupils talk enthusiastically about their learning in RE and be excited to learn more in the future.

Examples of Learning

The Year 6's have been creating art based around the Easter story and the resurrection.  Here are some of the amazing results!

Year 2 learnt that Christians believed and put their faith in Jesus. They discussed who in the class they trust and like to be with. The children learnt about disciples and how Jesus chose his disciples. They then role-played this in groups.