Religous Education
At Woodsetts Primary School, Religious Education is a vital part of our curriculum, fostering understanding, respect, and reflection in line with our vision of "WE CARE." Our teaching of RE inspires pupils to explore profound questions about life, beliefs, and values while developing a rich knowledge of diverse religions and worldviews. Through engaging lessons, discussions, and experiences, we empower children to think critically, express their ideas thoughtfully, and appreciate the diverse society in which we live. RE at Woodsetts nurtures curiosity, empathy, and the skills needed to live harmoniously in a global community.
At Woodsetts Primary School, our Religious Education curriculum is designed to foster understanding, respect, and thoughtful reflection, aligned with our vision of "WE CARE." We aim to inspire pupils to explore and appreciate the rich diversity of religions and worldviews, equipping them with the knowledge, skills, and values to navigate and contribute positively to our diverse society.
Rooted in the Rotherham Agreed Syllabus, our RE curriculum ensures that children gain a deep understanding of Christianity and the principal religions represented in the UK, alongside non-religious worldviews. Through engaging lessons, children learn to describe, explain, and analyze beliefs and practices, exploring how these shape individuals, communities, and cultures.
We aim to make RE a meaningful and integrated part of the children’s learning by weaving its themes into other areas of the curriculum. For example, through novel studies, story time texts, and creative projects, children are exposed to stories, values, and discussions that complement and deepen their understanding of RE. This cross-curricular approach broadens their perspectives and helps them connect RE learning to real-life experiences and moral questions.
By encouraging respectful dialogue and critical thinking, we enable pupils to reflect on their own beliefs, values, and experiences while appreciating those of others. Our curriculum nurtures curiosity about profound questions of meaning, purpose, and morality, preparing children to live harmoniously and engage meaningfully with the world around them.
Religious Education at Woodsetts also contributes to pupils' spiritual, moral, social, and cultural development, empowering them to think creatively, engage compassionately, and act responsibly within their local, national, and global communities. Through this integrated and inclusive approach, we aim to instill a lifelong appreciation for diversity and a commitment to mutual understanding.
At Woodsetts Primary School, Religious Education is delivered through a structured and engaging curriculum that supports children in developing a deep understanding of religions and worldviews. RE is taught through discrete lessons, with each year group studying three carefully planned units annually. These units ensure a focused exploration of key themes and allow children to build on prior knowledge as they progress through school.
Our curriculum is underpinned by five key concepts, which guide all units of work:
- Beliefs and Practices: Understanding what people believe and how they express their beliefs through different practices.
- Stories and Teachings: Exploring the stories and teachings that are central to different religious traditions.
- Celebrations and Festivals: Learning about the significance of celebrations and festivals across various religions.
- Symbols and Rituals: Examining the symbols and rituals used to express religious beliefs and practices.
- Values and Ethics: Reflecting on the values and ethical principles that guide different religious traditions.
Each unit is supported by a comprehensive theme overview, which helps teachers deliver high-quality lessons.
These overviews outline:
- The key knowledge and skills to be developed.
- Vocabulary essential for understanding and communication.
- Links to British Values such as tolerance, respect, and democracy.
- Connections to the school’s PSHE pillars, promoting personal and social development.
- A review of prior learning to build continuity and progression.
- Opportunities for cross-curricular links and how the unit contributes to the school’s broader curriculum aims.
Our RE curriculum is enriched through integration with other subjects. For example, themes from RE are woven into novel studies, story time texts, and linked to subjects like history and PSHE, broadening children’s understanding and helping them connect religious education to the wider world. This cross-curricular approach deepens engagement and allows pupils to reflect on moral and philosophical questions in a variety of contexts.
Teaching is active and inclusive, incorporating storytelling, discussions, role play, art, and visits to places of worship. This variety ensures children are engaged and able to explore key concepts creatively and meaningfully. Teachers assess pupils’ progress through ongoing observations, questioning, and class discussions, as well as through creative projects, written reflections, and end-of-unit presentations.
By delivering RE in this structured, thoughtful way, we provide children with the tools to think critically, empathize with others, and appreciate the diverse beliefs and practices in their community and beyond. This approach directly supports our vision of "WE CARE," fostering respect, understanding, and curiosity in every pupil while preparing them to live harmoniously in a multicultural and multi-faith society.
The impact of Religious Education at Woodsetts Primary School is seen in the depth of understanding, respect, and critical thinking that our pupils develop. Through a carefully planned curriculum and meaningful opportunities for exploration, children gain the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to engage thoughtfully with the diverse world around them.
By the time children leave Woodsetts, they:
- Have a deep understanding of key religious beliefs, practices, and worldviews, including Christianity, other major religions, and non-religious perspectives.
- Can articulate their own ideas and insights, reflecting critically on values, ethics, and significant questions about meaning and purpose.
- Show respect and empathy towards others, demonstrating an appreciation for the diversity of beliefs and practices within their community and globally.
- Are equipped with vocabulary and critical thinking skills to engage in respectful dialogue and debate, enabling them to challenge stereotypes and promote inclusion.
- Understand the links between RE and British Values, including democracy, tolerance, respect, and the rule of law, and how these values underpin harmonious living in a diverse society.
- Assessment in RE is an integral part of ensuring its impact. Teachers use the 6-point PITA (Point in Time Assessment) scale to evaluate pupils’ understanding and progression in relation to the curriculum’s key knowledge, skills, and concepts. This is supported by evidence from creative projects, reflective discussions, and written outcomes at the end of each unit.
The integration of RE with other curriculum areas, such as novel studies and PSHE, enhances its relevance and helps pupils make connections to real-world issues. Experiences such as visits to places of worship, storytelling, and creative activities ensure learning is engaging and memorable.
Through their RE journey, pupils not only achieve academic success but also develop the personal qualities needed to contribute positively to their communities. Religious Education at Woodsetts fosters curiosity, compassion, and a sense of shared humanity, empowering children to live out our vision of "WE CARE" in all aspects of their lives.
In EYFS, Religious Education is taught through play, stories, celebrations and exploration. This is a key element of our "Knowledge of the World" aspect of the EYFS curriculum. Children learn about different beliefs and traditions through first-hand experiences such as:
- Sharing stories and picture books that explore themes of belonging, caring, and celebrations.
- Taking part in class celebrations of festivals like Christmas, Diwali, Easter, Eid and Chinese New Year.
- Using role-play, art, music and food-tasting to explore traditions in a meaningful way.
- Encouraging children to talk about their own experiences of family, community and special times.
This helps children to:
- Develop respect for different ways of life.
- Talk about similarities and differences between people and communities.
- Begin to ask and answer simple questions about the world around them.
By the end of EYFS, children have a secure foundation of respect, curiosity and awareness of different cultures and beliefs, ready to build on in Key Stage 1.
At Woodsetts Primary, we believe that reading unlocks the curriculum—and RE is no exception. We carefully select high-quality texts to support our RE units.
- Story Time Links: During RE blocks, teachers share picture books, traditional stories and sacred texts that bring beliefs and values to life in an age-appropriate way.
- Class Texts: Each year group uses RE-linked texts (e.g. parables, festival stories, fables from different faiths) to deepen understanding.
- Vocabulary Development: Through shared reading, children encounter and learn new vocabulary such as “faith,” “belief,” “festival,” “worship,” “community,” and more.
- Discussion & Reflection: Reading RE texts gives children opportunities to discuss big questions, make predictions, and explore moral choices in a safe, guided way.
This approach helps pupils to connect RE learning with their wider love of reading and ensures that texts support comprehension, empathy, and cultural capital.
Assessment in Religious Education at Woodsetts Primary is ongoing and purposeful. It helps teachers to understand what pupils have learned, what misconceptions need addressing, and what progress they are making in developing respect, knowledge and understanding of religions and worldviews.
- Formative Assessment: Teachers use questioning, discussion, observation and short written tasks to gauge understanding in every lesson. Children are encouraged to explain their thinking and reflect on the “big questions.”
- Summative Assessment: At the end of each unit, teachers make a judgement based on children’s work, contributions and reflections. This is recorded using our school’s assessment system in line with Trust expectations.
- Progression: We assess against key knowledge and skills set out in the Locally Agreed Syllabus and our RE progression documents. This ensures pupils build secure knowledge over time and can make connections across religions and worldviews.
- Feedback: Children are given regular verbal and written feedback so they know how to deepen their understanding and reflect more thoughtfully on the concepts studied.
- Monitoring: The RE subject leader monitors assessment outcomes through book looks, lesson visits, pupil voice and data analysis. This ensures consistency across school and identifies areas for further support or enrichment.
- “I like RE because we learn about different religions and how people celebrate. It makes me understand my friends better.” – Year 3 pupil
- “RE makes me think about the choices I make and what I believe in. We get to share our own ideas in class.” – Year 5 pupil
- “I enjoy learning about different festivals like Diwali and Eid. We sometimes do art or cooking which makes it fun.” – Year 2 pupil
Key documents about our RE Curriculum
