R.E.

At Yardley Primary School we follow the Birmingham Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education (2022).

This approach introduces content through the use of 24 dispositions:

The Birmingham Religious Education syllabus takes seriously the overarching aims set out for education as a whole in the 1988 Education Reform Act. These are as follows:

The curriculum for a maintained school satisfies the requirements of this section if it is a balanced and broadly based curriculum which -

1. Promotes the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils at the school and of society; and

2. Prepares such pupils for the opportunities, responsibilities, and experiences of adult life.

All year groups will cover age-differentiated content related to Christianity at Christmas and Easter as we acknowledge the Christian cultural heritage of the United Kingdom and its impact on British Values and secular institutions.  As with all parts of the R.E. curriculum at Yardley Primary School, links with the children’s own views and those of the community we share will be made. 

Children will learn some of the key universal vocabulary of religious and non-religious world views that will allow them to explore, explain and interrogate their own views and the views of others as they move on through their primary education. This will be done as part of their everyday learning and through special topic modules based on a selection of festivals from across different faiths. 

The aim is to develop the children’s awareness of their own beliefs and cultures and for them to recognise that there are similarities and differences with those of others. 

To find out more about our early years curriculum, visit our E.Y.F.S. page here.

The first cycle of learning in R.E. will focus on developing the children’s understanding of the major faiths represented in Birmingham as identified by the Agreed Syllabus. Children will be encouraged to develop their confidence in using the vocabulary taught to them in E.Y.F.S. and further develop their lexicon of subject specific vocabulary. 

They will bring their own knowledge into the classroom and be given a forum in which to share it with their peers. Teaching staff will focus on the development of the children’s knowledge of the faiths identified in the table above to ensure that all faiths, even those not represented within the class, are covered and appreciated. 

The children will be active contributors throughout and bring their own views into the classroom. They will be introduced to the stories and key beliefs of the main faiths. The existence of views outside of the faiths will also be introduced. Facts about a broad selection of religious and non-religious world views will be taught in order to facilitate a secure understanding of terminology and so they can begin to see the common threads running through many parts of society. 

Children will deepen their appreciation of their own world views and be able to view them within the context of their shared, rich cultural heritage both at a local and global level. We will start to broaden the scope of study of the religious and non-religious world views and make children aware that there are often variations in the beliefs of any group with a shared identity. 

The children will demonstrate a growing confidence in the use of subject specific vocabulary, in discussing and evaluating their own views and the views of their peers. The children will know that the classroom is a safe environment in which to share and ask questions.

Children will leave Yardley Primary School with the knowledge, vocabulary and confidence to explain their own views, beliefs and ideas. They will also be able to explain their beliefs within the context of a multicultural and multi-faith community, both at a local and worldwide level. They will respect that there are other viewpoints to their own and will understand that differences of opinion do not threaten their own, but rather give them an opportunity to engage with and strengthen them. In so doing, they will contribute to the rich social fabric of which they are an integral part.

If you require any further information about this curriculum area or any other, please do not hesitate to contact us.