Religious Education
At Abbey Park Primary School, Religious Education (RE) is a statutory subject taught to all pupils in accordance with the Worcestershire Agreed Syllabus 2025–2030. This syllabus reflects a religion and worldviews approach and ensures that our children gain the knowledge, skills and understanding to explore key questions of belief, identity, purpose and morality.
RE at Abbey Park is not about promoting one religion or worldview. It is about learning to understand, respect, and engage with a diverse range of beliefs so that pupils can make sense of the world around them and reflect on their own developing views.
Our policy is underpinned by our whole-school ethos of ‘No Outsiders’, ensuring that all pupils know that everyone is welcome, valued, and included in our community.
Intent
Our RE curriculum intends to:
• Make Sense of Beliefs – Develop knowledge of Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Humanism and other worldviews. Explore beliefs, texts, teachings and traditions within their contexts.
• Understand the Impact – Examine how beliefs influence individuals, families, communities, and wider society, including issues of racism, climate justice and equality.
• Make Connections – Enable pupils to reflect on their own experiences, evaluate different worldviews, and make meaningful links with their own lives.
Through this, pupils will:
• Develop respect for diversity of beliefs in modern Britain.
• Learn to articulate their own beliefs while respecting the rights of others.
• Flourish as responsible, empathetic, and engaged citizens locally and globally.
Implementation
At Abbey Park Primary School, RE is taught through:
• Systematic and Thematic Units: Pupils study one religion in depth before comparing worldviews in thematic units (e.g. festivals, racism, caring for the Earth).
• Progressive Curriculum: Clear end-of-key-stage outcomes guide teaching and assessment.
• EYFS: RE integrated into Understanding the World and PSED; children explore belonging, special times, and community.
• KS1: Pupils study Christians, Jews, and Muslims.
• KS2: Pupils study Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, and Humanists.
• Enquiry-Based Learning: Lessons built around key questions encouraging curiosity, reflection and debate.
• Cross-Curricular Links: RE supports SMSC, PSHE, British Values and cultural capital. No Outsiders texts and planning are woven into RE to promote inclusion, diversity and equality.
• Experiential Learning: Visits to places of worship, visitors from faith and non-faith communities, and real-world case studies (e.g. Malala Yousafzai, Greta Thunberg, Marcus Rashford).
Impact
We measure the impact of RE through:
• Knowledge and Understanding – Pupils demonstrate secure knowledge of different religious and non-religious worldviews.
• Respect and Tolerance – Pupils show respect for different beliefs, values and traditions.
• Personal Reflection – Pupils confidently articulate their own developing worldviews.
• Application to Life – Pupils make links between RE and wider issues such as justice, equality, and sustainability.
• Progression – Teachers use agreed syllabus outcomes to track progression and inform future planning.
