RE at Excalibur

"I enjoyed finding out about different Gods"

"I actually liked it in religion when we talked about God and the blessings that he's done for us!"

"I love all the activities that we do in RE like arts and crafts".

"I enjoy the group discussions and coming up with ideas together"

Reception

Why are some places special?

In the Reception, the children have Investigated what makes places special and significant to different people. Starting by discussing places that are special to them, they have learnt about religious buildings and places of worship and discussed the importance of these places to others.

What makes the world special?

After half term, the children explored what makes the world around them special, the children learnt why the world can be special to both themselves and others. They listened to other people’s ideas about caring for the world and discussed reasons why this is important.

Year 1

What is God’s job?

The Year one children investigated the roles of God through stories and sacred texts, they examined the actions of God and what this meant to different people. (Jewish, Zoroastrianist, Muslim, Hindu and Christian worldviews.)

Why should we care for the world?

After half term, Year one children built on their understanding of creation stories, they studied quotes and religious stories about the relationship between humans and nature. They investigated why different people believe it is important to care for Earth. (Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Jain and Humanist worldviews.)

Year 2

How do we know some people have a special connection to God?

Building on their understanding of how people perceive God on Earth, the children listened to stories from diverse perspectives about the early lives of significant religious figures. They explored how we recognise that some individuals have a special connection to God by searching for clues in religious stories and comprehending the symbolism within them.  (Sikh, Muslim, Christian, Jewish and Hindu worldviews.)

What is a prophet?

After half term, the children asked questions about the religious stories they had read, they found out more about significant people like Abraham, Jonah, Moses, Jesus, Muhammud and Guru Nanak. They looked for clues in religious stories and art to understand the characteristics and promises some of these people shared with humanity. By investigating different perspectives and drawing connections, the children created their own definition of a prophet. (Christian, Muslim, Jewish and Sikh worldviews.)

Year 3

Is scripture central to religion?

In Year three, the children have built on their learning about guidance in religious texts, they have investigated how scripture is used and treated by different people. Using virtual visits to places of worship, they acted as detectives to find evidence of place of scripture.  (Jewish, Muslim and Christian worldviews.)

What happens if we do wrong?

After half term, the children have developed their previous learning about the role of God and moral guidance, they explored the meaning of consequences to different people. They also designed and played snakes and ladders style games to explore beliefs about reincarnation.  (Hindu, Muslim, Humanist, Christian and Jewish worldviews.)

Year 4

Just how important are our beliefs?

In Year four, the children found out how people show commitment to their beliefs, they asked questions about why people chose to demonstrate the importance of their beliefs in certain ways. They used photographs, personal responses and information texts to explore ceremonies of commitment, diet, charity and clothing.  (Sikh, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu and Christian worldviews.)

Who was Jesus really?

After half term, the children used texts to find out about the historical figure of Jesus, children considered his place in Jewish, Christian and Muslim teachings and reflected on how he is seen by different communities. They learnt about the social and religious environment of Jesus' era and how this impacted the way he was viewed. (Christian, Jewish and Muslim worldviews.)

Year 5

What happens when we die? Part 1

In Year 5, the children interpreted different sources of wisdom and beliefs about what happens when we die, children found out what different people from Abrahamic and non-religious perspectives do to mark someone’s death. They explored how this is linked with beliefs about the afterlife through scripture, poems and readings and considered the concepts of heaven and hell through art.  (Jewish, Christian, Muslim and Humanist worldviews.)

What happens when we die? Part 2

Year 5 continued to investigate concepts relating to death, they learnt the meaning of reincarnation and enlightenment and compared these ideas with those studied in part 1. They created a visual representation of enlightenment, incorporating their own beliefs and those of different worldviews.  (Hindu, Buddhist and Sikh worldview.)

Year 6

Why is it better to be there in person?

In Year 6, the children thought back to previous learning about prayer and worship, they found out about significant journeys and pilgrimages and why visiting a particular place is so important to some people. They investigated the challenges of pilgrimage experiences and considered whether it is better to visit a place in person.  (Jewish, Muslim, Christian and Humanist worldviews.)

Why is there suffering? Part 1

After half term, the children discussed suffering, sin and free will, they found out what people from different worldviews thought about this challenging question. Through analysing stories and texts, they explored why some people turned to God in times of suffering whereas others took it as evidence that God did not exist. (Jewish, Christian, Buddhist and Zoroastrianist worldviews.)