Religous Education
At Harris Primary Academy Kent House our families, staff and pupils are linked with many parts of the world and faith groups. We aim to celebrate this diversity and offer a welcoming and inclusive environment for all our pupils. We believe that Religious Education (R.E.) provides an opportunity to celebrate and foster awareness of these differences at the academy and in the wider world. We are very grateful to our families who support their children’s learning of other faiths, as this is the way we can bring tolerance, respect and understanding to our future world.
Within R.E. at Kent House, we want our children to learn about different worldviews, including their own, building on their own experiences and on the Early Learning Goals for personal, social and emotional development, and knowledge and understanding of the World within the EYFS.
Children are taught RE weekly, and record their learning in books. Lessons incorporate discussion, artefacts, scriptures and visits.
Our curriculum is spiral-shaped, with children re-visiting concepts and ideas multiple times in order to embed knowledge. This also allows children to explore ideas at a greater depth. For example, in Year 1, children learn about the Nativity and story of Jesus’ birth. By the time they reach Year 6, children are engaging in complex hermeneutics, examining why there are two different accounts of Jesus birth in Matthew and Luke, and how they have both used a shared source, “Q”.
In their learning, they will be exposed to the three types of knowledge in RE:
- Substantive Knowledge – Knowledge about various religious and non-religious worldviews: The Qur’an is the holy book of Muslims, most Hindus believe in Karma
- Ways of Knowing – Children will learn how to “know” about religious and non-religious statements: How do Christians interpret Genesis? How do philosophers decide what is right and wrong? How does the caste system impact on society? These ways of knowing are taught alongside and through the substantive knowledge.
- Personal Knowledge – Children will build an awareness and knowledge of their own beliefs, assumptions and values.
The units are carefully sequenced so that children’s learning builds on prior learning, and concepts are introduced in an order which enables children to understand and grasp complex ideas. The lenses of theology, philosophy, and sociology are used to explore the substantive knowledge.
Religious education lessons are also supported by our weekly collective worship themes to celebrate a wide variety of religious festivals and celebrations. We have an annual assembly/collective worship schedule.
Our whole school curriculum overviews for R.E, as well as knowledged organisers for each year group, can be downloaded below.
