Religious Education (RE)

At New Pastures Primary School, Religious Education (RE) helps children understand how people’s beliefs, values and traditions shape their lives. Pupils explore religious and non-religious worldviews, ask thoughtful questions and learn to discuss different perspectives with curiosity and respect.

We follow the Doncaster Locally Agreed RE Syllabus 2025–2030, Believing and Belonging. Our curriculum reflects our school values of Community, Pride and Aspirations and helps children understand the diverse society they are part of.

Intent

We want pupils to develop secure knowledge of a range of religions and worldviews, understand that people within the same tradition may hold different views, and recognise that beliefs can influence how people make decisions, celebrate and care for others.

Through RE, children learn to:

• Explore beliefs, practices and traditions and consider what they mean to different people.
• Ask questions about belonging, identity and how people choose to live.
• Compare perspectives and explain similarities and differences using appropriate vocabulary.
• Reflect on their own ideas, listen to others and explain their thinking respectfully.

Implementation

In Nursery and Reception, children begin exploring these ideas through stories, conversations and experiences linked to Understanding the World, particularly People, Culture and Communities. They talk about their own lives and families and learn about different traditions and celebrations.

In Key Stages 1 and 2, pupils build on this learning through planned enquiries. Teachers use questions, stories, artefacts, images and discussion to help pupils explore what people believe and how they express those beliefs in everyday life. As pupils progress, they move from describing what they notice to explaining differences and supporting their ideas with examples.

Teachers adapt lessons so all pupils, including those with special educational needs and disabilities, can take part. This may include introducing key vocabulary before a lesson, using visual prompts and artefacts, breaking questions into smaller steps and offering different ways for pupils to share their understanding.

Impact

As pupils progress, we look for increasing accuracy in what they know about religions and worldviews, greater confidence in using subject vocabulary, and more thoughtful explanations of how beliefs and practices can differ. Teachers use pupils’ questions, discussions and work to check understanding and identify what to revisit.

By the time children leave New Pastures, we want them to be able to discuss beliefs and values thoughtfully, explain their own ideas and engage respectfully with people whose views may differ from theirs.

Information for Parents and Carers

Parents/carers have the right to withdraw their child(ren) wholly or partly from Religious Education (RE) lessons and collective worship. If you are considering this, we would always recommend speaking to the class teacher or RE coordinator to discuss your concerns before making any decision. We believe that learning in RE broadens our pupils’ understanding and tolerance of other faiths, and recognises the multicultural society we live in. Our RE curriculum explores themes across a broad range of ‘believers’ and ‘non-believers’, which you can find in our curriculum plans.