Religion and Worldviews

Religion and Worldviews at Prince Rock

Intent: Why do we teach what we teach?

The United Curriculum for Religion & Worldviews provides all children, regardless of their background, with:

Coherent and sequenced substantive knowledge of religion and world views represented in Britain and the wider world, selected to build pupils’ understanding through three vertical concepts. These vertical concepts build a thematic narrative and provide context across diverse world views, as well as using small steps to help pupils gain a deep understanding of complex, abstract ideas:
- Sacrifice-Giving something up for the benefit of someone else is a recurring concept across religious and non-religious worldviews and takes many different forms. What motivates human action and what are the societal and personal consequences?
- Knowledge & Meaning-One of the unique qualities of human intelligence through time has been our quest for knowledge and meaning. How have religion and belief impacted on humanity’s search for “Truth”? How do beliefs impact human behaviour? What is it reasonable to believe?
- Human Context-Human beings exist in, and are influenced by, their place in time and their geographical, political and social context (Person, Time & Place). Everyone is different, so how have our diversities been influenced by our personal context? What influences a personal worldview?
A Worldviews approach provides opportunities for all pupils to see themselves reflected in the curriculum, but also to be taken beyond their own experiences. The Religion & Worldviews curriculum teaches pupils about diversity within and between beliefs, cultures and worldviews from across the world, and seeks to teach the skills and knowledge to hold respectful and informed conversations about religion and belief; to be religiously literate.
A conscious inclusion of vocabulary and substantive content that recognises the need to decolonise teaching materials in a meaningful and accessible way.
A scholarly approach to the core disciplinary knowledge of theology, philosophy and social sciences, developing pupils’ ability to hold the types of conversation and to apply the methods and processes of theologians, philosophers and social scientists.

A curiosity and openminded approach to the world views of others and a reflective consciousness of their own world view.

Why Religion & Worldviews?

The worldviews approach to Religious Education has a number of benefits:

It starts with people, seeking to put the significance of lived experience at the heart of pupils' learning.
Everyone can recognise themselves in the curriculum, as we all inhabit a world view whether we identify as religious or not.
It opens-up our understanding of the lived diversity within religious and non-religious worldviews, rather than seeing a group as homogenous whole.
Pupils approach substantive knowledge through the development of scholarly, disciplinary skills.
If we learn to understand what influences a religious worldview, we can apply that understanding in our interpretation of religious text or belief in action; we can seek to see through a believer’s eyes.
As pupils develop an awareness of what influences their personal worldview, they can begin to accept challenges to their preconceptions and understand both themselves and others better. This is important in developing personal knowledge in the curriculum.

Disciplinary Knowledge: Ways of Knowing

Religion & Worldviews is a multidisciplinary subject touching on many academic disciplines. In the United Curriculum for Religion & Worldviews, we focus on developing our disciplinary skills through the types of conversation and methods and processes required to be scholarly in the studies of Theology, Philosophy and Social Sciences. The statements below are developed at progressive depth throughout the year groups. The curriculum has been sequenced so that the disciplinary content is also reviewed in subsequent units and developed as scholarly tools to access a wide range of substantive content.

Vertical Concepts

Vertical concepts build a thematic narrative and provide context across diverse worldviews, as well as using small steps to help pupils gain a deep understanding of complex, abstract ideas:

Sacrifice

- Giving something up for the benefit of someone else is a recurring concept across religious & non-religious world views.
- Sacrifices can be for the benefit of people close to us or people we have never met.
- Sacrifices can be everyday commitments of time, money, material objects or service to others.
- Some world views see sacrifices as a way of pleasing God and may involve the motivation of future reward.
- Some people see sacrifices for the sake of others as altruistic acts, with no personal reward.
- Sacrifices can be on a higher level and involve risking or giving up a life for the sake of others.
- In Christianity, the Ultimate Sacrifice of Jesus – giving up his life for the people he loved – is a principal belief.

Knowledge & Meaning

- Beliefs impact how people make sense of the world: humanity’s ideas of right & wrong; truth, meaning & purpose.
- Beliefs impact human behaviour in diverse ways including how people and organisations exercise power.
- Some people seek to question how reasonable it is to believe certain aspects of religious and non-religious teachings.

Human Context

- Human beings exist in, and are influenced by, their place in time and their geographical, political and social context (Person, Time & Place).
- Everyone is different; our diversities are influenced by our personal context which influences our personal world view.

Curriculum Road Map from September 2025 onwards

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Curriculum Overview Grid from September 2025 onwards

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Religion & Worldviews in Our Local Context

Religion & Worldviews is taught in 6-lesson units, over a half term.

The United Curriculum is sequenced so that meaningful links are made between subjects, and the order of units allows these connections to be made. For example, pupils are taught about the Romans in Europe in History in Year 5 Autumn and Spring, so that they can review and build upon knowledge of the spread of the Roman Empire while considering the impact of the conversion of Emperor Constantine on the rapid spread of Christianity across Europe in Religion & Worldviews in Spring 2.

The United Curriculum for Religion & Worldviews has been adapted for Prince Rock by bringing in the religious demographics of our local area and considering the context of our pupils and the community.

For example:

In Year 2, we consider the evidence of lived religion in our local area by visiting our local mosque
A range of visitors and speakers, including those from the Plymouth Centre for Faiths and Cultural Diversity are used to support and enhance the children's learning.

Implementation: What do we teach and when?

The implementation of the United Curriculum for Religion & Worldviews reflects our broader teaching and learning principles.

For Religion & Worldviews in particular:

Substantive knowledge (‘what we know’) is always carefully situated within existing schemas. Where prior learning is being built-upon in a unit, that knowledge is reviewed and contextualised, so that pupils can situate new knowledge in their broader understanding of different worldviews.
Disciplinary knowledge (‘how we know’) is introduced in steps, beginning as implicit lenses of study and building to explicit introduction of key terminology and opportunities to engage in the types of conversation, and to apply the methods and processes, of the three disciplines. For example, in KS1 pupils are explicitly introduced to the ‘puzzling questions’ asked by a philosopher in relation to the concepts of creation and freedom; in Year 3, pupils explicitly learn to apply the methods of a theologian when considering the reliability of Biblical text; in Year 4, pupils explicitly practise the methods of a social scientist to analyse Census data.
Personal knowledge (a pupil’s awareness of their own worldview) is developed through regular opportunities for paired and class discussion, modelled, reasoned oracy practice, as well as explicit examination and challenge of misconceptions through substantive knowledge. For example, in Year 3, pupils learn about the words of the Qur’an on modesty of dress and see examples of how this is interpreted in different ways by many Muslim women. Pupils learn about both the challenges and empowering experiences of different Muslim women and consider how they might support a pupil who chooses to wear a hijab in school.
Vertical concepts are implicit thematic threads used within overall curriculum design to connect significant aspects of religious and non-religious worldviews. These are not explicitly shared with pupils to avoid cognitive overload as pupils are already managing complex substantive and disciplinary knowledge.

Opportunities for extended, scholarly writing appear throughout the curriculum. These have a clear purpose and, crucially, allow pupils to write as a theologian, philosopher or social scientist. For example, in Year 4, after considering the complex philosophical nature of truth, doubt and reality, pupils write a balanced argument and explain whether they agree or not with the statement, People should always tell the truth

A whole school focus on improving oracy skills and frequent vocabulary development is very important in the teaching of Religion and Worldviews. This approach provides the opportunity for language development and ensures that disadvantaged groups, as well as SEND and EAL children, can access the Religion and Worldviews curriculum at Prince Rock.

We believe it is very important to acknowledge and teach about diversity within religion as well as diversity of religion. We do this by using the language of most/many/some/few and often/sometimes/rarely.

Religion and Worldviews in the Early Years:

Religion and Worldviews learning is achieved through the Understanding the world area of learning within the Foundation curriculum. During the foundation stage, children begin to explore the world of religion in terms of special people, books, times, places and objects, visiting places of worship and through celebration. Children listen to and talk about stories. They are introduced to specialist words and use their senses in exploring religious beliefs, practices and forms of expression. They reflect upon their own feelings and experiences. They continue to develop positive attitudes about the differences between people. They use their imagination and curiosity to develop their appreciation and wonder of the world in which they live. Teaching in Early Years lays the foundations for future learning in Key Stage One and beyond.

Examples of what might be seen as taken from Cumberland Council guidance for subject leaders.

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Impact: How children show that they know and remember more

The careful sequencing of the curriculum – and how concepts are gradually built over time – is the progression model. If pupils are keeping up with the curriculum, they are making progress. Formative assessment is prioritised and is focused on to check whether pupils are keeping up with the curriculum.

In general, this is done through:

Questioning in lessons. Teachers check understanding so they can fill gaps and address misconceptions as required.
Pupil conferencing with books. Subject leads and SLT talk to pupils about what they have learnt – both substantive and disciplinary knowledge – and how this connects to learning in previous years and other subjects. For example, pupils in year 4 may be asked to talk about examples of sacrifice and ways it may be significant to different Christians, Muslims and Humanists.
Pre-learning quizzes at the start of each unit. These assess pupils’ understanding of the prior knowledge that is required to access the new content in the unit. These are used to identify gaps to be filled prior to teaching the new unit. For example, in a unit about the significance of the resurrection to Christians, pupils need to recall Christian teachings about the significance of the life and person of Jesus as well as the concept of sin. This knowledge is assessed in the Pre-Learning Quiz, and teachers can plan to fill any identified gaps.
Post-learning quizzes at the end of each unit. These give teachers an understanding of the knowledge that pupils can recall at the end of the unit, and can be used to identify any remaining gaps to be filled. These are generally simple recall questions, such as the meaning of key terms or symbolism, or some of the reasons why people, places, events, artefacts, stories and practices may be seen as significant.

Children record their learning in their Religion and Worldviews books which build throughout their time in school demonstrating the progress they make. Techniques such as retrieval quizzes and hinge questions, combined with responsive teaching which adapts learning in light of children's knowledge, understanding and misconceptions, ensure that the children understand and remember key knowledge. Assessment takes place through listening to children's responses and contributions to discussions and evaluating their written work. The range of assessments that take place are used to inform any interventions and responses needed in the following lessons. An age-related assessment will be given to parents/carers on reports.

Religion and Worldviews lessons are enjoyed by the children at our school and they are able to communicate the knowledge they have learnt. Our Religion and Worldviews curriculum provides the children with the knowledge and skills that will support them in Key Stage Three. We are proud of the high profile Religion and Worldviews has in our school and the range of enrichment opportunities provided that aim to enhance their knowledge and understanding and promote curiosity and enjoyment.

Parents have the right to withdraw their children from all or part of religious education.

For any requests to withdraw your child from religious education, please contact the school to arrange a meeting with the Principal / Headteacher in the first instance.

Enrichment 2024-2025

Visits

In the Spring Term Year Two have been completing a unit of work finding out about how Muslims live. To complement their learning, they visited the Piety Islamic Centre.

Whole School RE Day

Our annual Whole School RE Day was held on Tuesday 11th February. The theme was Religious Leaders and Figures. People were selected from a range of religions and included Guru Nanak, Saint Valentine, Abu Bakr, William Booth and Mahatma Gandhi. Oracy, craft, art and drama all featured during the day.

Nativity Decoration Competition

This year's Minister for RE, Molly, has suggested that there could be more ideas and opportunities for the children to do linked to RE outside of their weekly RE lessons. So during the lead up to Christmas, Molly and Miss Prothero organised a "Nativity Decoration Competition". The children could choose to make a nativity-themed decoration at home and enter it into the competition. We were very impressed with all the entries and the rest of the school enjoyed seeing them too.

Nativity Experience

Our Reception and Year One classes have visited the Plymouth Christian Centre to attend an interactive nativity experience. This gave the children the opportunity to enhance their learning about the Christmas Story. They took part in an interactive re-telling of the story, including dressing-up! They then enjoyed some nativity-themed craft activities.

Celebrations

Children in Years 2 and 5 supported our Harvest Festivals this year by reading poems and prayers. The School Council considered different charities and choose to support Project 35 (Plymouth Argyle) and the East End Community Resource Centre. Coin donations were collected for Project 35 to go towards funding weekend food hampers. We brought in boxes of cereal that the East End Community Resource Centre will be able to distribute to local families in need.

As in previous years, every class in school took part in an activity about Diwali to build on prior knowledge about this important festival.

Years 1, 2 and 3 led our Carol Service at the Plymouth Christian Centre this year. They used actions and words to retell the Christmas story. They sang Christmas carols, including the traditional carol,

O Come all Ye Faithful.

Every class spent some time finding out about Ramadan and the festival of Eid ul Fitr. The children were able to share their own experiences.

Enrichment 2023-2024

Visits

On Thursday 14th March, Year 3 visited the synagogue in Plymouth as part of their learning about Judaism.

Year Two have been learning about how Muslims live so visited the Piety Islamic Centre to find out more and to also have the opportunity to ask lots of questions.

Whole School RE Day

This year we all joined together for our annual Whole School RE Day on Tuesday 6th February. This year the theme was "Paintings, Pictures and Photographs", with images being selected from a variety of religions, including Christianity, Islam, Paganism and Sikhism. Our Minister for RE carried out some research and reported back that the children like to take part in a range of activities on RE Day, so staff planned activities that included drama, singing and craft. We finished the day with a "Pair and Share" where the children used their oracy skills to let others know what they had learnt.

MAF Advent Adventure

We were very excited to take part in the MAF (Mission Aviation Fellowship) Advent Adventure again this year and find out more about the important work this charity does. We re-visited some countries and also visited some new ones. All this was alongside learning more about advent and the story of Jesus' birth.

Celebrations

Our Harvest Festivals were held in school. The School Council voted and decided to support Project 35 (Plymouth Argyle) and the East End Community Resource Centre. We collected a coin donation for Project 35 to help fund their work providing meals for children during the school holidays. We brought in fresh carrots, potatoes and swede for the East End Community Resource Centre which they will use to make meals for people in our local community.

Every class in school took part in an activity about Diwali with each year group building on the learning done in previous years.

In December, Years 4, 5 and 6 led our Carol service which was held in the Plymouth Christian Centre. The rest of the school went along too. While we were there some of us took the opportunity to compare the church with St Jude's Church (where we held our Carol Service last year).

Around the time of Eid ul Fitr, every class spent some time finding out more about this festival. Everyone was given the opportunity to share their own experiences of Eid ul Fitr.

Easter

Year 3 did an enrichment activity about Easter where they listened to a retelling of the Easter story using "The Passion of Christ" paintings by Nebiyu Assefa. They then chose a different part of the Easter story to draw in the style of Nebiyu Assefa. Here are some examples of their wonderful work.

Jerusalem Trust Grant

We were lucky to be successful in our application to receive a grant from the Jerusalem Trust. We have been able to use this to buy a range of resources to support our teaching of RE, including Bibles, nativity sets and photo packs.

Enrichment 2022 - 2023

Visits

In March 2023 Year 3 walked into central Plymouth and visited the synagogue as they have been learning about Judaism in RE.

Both Year 2 and Year 5 visited the Piety Islamic Centre in February 2023. We are lucky as we are able to walk to the centre. The children were able to visit the mosque which is situated inside the centre and listened to a talk.

Whole-school RE Day

February 7th was our whole-school RE day and the theme this year was “Exploring different religions and worldviews”. Pupil voice meetings and those with the Ministers for Religious Education had shown that the children were interested in learning about religions other than the ones in their weekly RE lessons. The children were introduced to different religions through a range of stimuli and then took part in activities linked to what they had found out.

The religions the children found out about included Buddhism, Sikhism, Taoism, Paganism and Zoroastrianism.

MAF Advent Adventure

This year we took part in the MAF (Mission Aviation Fellowship) Advent Adventure. This involved us going on a tour around the world of some of the countries MAF serves and discovering fascinating facts about them. We also learnt about the important work the charity MAF does.

Celebrations

Our Harvest Festival was held in school. The School Council voted and decided to support Shekinah this year. We collected a range of store cupboard items alongside hygiene products.

All the classes took some time to find out about Diwali, ensuring that each year group built on previous learning.

We went to St Jude’s Church for our Carol Service which was led by Years 1, 2 and 3 this year.

Every class had a session about Eid ul fitr. The children were given the chance to share how they celebrate this festival in their own homes and the local community.

Enrichment 2021-2022

Whole-school RE Day

We held our annual whole-school RE day in the Spring Term. The theme this year was Faith Stories and the children listened to a range of stories. They thought about what the stories teach believers and took part in activities linked to the stories.

	Title of story	Faith story is from
RB	The Monkey King	Buddhism
RPH	Muhammad and the cat	Islam

1J	The Story of Moses	Judaism
1SB	The widows offering	Christianity
2O	The Religion Man and the shopkeeper	Islam
2U	The Wind and the Moon	Buddhism

3AN	Narada and the Hunter	Hinduism
3P	Daniel and the lions' den	Christianity

4B	A Beautiful World	Christianity
4D	The Story of Aaron	Judaism
5D	The Crying Camel	Islam
5M	The God and the Wicked Witch	Hinduism

6	The Unforgiving Servant	Christianity
6	The story of the leper, the blind and the bald man	Islam

Hanukah Webinar

Our Reception Classes joined a special webinar from the Jewish Museum in London in December to find out about the festival of Hanukah.

Celebrations

We held our Harvest Festival in school. The school council chose to ask for donations to Plymouth Foodbank.

Our Carol Service was held in St Jude's church, and this year it was led by Years 4, 5 and 6.

Places of Worship

At Prince Rock we are very lucky to have places of worship that we are able to walk to and visit.

Years 2, 3 and 5 all visited our local mosque in February.

Year 4 visited St Jude's Church in March. While they were there they discussed their RE Unit "Why do Christians call the day Jesus died 'Good Friday'? with the Vicar.