Hullavington CE Primary and Nursery School

At Hullavington Primary School we teach Religion and Worldviews in order to help prepare students to understand and confidently take their place in an increasingly complex world. Through a multi – disciplinary approach that promotes deep thinking and meaningful dialogue, we aim to teach children the theology of different worldviews, to consider how that makes some followers respond and behave (e.g.  what makes people tick) and to ask big questions of ourselves to enable our students to develop their own worldview. As a result, RW at our school, is a vital part of our students’ journey towards becoming thoughtful, informed and respectful citizens. It will work alongside our school values to allow pupils to work in unity and partnership to understand and celebrate diversity. 

We aim to:

• Develop pupil’s knowledge and understanding of the beliefs and practices of a wide range of Christians and people of other principal world religions, and non-religious world views in our local, national and wider global community.
• Enable pupils to explain how beliefs and practices can inform and change the way people see the world and the way they live and treat others.
• Help pupils to develop their own sense of identity and belonging.
• Help pupils to gain an understanding of differences held within a religious or non-religious worldview and of the similarities of beliefs and practices held in common by people within and across traditions.
• Equip pupils to be sensitive to others’ beliefs, be able to express their own views well, be open minded and respectful, show curiosity and have the skills to ask appropriate questions when meeting people different to themselves.
• Recognise and build on children’s prior learning, opinions and experiences, provide first hand learning experiences and encourage children to develop their thinking in the three key strands of RW (theology, philosophy and the social sciences) whilst exploring and enriching their own beliefs and values.
• Provide opportunities for spiritual development
• Develop spirituality

Parents have a legal right to withdraw their children from Religious Education lessons and Collective Worship, but as RE is central to the life and identity of Hullavington CE Primary and Nursery School we ask parents to write to the Headteacher to express their wish.  A meeting will then be held where they can discuss their wish with the Headteacher.

The school teaches religious education according to the Wiltshire Agreed Syllabus and is supported by the Oak Academy schemes of work Free Primary Religious education Lesson & Curriculum Resources | Oak National Academy  Teachers also plan lessons which cover the other religions and belief systems. These schemes of work offer a spiral curriculum where children re-visit and build past concepts and knowledge. We have developed a rolling scheme of work which is used to ensure that all of the Christianity and other worldviews are covered as the children move through the school. As a Church of England school half the time allocated to RE will be devoted to the teaching of Christianity. The other main faiths that will be explored will be Judaism, Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism and Humanism.

To ensure that every pupil's statutory entitlement to Religious Education is met, irrespective of their faith or belief, and within this to encourage pupils to explore questions of spirituality, identity, ethics, discrimination and prejudice.

To enable pupils to develop religious literacy and conceptual understanding of what it means to be a person of faith or no faith.

To encourage pupils to articulate their own ideas and experience of religion, belief and spirituality.

To encourage all pupils and teachers to experience RE as an exciting subject that feeds into an understanding of what it means to live in Hullavington and Wiltshire and our wider world communities and to promote harmony and good community relations.

​To encourage teachers to produce RE lessons that are challenging, inspiring and engaging to everyone.

To assist pupils to engage critically with ideas and understanding of religion and belief systems, given the nature of our society, its speed of change and growing social media influences. RE studies how religions and world views shape and are shaped by the societies in which pupils live, promoting deepening understanding of those belief systems.

To promote interactive, creative and experiential learning that promotes social and ethnic accord alongside the endorsement of fundamental British Values, so that schools will be supported in visiting places of worship, community meeting places and communicating with different social groups across the local community.

The children should develop:

• Knowledge about and understanding of Christianity as a living world faith, by exploring core theological concepts.
• Knowledge and skills in making sense of Biblical texts and understanding their impact in the lives of Christians.
• The ability to connect critically and be able to reflect upon, evaluate and apply their learning to their own growing understanding of religion and belief of themselves, the world and human experience.