Safeguarding Our trust Staff vacancies

Religious Education

RE Leader: Miss Ella Jeffries

Curriculum Design

Our curriculum is carefully designed to equip pupils with the knowledge and understanding of a wide range of religions and beliefs, enabling them to explore and develop their own ideas, values, and identities. Pupils are taught to make sense of beliefs, connect these ideas to their own perspectives, and understand how and why people express their beliefs in diverse ways. A strong emphasis is placed on promoting respect and tolerance for all religions and worldviews, helping pupils appreciate diversity and the importance of living harmoniously in a multi-faith society.

Learning builds progressively from the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) through to the end of Year 6, with a strong emphasis on continuity and development. In EYFS, children lay the groundwork by developing a positive sense of self and others, and learning to form respectful relationships. These foundations are then deepened throughout Key Stages 1 and 2, as pupils gain a broader knowledge of religions and worldviews and begin to ask and respond to increasingly complex questions about belief, values, and human experience.

By the time pupils leave Old Mill, our aim is for them to be confident in their understanding of religions and beliefs, aware of their significance locally, nationally, and globally. They will be well-prepared to extend and deepen this knowledge as they move into Key Stage 3 and beyond.

Intent

At Old Mill Primary School, our curriculum aims to engage and enthuse learners by sparking their curiosity and sense of wonder about the world in which they live. We believe that all learners—regardless of background, personal beliefs, or ability—should be equipped with the knowledge and skills to flourish both within their own community and as members of a diverse and global society.

Our intent is to provide rich opportunities for all pupils, both in and out of the classroom, to explore what people believe and how these beliefs influence the way they live. Through this, pupils gain the knowledge, understanding, and skills needed to reflect on questions raised by religion and belief, and to consider their own ideas and ways of living. This prepares children for life in a world with a multitude of viewpoints, enabling them to make informed decisions and confidently express their own views, while showing respect and tolerance for others.

Teachers are passionate about RE and deliver engaging lessons designed to deepen pupils’ understanding of religions and worldviews, and to develop their religious literacy. Through a progressive curriculum that builds on prior learning, children are supported to foster both understanding and critical thinking in relation to the diverse world in which they live.

Implementation

At Old Mill Primary School, we use the Leicestershire Agreed Syllabus to guide our RE curriculum. This syllabus outlines not only the breadth of content to be covered but also the key knowledge and skills children are expected to acquire. Our carefully designed RE curriculum provides teachers with detailed unit overviews, lesson resources and assessment materials for each unit. These resources provide a clear and consistent framework for teaching, while allowing teachers to adapt learning to meet the needs of their pupils and cohort.

Achieving excellence in the implementation of our RE curriculum requires a strategic approach that promotes high-quality teaching, engaging and meaningful learning experiences, and ongoing assessment. Some of the key strategies we use include:

1	We follow the Leicestershire Agreed Syllabus for RE, which provides a clear framework for the teaching of Religious Education across the school. It ensures systematic and thematic progression, supporting a coherent and well-structured curriculum.
2	Clear progression is established through the ‘3 Big Ideas’—making sense of beliefs, making connections, and understanding the impact. These interconnected concepts are deliberately sequenced and revisited throughout the curriculum, allowing pupils to deepen their understanding step-by-step. By weaving these ideas together, teaching provides both breadth and balance, ensuring that learning builds progressively from foundational knowledge to more complex and reflective thinking.
3	Every lesson begins with the same structure: Refer to the big question for the unit Refer to character muscle ‘Respect and Tolerance’ Use a 'Flashback 4' activity to retrieve and revisit previous knowledge (previous unit, vertical link and previous lesson) Share today’s learning outcome along Share key subject-specific vocabulary
4	We weave both our Core Values and British Values into every lesson, helping pupils to foster tolerance and respect, and to celebrate diversity.
5	Knowledge Organisers are provided to all children to ensure that substantive knowledge from the unit is clear and identifiable. They outline the learning objectives for each lesson alongside the key vocabulary pupils are expected to understand and use throughout the unit.
6	Assessment within the curriculum is designed to evaluate both substantive knowledge—the key facts, concepts, and content—and disciplinary knowledge—the skills, processes, and critical approaches specific to the subject. These aspects are integrated into end-of-unit assessments and are further informed by ongoing teacher judgment to provide a holistic view of pupil progress.
7	Teachers use a range of high-quality resources to help them plan RE. This is underpinned by the agreed syllabus and unit overviews.
8	High-quality ‘faith boxes’ are used across the school.
9	Each year group takes part in one faith visit annually, providing pupils with meaningful, real-life experiences that deepen their understanding of different religions. These visits offer valuable opportunities to engage respectfully with people of diverse beliefs, reinforcing British Values such as mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and worldviews.
10	Key vocabulary is explicitly introduced at the beginning of each lesson and purposefully reinforced throughout the unit to support understanding and retention.

Vulnerable Pupils (SEND and Disadvanged)

In primary Religious Education (RE) lessons, inclusivity is a central focus, particularly in supporting pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and those eligible for Pupil Premium (PP). A range of strategies are employed to ensure these learners feel confident, enthusiastic, and independent during lessons. Differentiated instruction plays a key role in meeting the diverse needs of pupils. Lessons are adapted by varying the complexity of tasks, using a variety of teaching materials, and offering multiple avenues for engagement. Visual aids—such as images, videos, and diagrams—are regularly incorporated to reinforce key concepts, especially for those who may struggle with text-based learning. Hands-on activities, including role-playing, storytelling, and art-based tasks, offer interactive ways for all pupils to engage with religious themes in a meaningful and memorable manner.

To further support accessibility, clear and concise instructions are provided, with tasks broken down into manageable steps to reduce cognitive load. Pupils may also work in small groups, allowing for more personalized support and opportunities for active participation in a less pressured environment. Scaffolding techniques are commonly used, such as adapted worksheets, simplified texts, visual word banks, and tailored resources, ensuring all pupils can access and contribute to learning. Technology is also embraced to aid inclusion, with tools like speech-to-text software and interactive apps helping to overcome specific learning barriers. Additionally, flexible assessment methods are used, allowing pupils to demonstrate their understanding in different ways—such as through verbal responses or presentations—ensuring that all children can succeed and make meaningful progress in RE.

Diversity

While aligning with the Leicestershire Agreed Syllabus, our RE curriculum is designed to explore a range of religions and worldviews, providing pupils with a rich and broad understanding of diverse lived experiences. Pupils have opportunities to compare different religions and worldviews throughout their learning, recognising both similarities and differences while developing an understanding of their own personal worldview.

The curriculum also reflects the local context of our school and community. For example, the inclusion of a Sikhism unit in Year 6 provides pupils with an opportunity to develop their understanding of a significant local faith community, with Leicester being home to a well-established Sikh community. This helps pupils to make meaningful connections between their learning and the diverse communities around them.

By exploring a range of religions, worldviews and lived experiences, RE prepares pupils for life beyond Old Mill. It develops curiosity, open-mindedness, tolerance and respect, enabling pupils to engage positively and thoughtfully with people whose beliefs, cultures and experiences may differ from their own.

Impact

The impact of Religious Education (RE) in our school is evident in pupils who develop secure substantive knowledge, increasingly sophisticated disciplinary skills and a greater understanding of their own personal worldview. Pupils build a strong understanding of the core concepts, beliefs, teachings, stories and practices of religious and non-religious worldviews. Through systematic study and meaningful connections across units, pupils develop a broad and balanced understanding of different faiths, beliefs and cultures, recognising the diversity that exists within and between worldviews. This enables pupils to explore their own values and identities while developing positive attitudes and respectful behaviours towards people of all faiths and beliefs.

Pupils develop the skills to investigate, interpret, reflect, express, empathise, apply, analyse and evaluate through a range of disciplinary approaches, including theology, philosophy, sociology and psychology. They learn to ask thoughtful questions, interpret texts and sources, consider different perspectives, use evidence, construct and evaluate arguments and reach reasoned conclusions. Pupils become confident in expressing their ideas and personal beliefs, engaging in respectful dialogue and applying their learning to real-life questions and situations. Through RE, pupils develop curiosity and wonder, open-mindedness, critical-mindedness, fairness, respect and self-understanding, enabling them to engage thoughtfully and positively with the diverse world around them.

The success and impact of our RE curriculum is measured through a range of evidence. Knowledge organisers identify the key substantive knowledge and vocabulary pupils are expected to develop within each unit, supporting clear progression and recall. Pupil voice, photographic and video evidence provide insight into pupils’ engagement, understanding and experiences of RE, while regular book reviews ensure that pupils' work reflects a broad, balanced and ambitious curriculum. End-of-unit assessments and teacher judgement provide further evidence of pupils’ knowledge and understanding, supporting consistency, high expectations and appropriate progress for all learners.

Assessment

Assessment in RE is based on an end-of-unit assessment, informed by the assessment questions identified within each unit overview. These assessments are designed by teachers to assess whether pupils have achieved the learning outcomes identified for the unit.

Assessment should remain flexible and responsive to the needs of individual pupils and the cohort. Teachers may adapt the format, level of support or questioning where appropriate to ensure that pupils can demonstrate their understanding.

Pupils will be assessed as Working at the Expected Standard (EXS) when they demonstrate that they have achieved the majority of the intended learning outcomes. Pupils will be assessed as Working Towards the Expected Standard (WTS) when they demonstrate only partial understanding of the intended learning outcomes.