Curriculum Intent

The RE curriculum at James Bateman Middle School is rich in carefully sequenced substantive and disciplinary knowledge. It is designed to help pupils develop a secure understanding of religious and non-religious worldviews and explore how beliefs, values and worldviews influence individuals, communities and wider society.

Across Humanities, the curriculum is structured around two shared curriculum anchors:

· Substantive Knowledge – the core knowledge, concepts and vocabulary pupils need to know, remember and apply.

· Disciplinary Knowledge – how pupils learn to think within the subject by questioning, comparing, interpreting, using evidence, evaluating viewpoints and constructing reasoned responses.

Within RE, these are strengthened through the subject-specific anchor of Worldviews & Belief. This enables pupils to explore how religious and non-religious worldviews shape meaning, purpose, identity, belonging, values, belief and action.

Knowledge and disciplinary thinking are carefully sequenced from Years 5–8, with pupils progressing from describing and identifying towards explaining, comparing, analysing, evaluating and justifying.

Our curriculum aims to ensure that all pupils can access ambitious RE. Adaptive teaching, modelling, scaffolding, retrieval and carefully selected resources help remove barriers while maintaining high expectations.

RE also contributes to pupils' wider development by encouraging:

· curiosity about religion, belief and worldviews;

· readiness, resilience and respect;

· understanding of different beliefs, cultures and communities;

· thoughtful engagement with philosophical, theological and ethical questions;

· critical and independent thinking;

· and awareness of careers and wider opportunities connected with the knowledge and skills developed through RE.

At the heart of the RE curriculum is a commitment to broadening pupils' horizons and helping them understand the diverse religious and non-religious worldviews found within modern Britain and the wider world.

Implementation

RE is taught through a carefully sequenced curriculum that combines substantive knowledge, disciplinary knowledge and Worldviews & Belief.

Pupils explore Christianity alongside a range of other religious and non-religious worldviews. They investigate beliefs, sacred texts, practices, communities and lived experiences while considering philosophical, theological and ethical questions.

Disciplinary knowledge is developed through opportunities to:

· ask questions about religion, belief and worldviews;

· investigate religious and non-religious perspectives;

· compare similarities and differences;

· interpret texts, teachings and lived experiences;

· use evidence to support explanations;

· analyse how beliefs influence actions and communities;

· and evaluate different viewpoints before reaching reasoned conclusions.

The Worldviews & Belief anchor helps pupils recognise that worldviews can shape identity, values, belonging, decisions and behaviour, while also recognising diversity within and between traditions.

Reading Across the Curriculum is embedded within RE to develop fluency, subject vocabulary and access to increasingly complex ideas. Short, purposeful texts help pupils develop knowledge while encouraging them to think like religion and worldviews scholars.

Careers Across the Curriculum also forms part of each year group's learning. Topic-linked careers help pupils recognise how skills developed through RE, including communication, empathy, research, critical thinking, evaluation and understanding different perspectives, connect to the wider world.

Learning is enriched through visitors, places of worship, virtual visits and curriculum-linked experiences which enable pupils to encounter lived worldviews.

Our Faith in Focus programme complements the taught RE curriculum. Pupils first develop essential knowledge through a pre-teach lesson before taking part in:

· Experiencing the Faith – practical and participatory exploration of a religion or worldview.

· Faith in Action – considering how beliefs influence choices, charity, service, community and action in the wider world.

Lessons and resources provide a structured starting point for teachers but are designed to be adapted appropriately to meet the needs of individual classes.

Impact

Ready, resilient, respectful

Through RE, pupils develop the knowledge and disciplinary skills needed to understand religious and non-religious worldviews and engage thoughtfully with differing perspectives.

Pupils become increasingly:

· Ready – with secure knowledge, vocabulary and the ability to explain and apply their understanding;

· Resilient – able to explore challenging questions, consider different arguments and justify their ideas;

· Respectful – able to engage thoughtfully with beliefs, worldviews and perspectives that may differ from their own.

As pupils progress, they become increasingly able to question, compare, interpret, analyse, evaluate and justify using appropriate evidence.

They develop an understanding that there is diversity both between and within religions and worldviews and that an individual example of lived experience does not necessarily represent everyone within a tradition.

Evidence of knowledge/skills

Assessment supports teachers in identifying what pupils know, remember and can apply.

A range of evidence is used, including:

· retrieval activities and low-stakes questioning;

· work in pupils' books;

· classroom discussion and debate;

· use of subject-specific vocabulary;

· interpretation of texts and other sources;

· comparison of viewpoints;

· extended explanations and evaluative responses;

· and end-of-unit assessments.

End-of-unit assessments provide one source of evidence to support teacher judgement. They do not generate a stand-alone final judgement or override the wider evidence teachers gather through pupils' work, discussion and application of knowledge.

Assessment considers substantive knowledge and disciplinary knowledge alongside pupils' developing understanding of Worldviews & Belief.

Teachers use assessment information to identify misconceptions, inform future teaching and provide appropriate support and challenge.

Student voice

Pupils are encouraged to talk confidently about their RE learning, use subject-specific vocabulary and explain connections between beliefs, practices, identity and action.

Discussion, debate, reading, artefacts, visitors and lived-worldview experiences provide opportunities for pupils to ask questions, consider different perspectives and apply their knowledge in meaningful contexts.

Pupil voice, alongside book monitoring, assessment evidence and lesson visits, helps us understand how successfully the RE curriculum is being implemented and where further development may be needed.

Through RE, pupils develop into increasingly knowledgeable, thoughtful and respectful young people who can engage confidently with the diversity of beliefs and worldviews within their communities and the wider world.

This now matches the Geography page much more closely in structure, but still feels authentically RE rather than looking like Geography with different words.

Click here to view the RE Progression Map