Religion and World Views

Managers: Miss Strachan and Mrs Forghani

Email:straj002@mastacademy.co.uk and forgk002@mastacademy.co.uk

St John's school is distinctive in character as a Church of England Primary School. The work in both Religion and World Views lessons and Collective Worship emphasises the Christian way of life and promotes Social, Moral, Spiritual and Cultural development. Pupils recite the school vision daily, they live the school vision daily and the school vision underpins all decision making and school development. Our full school vision is:

Drawing on the teachings of Jesus in his parable of the mustard seed, our infant school family provides a nurturing environment in which each unique person from modest beginnings can flourish and grow abundantly. We celebrate diversity, develop knowledge, skills and attitudes for 21^st century living and through the values of faith and love provide nourishment for each of our futures.

“From the smallest of seeds fed with faith and love,

our St John’s family will flourish and grow.”

All stakeholders of the school articulate the vision through its final sentence.

Intent

At St John's, the RWV curriculum runs central to our daily practises as a community, but also through the provision of an ambitious, broad and balanced curriculum that meets the contextual needs of our setting.

Through our RWV curriculum, all members of the St John's family are provided the opportunity to engage in:

A well-established, creative curriculum that can be enjoyed that emphasises the social, moral, spiritual and cultural development of all pupils.
A progressive curriculum that is built upon each year providing both knowledge and skills development so all children can achieve well.
A curriculum that cements our school values of faith and love
Opportunities to learn about the wider world for their own personal development and mental wellbeing.

Implementation

The RWV curriculum at St John's is implemented through use of resources from Rochester Diocese. This base provides:

In-depth analysis of Christianity beyond just knowledge, but opportunities for personal and spiritual development.
Creation, the fall, incarnation, the gospels, the Kingdom of God and Salvation to be studied and revisited across their time with us in school; widening their understanding of critical events but most significantly, making connections between faith, action and forming their own moral groundings.
Exploration of other faiths beyond Christianity fostering the acceptance we reiterate through our school values, whilst preparing them for life in 21^st century Britain.
Challenge for pupils to make connections between their prior learning and past units ensuring they are forming wholesome opinions based on real world factors.
Rigorous assessments at the end of each unit identifying whether they have attained the core focus of the lesson, their understanding and participation in critical discussions.
Opportunities for pupils to evaluate and analyse the behaviours and attitudes of those of different faiths and appraise their impact in the modern world for the personal development of each individual pupil.
Religion and World Views as a subject is taught discretely at our school to every class every week

Impact

As children progress through the RWV curriculum at St John's, they become:

Critical thinkers who enjoy voicing their opinions on philosophical questions using the theological groundings they have developed here.
Confident leading discourse on the diverse experiences of those around them evidenced through their response to challenge work
Experts of our local community and inclusive towards whoever they encounter in the wider world.
Reflective of their own place in the world and their ability to achieve
Supportive, faithful, loving and respectful members of our society; able to attain if not exceed national statistics, as they enter 21^stCentury Britain.

Challenge work in RWV

In every RWV lesson that we deliver, we include challenges as a matter of course. Our children are regularly called upon in class to compare and contrast the practises and beliefs of different faiths - they love a challenge to extend their thinking beyond the norm!

Ideas for more RWV fun at home

If you wish to participate in some RE activities with your child at home visit the websites below:

ministry-to-children.com/kids-sunday-school-games/#gsc.tab=0

christiananswers.net/kids/menu-act.html

www.teachingexpertise.com/classroom-ideas/bible-games-and-activities-for-kids/

childrensministry.com/indoor-sunday-school-games/

Key Documentation