Religious Education

“…young people today are growing up in a world where there is increasing awareness of the diversity of religious and non-religious worldviews, and they will need to live and work well with people with very different worldviews from themselves…”) Government Commission 2018).

The ethnic and religious make-up of Prince of Wales School (PoW) has become more diverse and culturally rich over the years. There are children from the seven religions that are taught at our school – Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Judaism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Alevism plus families who follow non-religious Worldviews. We aim for pupils to acquire and develop knowledge and understanding and respect of these principle religions and non-religious Worldviews.

At Prince of Wales we want to help prepare pupils for the real world by helping them to appreciate the strength of religious and non-religious convictions be it in themselves or others. We believe that teaching RE and Worldviews both supports and strengthens every aspect of school life

Web: Nov 2020

“…young people today are growing up in a world where there is increasing awareness of the diversity of religious and non-religious worldviews, and they will need to live and work well with people with very different worldviews from themselves…”) Government Commission 2018).

The ethnic and religious make-up of Prince of Wales School (PoW) has become more diverse and culturally rich over the years. There are children from the seven religions that are taught at our school – Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Judaism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Alevism plus families who follow non-religious Worldviews. We aim for pupils to acquire and develop knowledge and understanding and respect of these principle religions and non-religious Worldviews.

At Prince of Wales we want to help prepare pupils for the real world by helping them to appreciate the strength of religious and non-religious convictions be it in themselves or others. We believe that teaching RE and Worldviews both supports and strengthens every aspect of school life and this is reflected in the caring ethos and value we place on the identity and development of the whole child.

The Government Commission says that state funded schools must make a positive contribution to pupil’s spiritual, moral and cultural development – preparing pupils for life in modern Britain, with particular reference to fundamental British values. This links directly to Prince of Wales Vision and Aims.

PoW Mission Statements says “…Our children learn to become resilient and self – assured…”

POW Vision Statement says “…We aim to be an outstanding values based school at the heart of our culturally diverse community…preparing them (pupils) for their role as caring and active citizens in Britain today.”

Our RE and Worldviews curriculum at PoW supports pupils to build their identity through reflective dialogue which questions and challenges whilst maintaining respect for own views and the views of others.

At PoW we aim to provide a quality RE and Worldviews curriculum in line with the 3 I’s government framework –

  • Intent (curriculum design and appropriateness. What are pupils learning and why/build-up of knowledge and understanding
  • Implementation (curriculum delivery/teaching/pedagogy and assessment)
  • Impact (attainment and progress)

At Prince of Wales, we do not believe it is the role of the school or the role of RE or Worldviews education to preach or convert pupils. The non-faith/faith backgrounds of the pupils, parents and staff are respected at all times. Religious Education and Worldviews ‘allows for an important area of experience – both communal and private – to be explored instead of being ignored or reinterpreted’ (Watson 1993).

Through the teaching of RE and Worldviews we aim to develop the following skills: investigation, questioning, reflection, empathy, relating and expression. We encourage open and honest enquiry and aim to provide opportunities so that a reflective approach to learning can be fostered through the following attitudes – an awareness of prejudice, a growing self-understanding and respect for the rights of others to hold beliefs different to their own.

Pupils are encouraged to answer open questions and respond to deeper learning to challenge their thinking. They are also encouraged to pose questions and to offer explanations about the mystery of life itself. To further support teaching and learning pupils may learn from a range of resources including artefacts, video clips, books, LA materials, ICT, visits and visitors. Every year there are planned programmes of visits and visitors to deepen the pupils’ understanding and to promote further interest and questioning.

The Local Authority Review (LA Review) in January 2020 was very positive. The LA observed lessons throughout the school, looked at RE books, policy, website, school vision and they were impressed by how we deliver the RE curriculum, its implementation and outcomes.

During the school year 2021-2022 at Prince of Wales, staff were trained to further extend knowledge of non-religious Worldviews (for example Humanism secularism and Personal Worldviews. This has been implemented in the RE curriculum on offer.

In lessons we tackle Big Questions, for example, Is there reincarnation? Is there a God?

To teach religions we follow the SACRE scheme of work from the Enfield Agreed Syllabus.

During and after the pandemic, RE was taught as a block week each half term instead of one lesson a week.

For examples of learning across the school, take a look at these newsletters that focused on RE:  09.10.2020 ;04.12.2020 ;  29.01.2021 ; 19.03.2021 ; 30.04.2021 ; 25.06.2021

Click below to see photos from the corridors and classrooms reflecting Religious Education and Worldviews in our school from Reception to Year 6.