Religion and World Views

Religion and Worldwide Views Curriculum Scheme of Work: United Learning
Subject Leaders: Justine Oakley and Tejal Patel-Davis 

Intent

We aim for all of our children to leave Orchard Meadow equipped with the Religion and Worldwide Views skills and knowledge that will enable them to be ready for the curriculum at KS3 and for life as an adult in the wider world. Our intent for the Religion and Worldwide Views curriculum is that by using an inquiry based model, we can achieve the following for children at Orchard Meadow: 

To develop critical thinking skills by knowing about, understanding, asking questions, and reflecting about a range of religions and world views. 

• To gain knowledge and empathy with people and their beliefs, religious or otherwise. 
• To know about and understand a range of religions and worldviews. 
• To respect ideas, religions and worldviews that may differ from our own. 
• To have opportunities to gain cultural capital both within school and in the local community. 
• To allow opportunities for moments of mindfulness and of awe and wonder. 

Religion and Worldwide Views lessons will not try to persuade them but rather inform and develop skills with which evaluation can take place. Through our curriculum, we hope for children to develop a secure understanding of the knowledge and concepts surrounding Religion and Worldwide Views as well as positive attitudes towards cultures and beliefs that vary from their own. The overall aim of our Religion and Worldwide Views curriculum is to make Religion and Worldwide Views a meaningful and relevant subject for all pupils. 

Implementation

At Orchard Meadow, we have chosen to use and follow the United Learning Religion and Worldviews Curriculum to help us construct a coherent and balanced Religion and Worldwide Views curriculum where every year progression and continuity is enabled and enhanced.  To get the most value from the United Curriculum, we adhere to the sequencing and teaching the ‘what’ but adapt the ‘how’ and the lesson delivery to meet the needs of our pupils and to have more ownership over what and how we teach the lessons. 

The United Curriculum for Religion & Worldviews provides all children, regardless of their background, with: 

Coherent and sequenced substantive knowledge of religion and worldviews represented in Britain and the wider world, selected to build pupils’ understanding through three vertical concepts. These vertical concepts build a thematic narrative and provide context across diverse worldviews, as well as using small steps to help pupils gain a deep understanding of complex, abstract ideas: 

Sacrifice: Giving something up for the benefit of someone else is a recurring concept across religious & non-religious worldviews and takes many different forms. What motivates human action, and what are the societal and personal consequences? 

Knowledge & Meaning: One of the unique qualities of human intelligence through time has been our quest for knowledge and meaning. How have religion and belief impacted on humanity’s search for “Truth”? How do beliefs impact human behaviour? What is it reasonable to believe? 

Human Context: Human beings exist in, and are influenced by, their place in time and their geographical, political, and social context (Person, Time & Place). Everyone is different, so how have our diversities been influenced by our personal context? What influences a personal worldview? 

A Worldviews approach provides opportunities for all pupils to see themselves reflected in the curriculum, but also to be taken beyond their own experiences. The Religion & Worldviews curriculum teaches pupils about diversity within and between beliefs, cultures and worldviews from across the world, and seeks to teach the skills and knowledge to hold respectful and informed conversations about religion and belief; to be religiously literate. 

A conscious inclusion of vocabulary and substantive content that recognises the need to decolonise teaching materials in a meaningful and accessible way. 

A scholarly approach to the core disciplinary knowledge of theology, philosophy, and social sciences, developing pupils’ ability to hold the types of conversation and to apply the methods and processes of theologians, philosophers and social scientists. 

A curiosity and openminded approach to the worldviews of others and a reflective consciousness of their own worldview 

Impact

Our Religion and Worldwide Views Curriculum is high quality, well-sequenced, and is planned to demonstrate progression. 

If children are keeping up with the curriculum, they are deemed to be making good or better progress.   

We measure the impact of our curriculum through the following methods:   

• Tracking of knowledge in workbooks and pupil voice 
• Tracking of knowledge in post learning quizzes  
• Challenge questions for children to apply their learning in a philosophical/open manner 

At Orchard Meadow, Religion and Worldwide Views aims to inspire children through a broad range of practical experiences to create innovative designs that solve real and relevant problems within a variety of different contexts. The iterative design process is fundamental and runs throughout our teaching sequences. This iterative process encourages children to identify real and relevant problems, critically evaluate existing products, and then take risks and innovate when designing and creating solutions to the problems. As part of the iterative process, time is built in to reflect, evaluate, and improve. Opportunities are provided for children to evaluate key events and individuals who have helped shape the world, showing the real impact of Religion and Worldwide Views on the wider environment and helping to inspire children to become the next generation of innovators. Religion and Worldwide Views is taught through coherently planned sequences of lessons, ensuring progression and coverage of the knowledge, understanding, and skills required in the National Curriculum.