Religion and World Views

“You are the light of the world. Let your light shine.”
Matthew 5:14–16

Our vision 

At West Ashton Church of England Primary School, Religion and Worldviews helps children to explore what people believe, how they live and how they make sense of the world.

We want our children to be curious, thoughtful and respectful. Through learning about Christianity, other religions and non-religious worldviews, they encounter different beliefs and experiences, ask meaningful questions and develop the knowledge and skills to form their own informed ideas.

Our Christian vision and our ethos of Belong, Flourish, Shine encourage every child to feel valued and to recognise the value of others. Our five SHINE values—Serve, Hope, Include, Navigate and Endeavour—are reflected in the way we learn together: listening carefully, welcoming different perspectives, thinking deeply and approaching challenging questions with courage.

As a Church of England school, Christianity has an important place in our curriculum. Children explore Christianity as a diverse, global and living faith, alongside other religious and non-religious worldviews. They learn that people within the same tradition may understand and live out their beliefs in different ways.

Intent: what we want children to learn

Our principal aim is for children to explore what people believe and what difference this makes to how they live. We want them to gain the knowledge, understanding and skills to engage thoughtfully with questions raised by religion and belief and to reflect on their own ideas and experiences.

Through Religion and Worldviews, we aim for children to:

• Know and understand a range of religious and non-religious worldviews, including beliefs, practices, stories and sources of wisdom.
• Recognise diversity, understanding that people’s beliefs and experiences can differ both between and within communities.
• Explore how beliefs influence lives, choices, relationships and actions.
• Ask and respond to questions about identity, belonging, meaning, purpose, truth and what it means to live well.
• Express ideas clearly, giving reasons and considering other points of view.
• Engage respectfully with difference, listening to others and contributing thoughtfully to their community.

Religion and Worldviews is an academic subject. Children learn about different beliefs and worldviews and are encouraged to think for themselves. They are not expected to hold or adopt a particular belief.

Implementation: how we teach Religion and Worldviews

We use the RE Today Primary RE Curriculum, adapted for Acorn Education Trust and mapped to the Wiltshire Agreed Syllabus. Our curriculum is carefully sequenced so that children revisit important concepts and build their knowledge, vocabulary and understanding as they move through the school. It includes opportunities to explore non-religious worldviews.

Religion and Worldviews is usually taught weekly by the class teacher, with at least an hour a week in each year group. Learning may also be enriched through class or whole-school RE days, visits, visitors and opportunities to make connections with collective worship.

We use stories, religious texts, photographs, artefacts, conversations and examples of people’s lived experiences to help children encounter worldviews in meaningful ways. Teachers select and adapt activities so that all children can access the learning and contribute their ideas.

Our three lenses: Believing, Living and Thinking

We help children explore Religion and Worldviews through three complementary lenses. Each lens offers a different way of investigating a question.

Believing — thinking like a theologian

Children explore beliefs, teachings, stories and sources of wisdom. They consider what these mean to people and how they might be understood in different ways.

Questions might include:

• What do people believe?
• What can we learn from this story or text?
• How might people interpret it differently?

Living — thinking like a social scientist

Children explore how people live and how beliefs and worldviews may influence their choices, actions and communities. They learn from examples of real people and recognise that individuals do not all practise or express their beliefs in the same way.

Questions might include:

• How do people express what matters to them?
• How might a belief influence someone’s life?
• What similarities and differences can we notice?

Thinking — thinking like a philosopher

Children consider important questions, explore different possible answers and learn to explain their ideas with reasons. They listen to alternative viewpoints and think about whether their own ideas might need to change.

Questions might include:

• What do I think, and why?
• Could there be another point of view?
• What makes an idea fair or convincing?

The lenses work together across a sequence of learning. A lesson may focus on one or more lenses, depending on the question being explored.

What a lesson might look like

Learning begins with a clear question that encourages children to think deeply. Teachers introduce and revisit important vocabulary, connect new learning with what children already know and give pupils time to explore ideas through stories, sources and discussion.

Children might have time to think independently before sharing with a partner or the class. Sentence stems help them explain their ideas, listen to others and build on what has been said. They may respond through talk, drawing, writing, practical activities or a class floorbook.

For example, in a lesson exploring “Who do Christians say made the world?”, children might:

• listen to and discuss the creation story from Genesis;
• explore what the story tells many Christians about God and creation;
• consider how a Christian belief in God as Creator might influence the way someone cares for the world;
• ask questions and share their own thoughts about what is beautiful, valuable or worth looking after.

Throughout a unit, teachers check what children know and understand through discussion, questions, observations and their responses. This helps teachers revisit learning, address misconceptions and plan the next steps.

Progression through the school

Children develop their understanding and enquiry skills over time:

• Shooting Stars: Children notice, listen, share experiences, retell stories and ask questions. They begin to explore stories and beliefs, people and living, and ideas and questions.
• Comets: Children describe beliefs and practices, make simple connections and begin to give reasons for their ideas using the Believing, Living and Thinking lenses.
• Discoverers: Children explain and compare ideas, draw on examples and begin to consider how theologians, social scientists and philosophers investigate questions.
• Voyagers: Children interpret and evaluate ideas with increasing independence, use evidence to support their thinking and recognise that different sources and perspectives may offer different insights.

Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development

Religion and Worldviews provides opportunities for children to pause, reflect and consider questions that matter to them and to others.

It contributes to our understanding of spirituality as taking time to notice, feel, wonder and connect. Children are invited to reflect on themselves, other people, the world around them and questions beyond the everyday, including questions about God and meaning.

The subject also supports moral, social and cultural development. Children consider fairness, responsibility, belonging and the ways people live together. They encounter diverse experiences and learn to discuss similarities and differences with care.

British values

Religion and Worldviews supports children’s understanding of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs.

Through discussion and enquiry, children practise listening to different viewpoints, expressing their ideas respectfully and recognising the importance of everyone’s right to hold their own beliefs.

Impact: the difference our curriculum makes

We want children to leave West Ashton with a secure and growing understanding of Christianity and other religious and non-religious worldviews. They should be able to use appropriate vocabulary, make connections between beliefs and ways of living, and recognise that worldviews are diverse and personal.

As they progress, we want children to become increasingly confident in asking questions, using evidence, offering reasons and responding thoughtfully to others. We want them to be curious about the world, respectful of difference and able to reflect on their own ideas and experiences.

In this way, Religion and Worldviews helps our children to belong, flourish and shine.