Evaluation of Religious Education against our school vision:

‘With God all things are possible.’

'Big questions’ are designed to move Religious Education beyond the simple retrieval of religious facts, names, and holy days. They connect the process of theological inquiry, text analysis, and the exploration of diverse worldviews directly to our vision and values. Our RE curriculum creates a multidisciplinary approach to Religious Education by investigating beliefs, values, and worldviews through multiple lenses rather than a single perspective. It transforms RE by encouraging students to think like theologians, philosophers, and human scientists to explore complex religious and non-religious traditions.

When children review each other's religious education outcomes (such as extended essays, non-chronological reports, presentation slides, or religious source exhibition posters) at the end of a unit, they use the Wisdom, Joy, or Courage questions to guide their peer-assessment conversations away from compliments and toward a deeper critique of theological significance, lived faith, empathy, and evidence.

Big Questions Woven Within the RE Curriculum This Year:

• How can we use our courage to learn from faith and worldviews to speak out against unfairness, challenge stereotypes, or stand up for a cause?

  • Value: Courage – Year 4 (Gospel: What kind of world did Jesus want?) & Year 5 (People of God: How can following God bring freedom and justice?): Examining how religious teachings command individuals to challenge societal injustice. Pupils use these lessons to evaluate how standing up for equity and justice makes a transformed world possible.

  • Lived Faith Context: In Year 3 (How and why do people try to make the world a better place?), pupils look closely at how Christians, Hindus, and Humanists put their beliefs into action. They explore how these groups brave social pushback or physical exhaustion to care for the vulnerable, fight poverty, and protect the planet.

• When we look at the diverse ways humanity seeks ultimate truth, meaning, and connection, can we see the unfolding story of faith showing us what is possible?

  • Vision: "With God all things are possible" – Year 3 (The Trinity), Year 4 (Sikhism), Year 5 (Judaism), & Year 6 (Islam): Exploring and comparing how diverse communities build vibrant lives of devotion, establish profound ethical frameworks, and maintain identity across generations.

  • Theological Context: In Year 6 (Creation and Science: Conflicting or complementary?), pupils expand their understanding of human potential by investigating how Christians, Humanists, and Agnostic thinkers navigate the universe's origin. They discover how faith and reason can harmoniously coexist to reveal deeper layers of truth.

• When we encounter conflicting interpretations or a diversity of beliefs, is it a source of confusion, or a moment where we gain wisdom to ask deeper questions and investigate a new path?

  • Value: Wisdom – Year 5 (Why do some people believe in God and some people not?) & Year 6 (What matters most to Humanists and Christians?): Inquiring across upper Key Stage 2 into how humans navigate complex worldviews, from certain faith to Atheism, Agnostic Theism, and Agnostic Atheism. Pupils learn to treat difference not as a barrier, but as an invitation to develop theological literacy and mutual respect.

"Awe and Wonder" in Religious Education

In Religious Education, "Awe and Wonder" occurs when children realise that religion and worldviews are not just a list of static rules in a book, but a living, breathing tapestry of human experience and spiritual connection. It is the moment they move from simply reading about a belief system to realising that they hold the philosophical tools to interpret profound truths, shifting their mindset from "this framework is different to me" to "understanding this worldview helps me to understand what is possible."

Examples of “Awe and Wonder” Moments This Year:

• The Source Connection: When a child analyses a primary sacred text—such as the Genesis Creation narrative in Year 3 or gospel accounts of Salvation in Year 4—and realises that readers thousands of years ago had the exact same questions about human value, suffering, and mortality that we often have today.

• The Immersive Moment: In Year 3 (What does it mean to be a Hindu in Britain today?). The classroom lights are dimmed, and a single Diva lamp is lit alongside images of a home shrine. Pupils observe how light, scent, and sensory devotion create a sacred space for Puja within a bustling modern British household. Without being told the mechanics first, pupils feel the peaceful, intentional shifts in atmosphere, building immediate empathy for how sacred practices ground a believer’s everyday life.

• The Perspective Breakthrough: The wisdom gained during multi-faith enquiries, such as the Year 5 and Year 6 Pilgrimage units. A child suddenly "sees" the common human thread running through a Christian journey to Iona, a Muslim Hajj to Makkah, and a Humanist's reflective journey through nature. This unlocks the critical ability to look past surface differences, identify deep-seated human passion for purpose, and construct an evidence-based comparative essay or presentation.

• The Exhibition / Shared Voice: That profound moment of shared joy when small groups present their posters, deliver their oral presentations, or display their reports. Looking at their collective theological research displayed together, pupils actively participate in a community dialogue about what matters most to humanity, making them part of something much bigger than themselves.