Vision
World Views is an important element in the broad and balanced curriculum we aim to provide at Bank View School. Through our World Views curriculum, we provide opportunities to develop children’s knowledge and understanding of world religions and reflect on the challenging questions that it provokes.
The aims of World Views are:
- To develop pupils’ knowledge and understanding of Christianity and other religions and consider how the beliefs of others impact their lives and the lives of others.
- To encourage children to ask and reflect on challenging questions.
- To provide opportunities for personal reflection where children can explore their own beliefs (not necessarily religious).
- To encourage children to appreciate and respect the different cultures in today’s society.
Intent
It is our intent for the Religious Education element of our school curriculum to engage, inspire, challenge and encourage children, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to answer challenging questions, explore different religious beliefs, values and traditions and develop a more rigorous understanding of the numerous religious traditions, beliefs and practices that are followed in our multi-cultural society. World Views at Bank View contributes dynamically to children’s education, provoking challenging questions about human life, beliefs, communities and ideas. Our cultural capital shows that a majority of children have never visited a place of worship. In World Views pupils learn from religions and world views about different ways of life in local, national and global contexts. They discover, explore and consider many different answers to questions about human identity, meaning and value. They learn to weigh up for themselves the value of wisdom from different communities, to disagree respectfully, to be reasonable in their responses to religions and world views and to respond by expressing insights into their own and others’ lives. They think rigorously, creatively, imaginatively and respectfully about their ideas about religions and world views. This considers all aspects of British Values and protected characteristics.
Implementation
At Bank View we plan our World Views curriculum based on the Liverpool agreed syllabus. The long and medium-term plans ensure that there is progression throughout the school and that children are building upon the knowledge learnt in previous years, as shown on the pathway. The units are designed so that pupils develop knowledge and understanding of the principal religions in Great Britain and Christianity is taught as a core religion in both key stages. Our World Views curriculum allows children to see the similarities within the major religions and make connections. Each year group will look at festivals in a variety of religions. Where possible, teaching will be supplemented with trips to places of worship or visits from people from religious communities.
In the foundation stage, World Views is linked to the Early Learning Goals and provides children with the opportunity to explore the world of religion in terms of special people, books, times, places and objects.
Impact
Each year group has an assessment domain sheet, a set of objectives with which to assess the children’s outcomes at the end of each unit. Teachers make use of “know more remember more” to consolidate the children’s understanding. Children are also encouraged to discuss their experiences and feelings, particularly about their beliefs. Pupils at the school will be more prepared for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life.
