Vision for RE & World Views lessons at Milldown

We believe that RE and World Views lessons should foster a sense of awe and wonder in the children, encouraging them to develop a concern for others and for the world in general, assisting them in their own search for meaning and purpose in life.  

Children explore RE and World Views in three ways.  Children at Milldown explore each RE subject through an understanding of the theology (scripture and text) and sociology (social practices) associated with the area of focus.  Finally, philosophy is used to support the children's reflections and to allow them to make connections with other religious studies and their ways of thinking. 

We aim to equip pupils with a knowledge and understanding of Christianity and other faiths and world views. We want children to develop greater sensitivity towards those of a different background to themselves.  

As children progress through the year groups at Milldown we provide them with experiences that allow them to have meaningful dialogue about spirituality. Effective dialogue engages children, stimulates and extends their thinking but also builds the brain itself. Dialogue is an important part of being an active and responsible citizen.    

Subject Progression

The law requires that a syllabus ‘must reflect the fact that the religious traditions in Great Britain are in the main Christian while taking account of the teachings and practices of the other principal religions represented in Great Britain’. 

Furthermore, as a Church of England Voluntary Controlled school we have a Christian religious character focusing on Christian morality and ethics, as well as worship. To support these aims we use the planning and teaching resource: Understanding Christianity for  Christian units and then Emmanuel for our world religion units. 

Throughout their time at Milldown, children will explore Judaism, Islam, and Hindu faiths as well as a recognised World View so that they can confidently the world they live in.  

Our Religion & Worldviews Curriculum 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 concepts. These 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.