Teach diverse and engaging RE lessons with our Love to Celebrate projects

In a diverse society, religious education (RE) is important for children’s personal and academic development. Taught well, it helps children to empathise, respect others and explore deep human concepts.

However, it can be a tricky subject to teach. In 2013, an Ofsted report found that ‘the potential of RE was not being realised fully’ in most of the schools that it surveyed. Things have improved now that schools are free to focus on broad and balanced curriculum design, but RE provision still faces perennial barriers. These include low staff confidence, poor quality resources and a lack of curriculum sequencing.

Supporting schools with RE  

Over five years ago, schools asked us for help with their RE provision.  As a teacher or leader, you will already follow a local authority curriculum plan, so Love to Celebrate has been designed to align with these requirements. To help schools plan their RE curriculum coverage, all 36 projects and accompanying resources are now fully integrated into our online platform, Maestro, making it easier to tailor them to your school’s needs.  

What do the projects cover? 

The projects cover six major world religions: Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism and Sikhism. There are six projects per year, from Year 1 to Year 6. They are sequenced so that children’s knowledge of each religion builds over time.  

Central to each project is a significant religious festival or celebration. Download our free World festivals and celebrations calendar for a handy overview of these celebrations and in which term they could be taught. Each project gives children the opportunity to broaden their knowledge and understanding of the significant people, teachings, beliefs and practices of each religion.  

To help children to learn and use the correct vocabulary, the projects introduce keywords and offer resources with a focus on language and vocabulary.  

Naturally, some project content also helps you to cover PSHE (personal, social, health and economic) education skills. These opportunities are identified in the projects., such as when children explore love, community, similarity and difference. 

How flexible are the projects? 

The projects are intentionally flexible and offer teachers an excellent basis for planning their RE provision. Because they are housed on Maestro, it’s easy to adapt each project and add content. Some schools create additional content inspired by the lessons in Love to Celebrate or use other resources to ensure complete RE coverage.

Adapting the content means that you can meet the needs of your school and local community. Where possible, the projects identify where to draw upon your local resources and religious communities, such as through visits or sharing resources.

What is the project structure?  

All 36 projects follow the Cornerstones four stage pedagogy. The first is the Engage stage, which introduces the festival as a hook. Then, through the Develop stage, the children build their RE knowledge and skills around the festival’s themes and beyond. In the Innovate stage, the children explore the relevance of the concepts studied in their own lives, whether in a religious or non-religious context. Finally, in the Express stage, the children showcase and reflect upon what they have learned. Each stage is supported by lesson plans and time saving resources.

How easy are they to teach?   

The lesson plans in the projects are clear and well sequenced. They were developed with RE specialist teachers, so there is no need to worry about saying the wrong thing or using inaccurate terminology. Teachers can save hours of planning and hunting for resources, as all projects come with essential resources and links to useful books and websites.

How do I assess RE coverage and progression?   

All Love to Celebrate lessons are linked to a skills framework built into the Maestro system. It is then easy to view your overall RE coverage and progression at the click of a few buttons. You can also check and address any gaps. This streamlining between planning, teaching and assessment is one of the reasons why over 1400 schools now use Maestro to keep track of live curriculum coverage.  

‘Love to Celebrate ensures that we deliver an accessible and inclusive curriculum that represents the multi-faith population of both our country and our school. Our pupils are excited to share their learning and experiences with each other, their teachers, parents, and visitors.’

Sarah Davies, Head of Junior Department, Leicester High School for Girls

How do I access Love to Celebrate?    

All 36 projects are available as part of your licence for Maestro, our complete curriculum system for primary schools. Maestro includes over 100 Cornerstones Curriculum projects to help you to design your curriculum. If you already have a school licence for Maestro, you’ll find the Love to Celebrate projects under the ‘Intent’ section on your ‘View and compare projects’ page.   

Not a Maestro user, but want to see what it offers you? Please get in touch to book your free demo.  

We hope that you enjoy these vibrant RE projects. 

Links  

Download your free World festivals and celebrations calendar

Compare your curriculum options with Maestro  

National Association of Standing Advisory Councils on Religious Education (NASACRE) 

Ofsted report on teaching of RE, 2013