Religion, Values and Ethics (RVE) is mandatory in the Curriculum for Wales and has an important contribution to make to learners’ achievement of the four purposes. Sitting within Humanities, RVE has a vital role to play in learner progression in this Area. This example does not provide an alternative set of descriptions of learning for each of the statements of what matters in Humanities. Instead, it offers examples of explicit and implicit RVE disciplinary skills found within the descriptions of learning, and the integral skills, which underpin the four purposes.
Where does this example come from?
This example, created by the St Giles’ Centre in Wrexham, has been influenced by the discussions and findings of the RVE Collaborative Project Group 2023/2024, which was facilitated by the St Giles’ Centre in partnership with the St Asaph Diocesan Education Team, and included five primary schools in Wrexham.
How has this example been formulated?
The RVE skills outlined in this example have been formulated using a number of documents in addition to the descriptions of learning for each of the Humanities statements of what matters and the integral skills. These include the Religion, Values and Ethics Guidance available on Hwb, Religious Education: supporting the early stages of the process of developing the Humanities’ AoLE (September 2017) produced by a WASACRE and NAPfRE working group, and a document produced by NAPfRE in 2018 called, What is essential in RE?. The RVE skills presented in Table 1 follow the structure of the example learning journeys in the RVE guidance, which use three broad descriptions of progression; ‘at the early stages’, ‘further along’, and, ‘later’. The RVE skills presented in this example are grouped into five categories, which may overlap naturally in the course of teaching and learning in RVE. Members of the RVE Collaborative Project Group 2023/2024, settled on these specific categories after agreeing that it would be helpful, both practically and conceptually, if the 20 RVE skills they arrived at were grouped according to their similar characteristics, for more manageable use by practitioners in the classroom. The categories they decided upon are exploration, evaluation, knowledge and understanding, respect, personal response.
How can this example support planning for progression in RVE?
We envisage practitioners using the RVE skills outlined in this example to guide them in evaluating where their learners are and where they are heading at different stages of their learning progression, as well as helping them to make decisions about content and pedagogy in RVE. However, the St Giles’ Centre encourages practitioners to critically engage with this example. The RVE skills outlined within it are not definitive and can be edited. Practitioners are also encouraged to engage in professional dialogue to support the development of a shared understanding of progression in RVE within their setting. The St Giles’ Centre welcomes feedback on the usefulness of this example within that process.
Table 1. Planning for progression in Religion, Values and Ethics (RVE) age 3-16: an example to support practitioners
Table 2. Planning for progression in Religion, Values and Ethics (RVE) age 3-16: an example to support practitioners in nursery settings
During professional dialogue with expert colleagues working with funded non-maintained nursery settings and schools with nursery provision, it became clear that some of the descriptions included in this example, under ‘at the early stages’, may be too aspirational for nursery age children, and a precursor to these descriptions may be required. Therefore, Table 2 has been developed in collaboration with those experts, and is provided to assist practitioners in nursery settings with their planning for RVE, pre-progression step 1.
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