The Story of
The VAT of Belonging and Believing
This is a collaborative piece of work between Early Years classroom teachers, Early Years RE specialists, RE Curriculum advisers and digital experts.
The VAT of Belonging and Believing seeks to:
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- increase awareness, knowledge and understanding of how religion and worldviews can be explored effectively at an age-appropriate level for Early Years pupils through a blended learning approach
- build teachers’ confidence in the worldviews approach by providing examples of how this can be implemented practically in the classroom
- ensure that smaller and lesser-known religions and worldviews are included in the curriculum and explored by pupils
- create more knowledgeable and creative teachers through engagement with the approach advocated by this project
- improve the relevance of Religious Education for pupils by encouraging exploration of religion and worldviews through the lenses of ‘real’ individuals within a community.
This project has been made possible by funding from Culham St Gabriel’s.
To access The VAT of Belonging and Believing digital tool, please click the link below
Making the most of the tool in the classroom
An overview of the tool and what it offers can be downloaded here – Teachers Resource Overview.
In order to make the most of the tool, it is recommended that practitioners first familiarise themselves with the overview of the tool before introducing it to pupils. You can also download the Teachers Guide to Using the VAT of B and B here.
The pedagogical approach of VAT in RE (Jan McGuire 2020) has been embedded in the learning process. This approach will support teachers in providing a deeper, richer experience of religion and worldviews education for their learners. It offers an easy and accessible method of exploring the lived experience of humanist beliefs, values and lifestyle for five-year old Wilf and his family.
Drawing on content from Gill Vaisey’s Belonging and Believing project and books series, the tool ensures knowledge, understanding and engagement with humanism at an age-appropriate level.
“After meeting Wilf, a real boy and his family, the children in my reception cohort were completely engaged and eager for more. We use the bucket song, our class bucket, and the kindness of Wilf and his family most days to reinforce how to be nice. I always show the slides to help the children remember.”
About Us – the project team
