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Religious Education (RE)
Religious Diversity is not a threat to our unity, but an opportunity to learn from each other, to understand each other better, and to grow together
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Religious Education seeks to make a major contribution to the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of children by helping them to acquire the knowledge and understanding of Christianity and the other major religions represented in Britain. It also helps them to develop their own beliefs and values.
Our intent for our Religious Education (RE) approach is for pupils to:
- “The Principle aim of RE is to engage pupils in systematic enquiry into significant human questions which religion and worldviews address, so that they can develop the understanding and skills needed to appreciate and appraise varied responses to these questions, as well as develop a response of their own.”2019-2024 NYCC Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education
- Introduce and explore their own and other peoples’ beliefs, values and traditions in meaningful and engaging ways (SMSC- spiritual. British Values- Individual Liberty).
- Develop a deep understanding of the theology underpinning religious beliefs and the ways in which these beliefs are lived out in society, locally and worldwide.
- Be reflective and examine different codes for living and consider the value of the rule of law, seeing varying worldviews and values where all people are equal before the law (British Values- Democracy, Rule of Law, SMSC- Moral).
- Develop critical, evaluative thinking skills and consider higher order questioning about identity, purpose and belonging.
- Work cooperatively and develop confidence by sharing diverse ranges of experiences (SMSC- social).
- Grow individually and together with sensitivity and respect towards people of all faiths and none (British Values- Tolerance),
- Be increasingly respectful, open minded, accepting and wondrous about world-wide beliefs and to celebrate diversity of different cultures, faiths and beliefs (British Values tolerance, respect).
Our implementation:
At Rillington Primary School we follow the North Yorkshire Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education
The RE curriculum is organised to support the development of children’s knowledge of religious and non-religious beliefs and worldviews, practices and ways of life and enable children to make links between these. It also develops children’s knowledge and understanding of the different members of our rich and diverse community.
Knowledge and skills are supported by first-hand experiences, including visits to local places of worship and visits from faith communities. Knowledge and skills are mapped to support children’s understanding of religion and faith.
The RE curriculum is also designed to support positive attitudes and values and encourage children to reflect and relate learning to their own experience. Children learn that there are those who do not hold religious beliefs and have their own philosophical perspectives, as part of its commitment to ensure mutual respect and tolerance for those with different faiths.
The syllabus recommends that any themes or ‘Big Questions’ are explored by investigating and reflecting on the responses of more than one religion or belief system. All the units therefore include an exploration of these themes or big questions through different perspectives. Each unit encourages and promotes the contemplation of key concepts or themes within religions and comparing these with responses in other faiths, religions and belief systems.
In each unit, the children start from their own experience to ensure understanding of the concept being studied then move into investigating that concept in depth from the point of view of the chosen religion. This continues over several lessons of investigation and discussion, using artefacts, videos, key texts and scenarios, which embeds subject knowledge.
Our weekly RE lessons ensure children learn about and learn from different faiths and religions.
Each lesson, children will begin with a recall question, based on previous lessons. This can be completed in books, verbally or on a whiteboard. It also involves a mental or oral activity with a question or stimulus to encourage them to develop their debating and reasoning skills followed by a main input focused on a specific area of learning. A vast amount of the lessons will be discussion and talking based.
In RE, assessment is continuous. From the beginning of every lesson, teachers and teaching assistants will be assessing what their children are or are not understanding and use this to scaffold each segment of the lesson.
Long term plans map out the units to be covered each term, during each Key Stage.
Medium term plans identify learning objectives and outcomes for each unit, as well as indicating the skills being taught.
Short term plans supported by each teacher’s ideas and knowledge of the individual children in the cohort, highlight the skills and objectives of the lesson, and identify resources and appropriate differentiation. They also indicate key questions and vocabulary.
The impact:
- Extend children’s knowledge and understanding of religions and beliefs
- Develop children’s religious vocabulary and ability to interpret religious symbolism in a variety of forms
- Ensure children reflect on questions of meaning, offering their own thoughtful and informed insights into religious and secular world-views
- Give opportunities to explore ultimate questions of beliefs and values in relation to a range of contemporary issues in an ever-changing society
R.E. Long Term Plan 2023-2024 and 2024 - 2025
If you have any questions regarding R.E., please feel free to contact Mrs Ahmed via email: j.ahmed@rillingtonprimaryschool.org
