Religious Education

RE Curriculum Statement

The aims of religious education are to help children:

Develop an awareness of spiritual and moral issues in life experiences
Develop knowledge and understanding of Christianity and other major world religions and value systems found in Britain
Develop an understanding of what it means to be committed to a religious tradition; · Be able to reflect on their own experiences and to develop a personal response to the fundamental questions of life
Develop an understanding of religious traditions and to appreciate the cultural differences in Britain and the world today
Develop investigative and research skills and to enable them to make reasoned judgements about religious issues
Have respect for other peoples’ views and to celebrate the diversity in society.

We base our teaching and learning style in RE on the key principle that good teaching in RE allows children both to learn about religious traditions and to reflect on what the religious ideas and concepts mean to them. Our teaching enables children to extend their own sense of values and promotes their spiritual growth and development. We encourage children to think about their own views and values in relation to the themes and topics studied in the RE curriculum. Our teaching and learning styles in RE enable children to build on their own experiences and extend their knowledge and understanding of religious traditions. We use their experiences at religious festivals such as Easter, Diwali, Passover etc. to develop their religious thinking. Children carry out research into religious topics. They study particular religious faiths and also compare the religious views of different faith groups on topics such as rites of passage or festivals. Children discuss religious and moral issues using computers and working individually or in groups. Sometimes they prepare presentations and share these with other members of the school. We recognise the fact that all classes in our school have children of widely differing abilities, and so we provide suitable learning opportunities for all children by matching the challenge of the task to the ability of the child. We achieve this in a variety of ways, for example, by:

Setting common tasks which are open-ended and can have a variety of responses
Setting tasks of increasing difficulty (we do not expect all children to complete all tasks)
Grouping the children by ability in the room and setting different tasks for each ability group
Providing resources of different complexity, adapted to the ability of the child

Curriculum Planning in Religious Education

We plan our religious education curriculum in accordance with the Dorset Agreed Syllabus and enhance this with elements of the demographics of the local community. We ensure that the topics studied in religious education build upon prior learning. We offer opportunities for children of all abilities to develop their skills and knowledge in each unit, and we ensure that the planned progression built into the scheme of work offers the children an increasing challenge as they move through the school. We carry out the curriculum planning in religious education in three phases (long-term, medium term and short-term). The long-term plan maps the religious education topics studied over the children’s school career, the medium term plans are based on what the children will learn in their year group and the short term plans are planned lesson by lesson. The RE subject leader works out these plans. RE is taught discretely.

Early Years Foundation Stage

We teach religious education to all children in the school, including those in the Reception and Nursery classes. We relate the religious education aspects of the children’s work to the objectives set out in the Early Learning Goals, which underpin the curriculum planning for children aged three to five.

Equal Opportunities

We will set high expectations and provide opportunities for all learners to achieve success in Religious Education regardless of culture, race, gender, ability or disability. Teachers will strive to overcome any potential barriers to learning for individuals and groups and respond to learners’ diverse learning needs by planning approaches to teaching and learning in Religious Education so that all learners are given equal opportunities, set suitable learning challenges and can take part in lessons fully and effectively.

Inclusion

All learners receive quality first teaching and activities are differentiated accordingly. In addition, where identified learners are considered to require targeted support to enable them to work towards age appropriate objectives, appropriate tasks and support is in place.

Organization

EYFS:

RE is taught as part of the Early Learning Goals curriculum.

KS1 & 2:

RE is taught on a weekly basis.

Assessment

Assessment is carried out each half term. We assess the children’s progress by making informal judgements during lessons or through the work the pupils produce, against the attainment targets set out in the National Curriculum. Marking and verbal feedback provide guidance to promote progress. Assessment sheets (venn diagrams) are filled in after each unit of work in line with other foundation subjects studies in Conifers Primary School.

Monitoring and Review

The subject leader will monitor the effectiveness of this policy in conjunction with all members of the the curriculum development team. The subject lead will monitor all half termly venn diagrams to promote progression for children in RE.

The coordination and planning of the RE curriculum is the responsibility of the subject leader, who also supports colleagues in their teaching by keeping them informed about the current developments in the subject and providing a strategic lead and direction for the subject.

Religious Education at Conifers Primary School develops pupils’…

Knowledge and understanding of and their ability to respond to different world religions, religious traditions and philosophies.
Respect for different religions, traditions and cultures.
Understanding of the influence that faith can have over communities and cultures.
Ability to ask questions and respond to important questions about faith, religion, culture and life.
Skills of reflection, analysis, evaluation,
Knowledge of practices and diverse beliefs.