Religious Education (RE)
Intent
At Broseley C of E Primary School, we aim to explore each others' beliefs and what difference this makes to how we live. We want children to gain the knowledge, understanding and skills needed to carefully consider questions raised by religion and belief, reflecting on their own ideas and ways of living. We aspire to create a curiosity and fascination about the diverse world we live in.
As a Church of England school, we expect our children to live by Christian values and become positive members of the Broseley community and challenge any forms of discrimination. The children are provide with opportunities to reflect on emotions and express opinions.
Trips and visitors are planned for all year groups to not only provide pupils with experiences beyond their own day to day lives but enable them to build on the knowledge and skills taught in lessons and during Collective Worship. The Religious Education curriculum at Broseley C of E is diverse and ensures that all parts of society are represented in the people and places that are studied.
Implementation: How is RE taught at Broseley C of E?
We follow the National Curriculum for Religious Education and our topics are based on the big questions from the Shropshire Agreed syllabus. The guidelines relating to the deliver of our RE curriculum are:
- Parents have a right to withdraw
- 4- 5 year olds must do 36 hours of tuition
- 5 – 7 year olds must do 36 hours of tuition
- 7 – 11 year olds must do 45 hours of tuition
- RE is different to collective worship
- RE objectives must be clear
- EYFS teachers should be able to indicate opportunities they are providing to integrate RE into the learning, whilst being mindful that it is a statutory requirement.
Across the school we teach Christianity and other religions. We make several visits throughout the year to our local Church, both to supplement learning experiences, and to celebrate Christian Festivals. Planning is sequenced to ensure consistency when moving between year groups and key stages in preparation for transition to secondary school and beyond.
Our teaching and learning approach has three core elements, which are woven together to provide breadth and balance within teaching and learning about religions and beliefs:
RE in the Early Years
Planned teaching experiences support children’s learning and development needs, as identified through holistic assessment. Good Early Years teaching stems from children’s own experiences. Many practitioners will find ways to draw on the wealth of religious or spiritual experiences that some families may bring with them.
The EYFS statutory framework also outlines an expectation that practitioners reflect on the different ways in which children learn and the characteristics of effective learning:
- Playing and exploring: children investigate and experience things, and ‘have a go’.
- Active learning: children concentrate and keep on trying if they encounter difficulties and enjoy achievements.
- Creating and thinking critically: children have and develop their own ideas, make links between ideas, and develop strategies for doing things.
What do children gain from of RE in this age group?
RE sits very firmly within the areas of personal, social, and emotional development and understanding the world. This framework enables children to develop a positive sense of themselves, and others, and to learn how to form positive and respectful relationships. They will do this through a balance of guided, planned teaching and pursuing their own learning within an enabling environment. They will begin to understand and value the differences of individuals and groups within their own immediate community. Children will have the opportunity to develop their moral and cultural awareness.
The 'Big' Question
Each learning sequence will begin with a ‘Big’ question such as ‘How does faith help when things get hard?’ Children know that the knowledge gained through this topic will help them to raise questions and begin to express their own views in response to the material they learn about and in response to questions about their ideas.
Children will then draw on their knowledge, subject specific vocabulary and own ideas and beliefs to answer this ‘Big’ question.
Support for Pupils with SEND
At the beginning of each unit of work, key pieces of knowledge for the unit are selected and work takes place to ensure that pupils with SEND are retaining and building on this. In addition, scaffolding ensures that pupils can meet the same learning objective as their peers.
Impact
Our ongoing monitoring and evaluation of RE demonstrates that pupils are confident and able to talk knowledgeably about what they have learned in Religious Education using subject specific vocabulary. Pupil Voice shows that pupils enjoy RE and can recall their learning and knowledge over time, making links between units of work. Lesson observations also triangulate this.
Work in EYFS & KS1 Floor books and KS2 pupil exercise books demonstrates that Religious Education is taught at a high standard across the school with opportunities for pupils to work at a greater depth.