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RE

Religious Education

Religious education is to help develop pupils ‘knowledge of the world’s principal religious traditions, worldviews and promote tolerance and understanding towards others.

 

At St Barnabas our Christian vision ‘Let all that you do be in love’ Corinthians 16:14 can be felt from the moment you walk through our school gates. Adults and children at St. Barnabas flourish, even through times of adversity with our strong focus on mental health and wellbeing for all. Our school’s associated values are lived out day-to-day and have a strong impact on our school life and we hope that the values they have through the school will live with them when they have left. RE lessons engage pupils in systematic inquiry into significant human questions which religion and worldviews are addressed. Pupils have the opportunity to think about those big questions through ‘I wonder…’ statements and are encouraged to reflect on their own views and to respect the views of others. Our strong link with our local church is extremely important to us as a school and pupils speak lovingly of the members of the church who share worship with them.

IMPLEMENTATION

Religious Education in our school is provided under the terms of the Worcestershire Agreed Syllabus and Understanding Christianity. The aims and objectives are for all pupils to:

  • Develop religious literacy

  • Acquire and develop knowledge and understanding of Christianity and the other principal religions represented in the UK

  • Develop an understanding of the influence of beliefs (both religious and secular), values and traditions on individuals, communities, societies and cultures in a global community

  • Develop positive attitudes of respect towards other people who hold views and beliefs different from their own; living in a society of diverse religions

  • Discover opportunities for personal reflection and spiritual development

  • Develop the ability to make reasoned and informed judgements about religious issues, with reference to the teachings of the principal religions represented in the UK

  • Acquire a capacity to engage in a search for meaning and purpose in order to enhance their own spiritual and moral growth

  • Reflect upon their pursuit of a set of moral values which will be a guide to their behaviour;

  • Consider how their own experiences can contribute to reflection on the fundamental questions of human existence

  • Develop and apply their cross-curricular skills to the study of religious beliefs and practices

  • Promote a willingness to challenge religious, racial and cultural stereotyping and prejudice

  • Encourage, support and promote good relationships within and between families, communities and religions

 

In order for the above to be implemented, R.E. needs to:

  • Develop pupils’ skills including reasoning and critical thinking skills 

  • Enable pupils to ask and answer questions in a safe learning environment

  • Discover information to approach new material with empathy and respect

  • Allow pupils to acquire and retain knowledge and use their knowledge to understand their world, build community and develop their personal position

  • Reflect on learning and be given time to ask ‘I wonder…’

 

The R.E. curriculum encourages children to explore religions and texts, engage with their knowledge, and reflect on their learning; the connections and its impact.

 

The long term plan incorporates units from the Worcestershire Agreed Syllabus. This is reviewed, adapted and is flexible with the needs of the children. As part of the planning process, teachers plan the following:

  • A pre-learning task to recap on prior learning and to recall previous knowledge of a specific religion.

  • A cycle of lessons for each subject, which carefully plans for progression of skills and depth of understanding which include substantive and disciplinary knowledge. Children use the key questions as a starting point for their own inquiry and opportunities are built in for children to reflect on their learning and to ask ‘I wonder…’

  • Questions which allow for pupils to thinking more deeply and in a philosophical/open manner

  • A post-learning task to show the progression of learning throughout a unit of work

  • A teacher assessment for their class after each unit of work using the assessment proforma

  • Teachers may also plan trips and visits from experts who will enhance the learning experience

  • Cross curricular links as appropriate (PSHCE, Art, English, Science, Drama, Art and Design Technology, Geography and History). 

 

IMPACT

Our RE Curriculum is balanced and well planned. If children are working at the expected level, they are deemed to be making good or better progress. In addition, we measure the impact of our curriculum through the following methods: 

  • A reflection on standards achieved against the planned outcomes 

  • Subject monitoring afternoons - pupil voice, book looks etc.

  • Formative and summative assessments against key questions and expected outcomes e.g. multiple choice quizzes

  • Tracking of knowledge in pre and post learning

  • Verbal feedback is provided within lessons and teacher’s mark children’s books in an appropriate way according to the key stage

  • Formative assessments are made against key questions and these inform planning, support end of unit summative assessments and end of year reports