Religious Education
Religious Education Policy
Intent
The intent of our RE curriculum at St Paul’s is for every child to think more deeply, develop their own values and beliefs whilst holding mutual respect for the different values and beliefs of others. Children will become independent and responsible members of a society who understand and explore big questions about life, to find out what people believe and what difference this makes to how they live, so that they can make sense of religion, reflecting on their own ideas and ways of living.
Implementation
At St Paul’s, we follow the locally agreed syllabus for Somerset: Awareness, Mystery and Value. This syllabus asks children to understand specific beliefs and teachings and give accounts of the impact of some religious and worldview teachings upon believers. Pupils are encouraged and supported to develop their own beliefs, values or worldview by raising their own questions in response to concepts taught. Processes and skills of investigation, analysis, evaluation, interpretation and application are developed throughout the KS2 RE curriculum at St Paul’s for learning about religion. An awareness of themselves along with expression, reflection and empathy are developed through the learning from religion strand of the AMV syllabus. These skills enable pupils to build conceptual bridges between their own experiences and some of the central concepts of religion and worldviews.
Throughout the learning journey at St Paul’s, children will be predominantly taught the big concepts, beliefs and values of Christianity each year. Alongside, the religions and worldviews of Judaism, Hinduism, Islam and Humanish will broaden their understanding of the multi-cultural and multi-faith society that we live in today. These religions and worldviews will be learnt about from local, national and global contexts. Within all RE lessons, opportunities for pupils to develop spiritually, morally, socially and culturally will be a key part of RE lessons at St Paul’s. Learning remains inclusive and accessible for all through the use a range of teaching activities and styles including role-play, drama, art, poetry and evidence often collated in RE floor books to capture ‘golden nuggets’ from class based discussions and photos. Learning is also enhanced through outdoor learning opportunities within our extensive school grounds as well as trips and visitors from different practisers of religions and worldviews.
Impact
At St Paul’s, our RE curriculum will give pupils the opportunity to develop their own patterns of belief and behaviour through exploring beliefs and practices and related human experiences. Pupils have the skills to learn effectively. They can plan, research and critically evaluate, using reasoned arguments to support conclusions. They think creatively, making original connections and generating ideas. They consider alternative solutions to problems. They investigate, asking relevant questions, identifying problems, analysis and judging the value of information and ideas, questioning assumptions. They use their imagination to explore possibilities and generate ideas. They try out innovative alternatives, looking for patterns, recognising differences and making generalisations, predicting outcomes and making reasoned decisions. They communicate, interacting with different audiences in a variety of ways using a range of media and they evaluate, developing criteria for judging their work and suggesting refinements and improvements. In terms of assessment, class teachers assess children's understanding in RE through quizzes and reflective pieces of art and writing and this data is analysed to improve the children's learning and outcomes. Progress in RE is reported annually to parents and has a prominent position in the end of year report. Their progress is based on the expected outcomes outlined in the Locally Agreed Syllabus and in Understanding Christianity, which in turn have been developed with guidance produced nationally.
Curriculum
Religious Education Syllabus for Somerset KS2
St Paul's Curriculum Tracker
Progression Documents
Legal Requirements for Religious Education
Religious Education is a statutory subject of the curriculum for all pupils in each year group and ‘should be provided for all registered pupils except those withdrawn at the request of their parents.’ (s 71 SSFA 1998)
Parents have the right to request that their son or daughter be excused from all or part of the RE provided at school.
The syllabus should ‘reflect the fact that the religious traditions in Great Britain are in the main Christian, while taking account of the teaching and practices of the other principal religions represented in Great Britain.’ (s375 (3) Education Act 1996)
Cultural Capital and SMSC
Learning in Religious Education strives to be active, reflective and exciting for all of our learners. Our outdoor surroundings at school are a brilliant place to support children's spiritual development. We enjoy trips to our local church to make connections with our community.
Extra Curricular Opportunities at St Paul's
Advent Trails in Years 3 and 4.
Whole School exploration of the Stations of the Cross at Easter
Diary Dates