Religious Education
Religious Education has a significant role for the development of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.
It promotes respect and open-mindedness towards others with different faiths and beliefs, and its study encourages pupils to develop their sense of identity and belonging through self-awareness and reflection.
The principal aim of RE is to engage pupils in an enquiry approach where they can develop an understanding and appreciation for the expression of beliefs, cultural practices and influence of principal religions and worldviews in the local, national and wider global community.
The key aims for religious education are to help our children to:
- learn about and to have an understanding of Christianity, other principal religions and worldviews, learning to see these through the lenses of Theology, Philosophy and Social Sciences
- develop an understanding of the influence of beliefs, values and traditions on individuals, communities, societies and cultures
- express ideas and insights about the nature, significance and impact of religion and worldviews
- develop the ability to make reasoned and informed judgments about religious and moral issues, with reference to the principal religions represented in Great Britain
- enhance their spiritual, moral, cultural and social development by:
– developing awareness of how religious teaching and worldviews can relate to human experiences
– reflect on their own beliefs, values and experiences in light of what they have learned
- develop respect for other people’s right to hold different beliefs
- evelop a positive attitude towards living in a society of diverse religions.
From the 2022 SACRE Agreed Syllabus Foreword:
“The inclusion of worldviews and the connecting lenses of Theology, Philosophy and Social Sciences immediately present those all-important bridges from RE knowledge and curriculum content to relevant and deeper understanding of what faith and practice means, not only to the believer but to the learner, regardless of their personal stance.
Religious literacy for everyone is at the heart of the matter… never has it been more relevant to encourage learners to consider and question, relating the views of believers to their own experiences when it comes to recent challenges…”
What do we mean by worldviews?
A worldview is a person’s way of understanding, experiencing and responding to the world. It can be described as a philosophy of life or an approach to life. This includes how a person understands the nature of reality and their own place in the world. A person’s worldview is likely to influence and be influenced by their beliefs, values, behaviours, experiences, identities and commitments.
Religions are in themselves worldviews.
The RE curriculum
Religious Education is unique in the school curriculum in that it is neither a core nor a foundation subject, but it is a statutory requirement that RE is taught in all primary schools.
It is the intent of Hedon Primary that Religious Education promotes an enquiry-based approach through the implementation of the Hull SACRE Agreed Syllabus 2022, which covers Key Stage 1 and 2, and which can be used to contribute to the learning experiences of the early learning goals within the Foundation Stage.
How we do this
The learning objectives of the RE Agreed Syllabus are achieved through the following ways:
- handling artefacts
- exploring sacred texts
- using imaginative play or drama to express feelings and ideas
- responding to images, games, stories, art, music and dance
- meeting visitors from local religious communities
- making visits to religious places of worship where possible, and where not, making use of videos and the internet
- taking part in whole school events (Christmas carol service, Easter assemblies, multi-faith days, Harvest Festival, school performances)
- participating in moments of quiet reflection
- participating in assemblies
- using ICT to further explore religion and belief globally
- comparing religions and worldviews through discussion
- debating and communicating religious belief, world views and philosophical ideas (using Philosophy for Children), and answering and asking ultimate questions posed by these.
Early Years Foundation Stage
Pupils are introduced to Christianity as the ‘heritage religion’ and the one that most influences school and community life. They are taught about traditions, beliefs and worldviews outside of their own experiences through exploring other cultures and practices in the wider world. Where pertinent, the different religious faiths and experiences and celebrations of classmates are drawn upon.
What do we learn
The RE curriculum is a progression model: there are statutory End of Key Stage Expectations which describe the knowledge, skills and understanding for Key Stages 1 and 2 and are the key elements of the syllabus.
Areas of Understanding
These statements support the assessment of attainment and progression, enabling the teacher to build the next stage of a pupil’s learning journey. Pupils will deepen their knowledge and understanding of the core concepts, beliefs and practices of the religions and other worldviews studied.Religious Education also helps children to develop positive attitudes towards self, others, society and the world.
Content and approach
In line with the legal requirements and the 2022 SACRE Agreed Syllabus, more time is spent on Christianity than on any other religion or worldview, “to reflect the fact that the religious traditions in Great Britain are in the main Christian” (Education Act 1988).
Principal religions represented in Great Britain are usually regarded as: Buddhism, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism and Sikhism.
Other religions and non-religious worldviews may include: the Baha’i faith, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Rastafarians, Pagans, Hare Krishnas, African churches, Humanists and Atheists.
Foundation Stage
Foundation stage must have the opportunities to learn about Christianity and other religions represented in the class. If no other principal religion is represented, then at least one other religion should be explored. They celebrate a range of different festivals throughout the year and build on topic work as appropriate.
Key Stage One
In KS1, Christianity and one other principal religion is taught (Judaism), plus one other religion or worldview.
Key Stage Two
In KS2, Christianity and two other principal religions (Islam and Sikhism) should be explored in some depth, plus other religions and non-religious worldviews.
The primary purpose of RE is to contribute to a wider educational purpose. With the 2022 SACRE syllabus, it has been decided that the focus is on three, mutually supportive disciplines: Theology, Philosophy and Social Sciences. These three disciplines help RE to be seen from different perspectives, giving a balanced approach to teaching and learning. They also help to structure the learning and differentiates RE from PSHCE, giving academic rigour to the study of religion and worldviews.
Religious Literacy
Religious Literacy is a combination of the three disciplines (or lenses), working in a continuous loop to explore the phenomena of religion.
Theology: Believing; asking questions about the concept and nature of a god, where beliefs come from and sources of authority and influence
Social Sciences: Living; asking questions about the influence of religions and beliefs on individuals, communities, culture; how people live their lives
Philosophy: Thinking; asking questions about morality and ethics, the nature of reality and what it means to be human
Curriculum impact
By the end of each key stage, pupils are expected to know, understand and apply skills related to the two attainment targets and learning themes embedded with the Hull SACRE Agreed Syllabus. Assessment criteria has been developed in line with the end of key stage learning outcomes, to enable teachers to assess the progress of the children as they move through the key stages. Termly summative assessments are used to determine the children’s understanding and to inform the HLTA’s/teacher’s planning and further differentiated support for pupils.
This data is reviewed on a termly basis by the subject leader, who also carries out learning walks, book scrutinies and lesson observations. The impact of our RE curriculum is also sought directly from the pupils: surveys and questionnaires are used to gather pupil voice on this subject. This information is used to further develop the RE curriculum.
Hedon Primary School is proud to have been awarded the RE Quality Mark bronze award, and the development of the RE curriculum continues to be focused on maintaining and expanding the RE learning experience for our pupils.
Timetabling
Children have weekly lessons in RE throughout their school journey, aiming for an hour of RE learning in KS2. Children in EYFS will experience religious events and learning as appropriate within their early learning goals. Lessons are timetabled in KS1, aiming for at least 40 minutes per week. This is supplemented throughout the week by other opportunities for using RE or for making links with the subject through Literacy and topic work.
How to help at home
Here are some suggestions for ways you can help your child.
- Take your child to a place of worship
Take your child to a place of worship. Many places have open days, and your local church will be open for so many hours each week, in addition to the scheduled services.
- Celebrate religious holidays
You may have no religious faith yourself, but national holidays such as Christmas and Easter, for example, are opportunities for your child to explore the religious significance of these events.
- Cook!
Familiarise your child with the significance of certain foods by having him or her help you prepare some traditional food, such as pancakes or hard-boiled eggs.
- Listen to Christmas carols
Do you have a Spotify account or Alexa? Download some carols to listen to while at home or in the car. Listen for the story each carol is telling.
- Puzzles
You can download and print dozens of free RE crosswords and word searches for your child. He or she will have fun playing, while simultaneously learning key religious vocabulary. Keep some in the car for long journeys.
- Memory games
Create some RE flashcards of faith believers and their places of worship (using Google images), and place them face down on a table. Your child will turn over two cards. If the believer and place of worship match, your child will turn over two more cards. The point of the game is to match all of the cards from memory.
NB This is key knowledge that all children need to acquire to meet the end of KS1 learning objectives.
- Colouring books
Purchase an RE colouring book from Amazon. These colouring books will spark your child’s creativity, while helping him or her learn different words from various themes.
- Read Bible stories/stories from other world religions
There are lots of Bible story books, or download faith stories from the internet. This can be a fun and easy way to explore the faith stories of other world religions. Get your child to read them to a younger sibling; this can then be recorded in their reading journal.
- Hangman
Play using key religious vocabulary.
- Make use of holidays!
As well as having fun in the sunshine, visit a local place of worship, especially if you are abroad. Compare the places of worship with our own CoE church, St Augustine’s. These places of worship are often lovely and cool inside!
Further information
Further information
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