R.E.
AIMS
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 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.
INTENT
Through Religious education children learn from religions as well as about religions so that they may be tolerant and respectful citizens of the world Lyon Park enables children to investigate and reflect on some of the most fundamental questions asked by people. At Lyon Park we develop the children’s knowledge and understanding of the major world faiths, and we address the fundamental questions in life. We enable children to develop a sound knowledge of world religions, especially those that are the main faiths of children within our school. Children reflect on what it means to have a faith and to develop their own spiritual knowledge and understanding. The deliberate choice of using Discovery RE as the scheme for planning RE lessons was to ensure that key elements of philosophy for children were embedded within the curriculum so that our children learn from religions as well as about religions so that they may be tolerant and respectful citizens of the world.
IMPLEMENTATION
We use Discovery RE when planning for RE. 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 (on each year groups Medium Term Plans) and short-term (weekly/daily planning). We often make links through other subjects to content related to religious education especially in English, History, Geography and PHSE.
EYFS - Understanding the World: People and Communities (RE)
Children are taught about cultures and beliefs and will learn about celebrations from different religions. They will reflect on similarities and differences between them. Children will gain knowledge and understanding through the use of first hand experiences, non-fiction texts, stories, artefacts, photographs and videos.
In KS1 & KS2 the following will be implemented:
- Teachers will teach one session of RE every week following the guidance from the Discovery RE scheme.
- Each lesson includes a clear learning objective taken from the Discovery RE schemes of work
- Teachers will source key artefacts to make RE learning real for children.
- Teachers will make links to other subjects such as Geography and History when discussing origins of various religions in the world.
- Teachers will differentiate their questioning and activities to ensure provision for all the pupils.
- whole class teaching is adopted and children work in mixed ability groups, independent or in pairs
- where necessary teachers children will record their learning and some examples will be stuck into the class PSHE floor book
Organisation:
- Every classroom will have a ‘Wise Owl’ for reflection and discussion.
- We are well resourced in our school, which enables us to teach all our RE units of work. We keep resources for RE in a central store where there is a box of equipment for each religion as well as a collection of books, videos/DVDs, photopacks and other teaching resources including dolls. There is a large collection of religious artefacts which we use to enrich teaching in RE. We also have a good supply of RE topic books in the tower.
IMPACT
Assessment:
We assess children’s work in RE by making informal judgements as we observe them during lessons and marking the work pupils have completed. Assessment is an integral part of teaching and learning and is a continuous process. These ongoing assessments inform future planning and teaching. Lessons are adapted readily and short term planning evaluated in light of these assessments. Teachers make assessments of children daily through;
- regular marking of work
- analysing errors and picking up on misconceptions
- making observations
- Pupil voice through questionnaires and pupil interviews.
Please see links below for further information.
