Religious Education (R.E)

The Purpose Of Religious Education (R.E)

Our vision for R.E is based on the national guidance issued by the R.E Council in 2013 and the Leeds Syllabus for Religious Education 2015 – 2020.

Religious education contributes dynamically to children and young people’s education in schools by provoking challenging questions about meaning and purpose in life, beliefs about God, ultimate reality, issues of right and wrong and what it means to be human. Our world is enriched by a wide and profound diversity of cultures and beliefs. We as human beings are strengthened and empowered by learning from each other. Engaging and stimulating religious education helps to nurture informed and resilient responses to misunderstanding, stereotyping and division. It offers a place of integrity and security within which difficult or ‘risky’ questions can be tackled within a safe but challenging context. 

In R.E pupils discover, explore and consider different answers to these questions, in local, national and global contexts, through learning about and from religions and other world views. They learn to appraise the value of wisdom from different sources, to develop and express their insights in response, and to agree or disagree respectfully.

Teaching should equip pupils with knowledge and understanding of a range of religions and other world views, enabling them to develop their ideas, values and identities. It should develop in pupils an aptitude for dialogue so that they can participate positively in society with its diverse understanding of life from religious and other world views.

Pupils should gain and deploy the skills needed to understand, interpret and evaluate texts, sources of wisdom and authority and other evidence. They learn to articulate clearly and coherently their personal beliefs, ideas, values and experiences while respecting the right of others to differ. 

R.E Curriculum

In school, the curriculum is based on the Local Agreed Syllabus for Leeds, produced by SACRE for teaching from September 2015.  

The syllabus has three aims for pupils:

1.  To know about and understand a range of religions and

    other world views;

2.  To express ideas and insights about questions of beliefs and meaning;

3.  To investigate and respond to important questions for individuals

    and the wider community.

At Key Stage 1, teaching and learning is focused around Christianity and Islam, alongside understanding of non-religious approaches to life (e.g Humanism).

At Key Stage 2, teaching and learning should is extended to include Christianity, Islam, Judaism and Sikhism, alongside understanding of non-religious approaches to life (e.g Humanism).

Other faiths will be studied alongside the core religions taught in school to  enable pupils to reflect on the diversity of beliefs within our school. Pupils will additionally study Hinduism and Buddhism at secondary level (In Key Stage 3).

To support delivery of the syllabus, we encourage and promote teaching and learning through using ‘Philosophy For Children’ (P4C), also known as a 'Community of Enquiry'. This is a useful way of engaging pupils in their own learning and developing their critical and dialogical skills.

We plan our lessons around the units of work provided to support it. The units covered by each year group are outlined below;

Key Stage One

Christianity, Islam and non-religious approaches

Year 1 - Units of work

1.1 - Why are stories important?

1.2 - Why do we celebrate special occasions?

1.3 – What does it mean to belong to a church or a mosque?

1.4 – Why do we care about people?

Year 2 - Units of work

2.1 - How do Christians and Muslims celebrate new life?

2.2 – How can we make good choices?

2.3 – How and why do people pray?

2.4 – How can we look after our planet?

Key Stage Two

Christianity, Islam and extends to include; 

Judaism and Sikhism and non-religious approaches

Year 3 - Units of work

3.1 – What does it mean to be a Jew?

3.2 – Who can inspire us?

3.3 – How are beliefs expressed through the arts?

3.4 – What do Christians believe about a good life?

Year 4 - Units of work

4.1 - How are important events remembered in ceremonies?

4.2 – What words of wisdom can guide us?

4.3 – What do creation stories tell us about the world?

4.4 – What faiths make up our community?

Year 5 - Units of work

5.1 – Why are some places and journeys special?

5.2 – What do we know about Islam?

5.3 – Should we forgive others?

5.4 - What matters most to believers?

Year 6 - Units of work

6.1 – What does it mean to be a Sikh?

6.2 – How do Christians express their beliefs?

6.3- What is compassion?

6.4 – How does growing up bring responsibility and commitments?

SMSC in Religious Education (R.E )

SMSC stands for; spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT

The Spiritual aspect of SMSC is embedded in our lessons, with pupils often being given opportunity to reflect on how the things they have learnt can affect and influences their own lives.

Pupils’ spiritual development is shown by their:

•  Beliefs, religious or otherwise, which inform their perspective on life 

   and their interest in and respect for different people’s feeling and values

•  Sense of enjoyment and fascination in learning about themselves,

   others and the world around them, including the intangible

•  Use of imagination and creativity in their learning

•  Willingness to reflect on their experiences.

MORAL DEVELOPMENT 

The moral aspect of SMSC asks pupils to consider the moral issues of the topics that are being addressed, such as the role of humans and the environment.

Pupils’ moral development in shown by their:

•  Ability to recognise the difference between right and wrong and their

   readiness to apply this understanding in their own lives

•  Understanding of the consequences of their actions

•  Interest in investigating, and offered reasoned views

   about, moral and ethical issues.

SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

Within Religious Education pupils are given the opportunity to develop their social skills through debate, speaking and listening, group work and using a variety of modern media. We also reflect on issues of community cohesion and the affect religion has on individuals. 

Pupils’ social development is shown by their:

•  Use of a range of social skills in different contexts, including working and 

   socialising with pupils from different religious, ethnic and socio-economic

   backgrounds

•  Willingness to participate in a variety of social settings, cooperating will

   with others and being able to resolve conflicts effectively

•  Interest in and understanding of, the way communities and

   societies function at a variety of levels.

CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT

Religion, Morality and Social skills are underpinned by the culture we live in. Within Religious Studies we look at issues of  how religious beliefs affects the culture we live in. We also review world faiths and show the importance of the influence of culture and religion often go hand in hand throughout the world. 

Pupils’ cultural development is shown by their:

•  Understanding and appreciation of the wide range of cultural influences

   that have shaped their own heritage

•  Willingness to participate in, and respond to, for example, artistic, musical,

   sporting, mathematical, technological, scientific and cultural opportunities

•  Interest in exploring, understanding of, and respect for cultural diversity 

   and the extent to which they understand, accept, respect and celebrate 

   diversity, as shown by their attitudes towards different religious,

   ethnic and socio-economic groups in the local, national 

   and global communities.

Displays around school

Work from RE books from different classes

Information and website links for parents below; 

Judaism - Meet a Jewish Family

A child introduces her home and family and describes some of the

artefacts and traditions of a Jewish family home.

Judaism - An introduction to Shabbat

A family show us how they prepare for Shabbat, or sabbath, as well as telling us

why it is special and different from other times of the week. Starting on Friday

evening and ending on Saturday evening, Shabbat means a day of rest,

so any work needs to be done in advance of the day.

This includes food preparation and cleaning, and it also means

that homework is not allowed.

Judaism - The Story of the Passover

Preparations for the Passover Seder table. Jewish Passover traditions are

described and the story of the Jews enslavement in Egypt, and the ten plagues

during the time of Moses, is told in a short animated film. The significance

of the foods on the Seder Plate is also discussed.

The Sikh's Five K's  

A Sikh girl introduces her family and explains the significance

of each of the five Ks - the five articles of faith that

Khalsa Sikhs wear at all times.

 Islam   Wudu - Washing and preparation for prayer

Muslim children show how they prepare for prayer by washing in a special way.

They explain that this is called Wudu and show how to carry it out. The footage also shows Muslims praying together before meeting with others to pray

at the mosque to celebrate Eid al-Fitr

A Christian Baptism Story

A shawl, needed for an upcoming baptism, is nowhere to be found,

but the expectant family cat may have the answer.

A Christian Baptism

Part 1  

A family is shown preparing food for a baptism celebration, with the narration provided by the baby's older brother. In the church, the vicar explains that when

the baby is baptised, he becomes part of God's family and can listen to stories about Jesus in the Bible. The vicar also explains that baptism is a new beginning and

the sign of the cross shows that the baby is special to God.

A Christian Baptism

Part 2  

Baby Jamie is being baptised in a church. Jamie's older brother explains

that the parents and godparents make a promise to help Jamie grow up to be a Christian. The vicar pours water from the font over Jamie's head.

He says Jamie's full name and makes the sign of the cross.

A candle is lit to symbolise Jamie shining like a light.

The Christian  Parable of the Good Samaritan

The story of the Good Samaritan, as told by Jesus in one of the gospels

of the New Testament. A traveller is beaten up and robbed, and left for dead

along the road. A priest comes by, but deliberately avoids the man.

A lawyer also comes by but he too avoids the injured.

Finally, a Samaritan comes by, and he helps the injured man,

in an act of mercy and compassion.

Humanism 

Definition of a Humanist