Statement of Intent:

Religious education provokes challenging questions about the meaning and purpose of life, beliefs about faith, issues of right and wrong and what it means to be human.

At Goldenhill Primary Academy the RE curriculum aims to give the children in our care knowledge and understanding of the principal religions, these are Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam and Judaism as well as humanist beliefs. RE is taught within a local, national and global context. The integrated topic provision provides further opportunities for the children to learn about other non-religious perspectives such as humanism.

Our academy RE curriculum offers children opportunities for personal reflection and spiritual development.  It considers the influence of religion on individuals, families, communities and cultures.

The academy follows the Stoke-on-Trent Agreed Syllabus that builds on the central aspects of:

•      Learning about Religion

•      Learning from Religion

In Learning about Religion, children learn about different beliefs and teachings, practices and ways of life and how religions express themselves in different ways.

In Learning from Religion children reflect on and consider important questions of identity and belonging (e.g. who and what matters to me?) questions of meaning (e.g. what  do people believe about how life began?) and values and commitments (e.g. who and what do I value?)

Aims and objectives

• To help our children develop respect and sensitivity for all people.
• To help our children understand faith and moral codes to guide them and develop informed opinions.
• To help our children develop an understanding of modern multi-cultural Britain and how this is reflected in their lives and local community.
• To help our children understand more about the importance of religion in today’s world.

Implementation:

Time allocations

There is no expectation that RE is to be delivered within Foundation Stage 1 but in Foundation Stage 2, there is an expectation of a weekly 50-minute session or short sessions implemented throughout continuous provision.  In  Key  Stage 1  and  Key  Stage  2,  RE  is  expected  to  be delivered weekly during a 1 hour session.

Whole Academy Approach to Teaching and Learning of RE

RE is an exciting curriculum subject and we employ a wide range of learning methods in our teaching.

These include:

• visiting local places of worship and receiving visitors from faith communities

• Using art, music, dance and drama
• Children experiencing times of quiet reflection to develop their own thoughts and ideas
• Using story, pictures and photographs
• Using  artefacts  to  help  children  develop  their  understanding  of  religious beliefs and forms of expression
• Discussing religious and philosophical questions giving reasons for their own beliefs and those of others
• Developing  the  use  of  ICT  (particularly  DVDs  and  the  internet)  in  helping children’s awareness of religions and beliefs

Impact:

Assessment, Recording and Reporting

RE is assessed at the end of each unit that has been delivered using the scale of emerging, expected and exceeding against the ‘I can’ statements that have been developed using the Stoke-on-Trent  Agreed  Syllabus.  Throughout the unit, staff gather evidence against these statements to enable them to give a judgement at the end.

RE is a statutory part of the curriculum and follows the locally agreed syllabus.