RE at Friars
WHAT WE BELIEVE AND WHY
We believe that Religious Education has an important part to play in promoting the spiritual, moral, social, cultural and intellectual development of our pupils and in helping them to gain a greater understanding of themselves and a more sympathetic awareness of the needs of others. This enables pupils to be better equipped to cope with the responsibilities and experiences of adult life.
By creating a deep understanding of the importance of faith and spirituality to many people, an awareness that some people have no faith and an understanding of the similarities rather than the differences between different religions, we will promote tolerance and acceptance within our multi-faith society.
INTENT
At Friars, children explore different aspects of religious beliefs and worldviews while comparing, contrasting and making connections between them. RE plays a vital role in promoting the spiritual, moral, social, cultural and intellectual development of our pupils. It helps them to gain a greater understanding of themselves, a more sympathetic awareness of the needs of others and a deeper understanding of the diverse beliefs that make up their community and the wider world.
- We encourage discussion and debate from all children regardless of their beliefs, and we promote respect and tolerance of beliefs of others.
- We encourage children to be inquisitive and tackle challenging questions about the meaning and purpose of life; issues of right and wrong; and what it means to be human.
IMPLEMENTATION
Children are taught the knowledge, skills and attitudes as outlined in the Southwark Agreed Syllabus. It provides a single point of reference encompassing statutory requirements, good practice and recommendations.
- The curriculum for each year group is based on three themes in EYFS and overarching questions from Y1 – Y6. They are as follows:
- EYFS – celebrating special times; stories and what they tell us; aspects of identity and relationships
- Y1 – What does it mean to belong?
- Y2 – Can stories change people?
- Y3 – How are symbols and sayings important in religion?
- Y4 – What is special to me and the people in my community?
- Y5 – How do beliefs influence actions?
- Y6 – How important are the similarities and differences between and within religions?
- British Values are embedded in the RE Curriculum and allow the children to explore the main different religions practiced in the UK and develop tolerance of those of different faiths and beliefs.
- A ‘BIG’ overarching question that underpins and guides the learning
- Topic Web clearly outlines the skills and knowledge that the children will learn within the unit
- Learning walls within classroom include: key vocabulary and key questions; images and artefacts relating to the unit; information that children want to find out;
- Learning Objectives reflect the specific skills and knowledge being learnt and come directly from the SACRE progression of skills
- Skills and knowledge are built upon each year, following a clear progression across the different year groups
- Children are given the opportunity to gain skills and knowledge through a range of approaches. For example: exploration of issues that warrant philosophical or ethical enquiry, storytelling to develop understanding of morals and guided and independent reflection to help them understand what is right and wrong
- Community links and partnerships are utilised to enhance the children’s learning experiences through projects, talks and special trips to places of worship.
- Learning is made memorable and captured using photos, QR coded videos of activities, quotations, learning reflections, QR coded discussions, drawings, diagrams, explanations, drama, various writing tasks, etc.
IMPACT
Children recall important facts related to the different beliefs and religions taught;
- Children develop their opinions regarding the spiritual, moral, social and cultural aspects of the different religions and beliefs in the local, national and global communities
- Children’s progress is assessed on a termly basis using the agreed progression of skills
- Children working at Greater Depth in RE use reasoning within their arguments and to support their viewpoints using their knowledge
- Learning journeys are clear and evident from looking at children’s workbooks
- Pupils’ questionnaire outlines significant learning that has taken place and informs future teaching practice
- Pupils make links to prior learning and identify recurring themes across different religions and beliefs
A progression map of religious knowledge, skills and expression can be accessed here.