The Intent, Implementation and Impact of our Curriculum – R.E.
INTENT
At Seven Stars Primary School, we believe that it is important for all our pupils to learn from and about religion, so that they can understand the world around them.
The aim of Religious Education in our school is
- to help children to acquire and develop knowledge and understanding of Christianity and the other principal religions represented in Great Britain;
- to appreciate the way that religious beliefs shape life and behaviour, develop the ability to make reasoned and informed judgements about religious and moral issues and enhance their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.
Religious Education is taught throughout the school in such a way as to reflect the overall aims, values, and philosophy of the school and links very strongly to our Open Doors Curriculum which seeks to provide all pupils access to learning opportunities and skills for life by opening doors to five key areas:
INTENT
To ‘open doors’ for all our pupils to grow in their knowledge and understanding of religious beliefs, practices and traditions, which have an influence on individuals, communities and cultures, enabling our pupils to explore questions related to spiritual development and the meaning and purpose of life.
Door 1 (Key Skills)
Develop reading and comprehension skills when reading for information about other Faiths and beliefs, and interacting with key religious texts
Write reports, recounts, poems, letters or diaries in response to religious beliefs, narratives and accounts
Door 2 (The world)
Show respect for all cultures, beliefs and traditions and, in doing so, to promote positive attitudes towards other people.
Enable children to understand their community and to value the lived experience of others (including through visits to places of worship or inviting visitors into school)
Help children grow into positive citizens taking their example from people of faith or no faith and identifying how their faith position affects how they relate to the world.
Door 3 (Healthy Lives)
Help our children to build positive relationships with other people from other cultures, faiths and traditions through understanding and dialogue
Encourage children to respect the ideas, attitudes, values, beliefs, traditions and feelings of others.
Explore what each religion believes about a healthy lifestyle.
Door 4 (Creativity)
Explore religious expressions of faith through the arts (e.g. paintings, music, sculptures, poetry) and identify how religious beliefs have been expressed over the ages (e.g. Handel’s Messiah, Islamic art, Hindu temples & architecture)
Develop children’s ability to express their own beliefs creatively
Door 5 (Communication and Language)
Expand children’s vocabulary in talking about faith traditions ensuring they have increasingly sophisticated words to express their ideas and beliefs with increasing effect
Develop their ability to listen to others (sharing experience and valuing each other’s beliefs, opinions and ideas)
Provide forums for healthy and respectful debate around key topics of belief
RE plays an important role, along with all other curriculum areas, particularly PSHCE, in promoting social awareness and understanding in our children. We encourage our pupils to ask questions about the world and to reflect on their own beliefs, values and experiences. We include and promote British values, ensuring that children are aware of their rights and responsibilities as UK citizens.
Our curriculum is designed to encourage creativity, imagination, enquiry, debate, discussion and independence.
IMPLEMENTATION
We use the Lancashire Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education and are currently in the process of reviewing and adapting our RE provision and curriculum to suit the needs of the pupils in our school
At Seven Stars, it has been agreed that having taken into account the requirements and guidelines presented in the Agreed Syllabus, the following religions have been selected for study:
- Christianity
- Islam
- Judaism
- Hinduism
- Buddhism
- Sikhism
From the syllabus it is required that:-
In the Early Years Foundation Stage the learning outcomes are referenced to Christianity and as appropriate to a range of other beliefs and cultures
- KS1 - Christianity is studied (and one other principal religion in some depth)
- KS2 – Christianity is studied (and two other principal religions in some depth)
There are no presumptions made as to the religious backgrounds and beliefs and values of the children and the staff. We value the religious background of all members of the school community and hope that this will encourage individuals to share their own experiences with others freely. All religions and their communities are treated with respect and sensitivity and we value the links, which are, and can be made between home, school, and a faith community.
Members of Leyland Baptist Church play an active role in supporting our children and helping our children
We acknowledge that each religion studied can contribute to the education of all our pupils. We promote teaching in Religious Education that stresses open enquiry and first-hand experiences wherever possible for both staff and children.
IMPACT
The children at Seven Stars Primary enjoy learning about other religions and why people choose, or choose not to follow a religion. Through their R.E. learning, the children are able to make links between their own lives and those of others in their community and in the wider world, developing an understanding of other people’s cultures and ways of life. As such, R.E. is invaluable in an ever changing and shrinking world.
RE