At Deal Parochial C of E Primary our aspiration is that every child should be a: successful learner, confident individual, responsible citizen and an effective contributor to society and at work.
Religious Education seeks to make a major contribution to the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils by helping them to acquire the knowledge and understanding of Christianity and the other major religions represented in Britain. It also helps them to develop their own beliefs and values.
R.E plays a very important part in our broad, balanced and coherent curriculum to which all pupils are entitled at Deal Parochial School. Through using a variety of teaching techniques such as drama, art, discussion, use of artefacts, stories, pictures, periods of stillness and reflection, pupils have opportunities to learn both about religion and from religion. Our working walls show the journey of learning throughout a whole unit of work and enable pupils to interact and respond to key questions, ideas and beliefs. Pupil responses are either recorded on post it-notes, in thought bubbles or through illustrations.
We follow the Understanding Christianity which aims to see pupils leave school with a coherent understanding of Christian belief and practice. Pupils explore the significant theological concepts within Christianity as part of developing their wider religious, theological and cultural literacy.
We also learn about other world faiths using the Kent Syllabus covering the Jewish, Hindu, Sikh and Muslim faiths.
Intention
RE in our school will:
Our intent is that our curriculum is ambitious for all pupils. We want to develop the pupils in developing their understanding of religion and belief as a contribution to their understanding of the world and their own experience within it.
As a school, we intend that Religious Education will adopt an enquiry- based, beginning with the children’s own life experience before moving into learning about and from religion.
Our curriculum:
- Provokes challenging questions about the meaning and purpose of life, beliefs, the self, and issues of right and wrong, commitment and belonging.
- Develops pupils’ knowledge and understanding of Christianity, other principal religions, and religious traditions that examine these questions, fostering personal reflection and spiritual development.
- Encourages pupils to explore their own beliefs (religious or non-religious), in the light of what they learn, as they examine issues of religious belief and faith and how these impact on personal, institutional and social ethics; and to express their responses.
- Enables pupils to build their sense of identity and belonging, which helps them flourish within their communities and as citizens in a diverse society.
- Teaches pupils to develop respect for others, including people with different faiths and beliefs, and helps to challenge prejudice.
- Prompts pupils to consider their responsibilities to themselves and to others, and to explore how they might contribute to their communities and to wider society.
- Encourages empathy, generosity and compassion.
- Develops a sense of awe, wonder and mystery.
- Nurtures each child’s own spiritual development.
Our curriculum is designed to encourage creativity, imagination, enquiry, debate, discussion and independence
- To develop pupil’s abilities to connect, critically reflect upon, evaluate and apply their learning to their growing understanding of religion and belief of themselves, the world and human experience.
Implementation
We will do this by:
We use the Understanding Christianity resource to teach Christianity and the Kent Agreed Syllabus to teach other world faiths. It is coherently planned and sequenced including a balanced mixture of Christianity (66%%) and other world religions (Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism and Judaism). We have built into the curriculum sticky learning pedagogy, which ensures that the skills and knowledge delivered through the spiral curriculum learning is firmly embedded and built on as children revisit ideas, concepts and religions.
Our RE curriculum is successfully adapted, designed and developed for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities by the teacher as necessary. It is a curriculum that is broad, balanced and inclusive for all pupils.
RE is taught based around The Big Story and big questions, in accordance with Understanding Christianity and supplemented by the Kent Approved
Kent Agreed Scheme:
- Islam
- Judaism
- Hindu faith
- Sikhi faith
The teaching of Religious Education makes a distinctive contribution to the school curriculum as it allows all pupils to explore, question, understand and express their own response to spiritual and religious approaches to life.
Our Religious Education curriculum provides high quality teaching and learning, which in turn enriches the children’s learning experiences.
The curriculum is enhanced with visits to places of worship and from people of world faiths.
Impact
The result of this is:
The children enjoy learning about Christianity, other religions and why people choose to follow a religion and they can reflect on what they are learning in a religiously literate. Pupils engagement is high
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.
Through R.E. our children are developing an understanding of Christianity, other people’s cultures and ways of life and worship, which they are then able to communicate to the wider community.
As a result, children show high levels of self-awareness and model respect and empathy for others.
Pupils will use specific skills and vocabulary taught in lessons across other aspects of the school day and school life.
Children will be able to question
Through discussion and feedback, children will talk enthusiastically about their R.E. lessons and other faith days.
Long Term Overview:
