Religious Education
Intent
At Alexander Hosea, we follow the South Gloucestershire Agreed RE Syllabus to explore how individuals and communities make meaning and sense of their lives through the major religions and world views, encouraging children to respect, value and reflect upon other people’s points of view.
RE provokes challenging questions about the ultimate meaning and purpose of life, belief about God, the self, issues of right and wrong and what it means to be human. The subject helps children to develop skills such as empathy, analysis and evaluation. It promotes curiosity, fairness and mutual respect, enabling pupils to know about, understand and respond to the important and ultimate questions of life.
We aim to broaden children’s understanding of diversity within Britain and the world beyond. Where possible, learning links are made with the wider project and visitors from different faiths are welcomed to enrich the children’s wider religious picture. School trips to places of worship are used to enhance learning further. Children are given the freedom to think for themselves and make their own decisions about whether to follow a faith, or none in their own time. Alongside the following religions we make space for non-religious world views, such as humanism, as represented in the community.
We learn about the beliefs of: EYFS – Christians (plus celebrations and stories from other faiths); KS1 - Christians and Muslims; KS2 - Christians, Muslim, Hindu, Jewish people and Humanism.
Implementation
At Alexander Hosea we use South Gloucestershire RE Agreed Syllabus 2022 as the basis for our RE offer. This is a scheme of work that that is planned by RE specialists with clear progression, high quality resources and subject knowledge support. From this, each year group delivers 3 units across the year – with a variety of foci and providing a range of experiences in:
- Believing: Religious beliefs, teachings, sources; questions about meaning, purpose and truth.
- Expressing: Religious and spiritual forms of expression; questions about identity and diversity.
- Living: Religious practices and ways of living; questions about values and commitments.
RE Yearly Overview 2022-23
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|
Autumn |
Spring |
Summer |
|
Reception |
Which stories are special and why? (B) |
Which times are special and why? (E) |
What is special about our world? (L) |
|
Year 1 |
Who is a Christian and what do they believe? (B) |
How and why do we celebrate special and sacred times? (E) |
What does it mean to belong to a faith community? (L) |
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Year 2 |
How should we care for others and the world and why does it matter? (L) |
Who is a Muslim and what do they believe? (B) |
What makes some places sacred? (E) |
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Year 3 |
What does it mean to be a Christian in Britain today? (L) |
Why are festivals important to religious communities? (E) |
What do different people believe about God? (B)
Who is Jewish and what do they believe? (B) |
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Year 4 |
What does it mean to be a Hindu in Britain today? (L) |
Wy do some people think that live is a journey and what significant experiences mark this? (E) |
Why is Jesus inspiring to some people? (B) |
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Year 5 |
Why do some people believe that God exists? (B) |
What does it mean to be a Muslim in Britain today? (L) |
If God is everywhere, why go to a place of worship? (E) |
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Year 6 |
Green religion: How and why should religious communities do more to care for the Earth? (L) |
What do religions and world views say when live gets hard? (B) |
What can be done to reduce racism? Can religion help? (E) |
Lessons are delivered by teachers following the planning from RE Today which is linked directly to the South Glos RE Syllabus. Teachers adapt planning where necessary to make lessons inclusive and engaging for their classes.
As well as using the RE Agreed Syllabus, teachers plan wider RE experiences, including:
- Harvest, remembrance and Christmas services for parents at Holy Trinity Church, Wickwar.
- Christmas performances to parents R- Y6
- Interfaith Day – whole school through local diocese.
- Visitors from faith communities.
- School trips to places of worship
- Participation in Clifton Cathedral Christmas carol concert – Y5/6.
- Assemblies by Rev Russell from Holy Trinity Church and Rev Avent from Wickwar Congregational Church (CRY charity).
Staff professional development is supported through staff meetings and guidance from HIVE leader in the Cotswold Alliance Hub and through the local authority RE network.
Impact
Pupils have a rich curriculum offer to support their development of a broad range of values and beliefs. They are supported to be curious, thoughtful learners who, whilst being able to ask meaningful questions, are respectful of the range of religious and world views held by others.
Teachers have reported that their classes are responding well to the new 2022 RE syllabus using the RE today planning to support their teaching. During lessons pupils engage well in discussions related to RE teaching and their work reflects this.
Teachers are able to use the RE curriculum maps to monitor progress of individuals and ensure understanding and skills are challenging for all learners.