Religious Education

Context

Religious Education is unique in the school curriculum in that it is neither a core subject nor a foundation subject but the 1988 Education Act states that ‘Religious Education has equal standing in relation to core subjects of the National Curriculum in that it is compulsory for all registered pupils’.

Religious Education is taught in our school because it makes:
“a major contribution to the education of children and young people. At its best, it is intellectually challenging and personally enriching. It helps young people develop beliefs and values, and promotes the virtues of respect and empathy, which are important in our diverse society. It fosters civilised debate and reasoned argument and helps pupils to understand the place of religion and belief in the modern world”. (RE: realising the potential, Ofsted 2013).

This fits with our school mission statement of

‘LPS strives to be an inclusive community, who learn and grow together’ and our

LPS school values of:

L-Love learning,

P-Pride in all we do

S-Safety and respect for all.

These values are embedded within our curriculum and in all aspects of school life.
Leasowe Primary School is a community school. We deliver RE in line with the Locally Agreed Syllabus for Wirral. We use the Discovery RE programme as our scheme of work and adapt as necessary.

RE at LPS is informed by current national guidance:
• RE in English Schools: Non-statutory guidance 2010
(https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/190260/
DCSF-00114-2010.pdf)

• RE : realising the potential Ofsted 2013 (www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/religious-education-
realising-potential)

• A Curriculum Framework for RE in England, REC 2013
(http://resubjectreview.recouncil.org.uk/re-review-report)

Intent

Discovery RE meets the requirements of our locally agreed syllabus and is aligned to the non-statutory guidance described above.

By following Discovery RE at Leasowe Primary School we intend that Religious Education will: -
• adopt an enquiry- based approach as recommended by Ofsted, beginning with the children’s own life experience before moving into learning about and from religion.
• provoke challenging questions about the meaning and purpose of life, beliefs, the self, and issues of right and wrong, commitment and belonging. It develops pupils’ knowledge and understanding of Christianity, other principal religions, and religious traditions that examine these questions, fostering personal reflection and spiritual development.
• encourage 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.
• enable pupils to build their sense of identity and belonging, which helps them flourish within their communities and as citizens in a diverse society.• teach pupils to develop respect for others, including people with different faiths and beliefs, and helps to challenge prejudice.
• prompt pupils to consider their responsibilities to themselves and to others, and to explore how they might contribute to their communities and to wider society. It encourages empathy, generosity and compassion.
• develop a sense of awe, wonder and mystery.
• nurture children’s own spiritual development.

Implementation

At Leasowe Primary School we follow the locally agreed syllabus for Wirral using Discovery RE. Discovery RE is an enquiry-based scheme of work, covering the 6 principal world faiths in a progressive way from F1 to Year 6. In the early years, the learning is closely matched to Development Matters to contribute meaningfully to the holistic development of our pupils. Throughout all the enquiries, the children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural education is carefully considered.

Each enquiry lasts for half a term and begins with a “big” question such as “What is the best way for a Christian/Jew/Muslim etc. to show commitment to God?” The children then start discussing the theme of the enquiry (in this case, commitment) from their own experience. What have they shown commitment to? Brownies? Cubs? Their sporting teams? Playing an instrument?
Only when the children fully understand the concept they are considering, do they then move on to investigating what the people following the studied religion believe about it. They will spend approximately 3 lessons on this, learning in a variety of ways, so they can adapt their responses and come to a measured conclusion. In week 5 they will complete an activity which can assess their learning, by answering their “big” question. The assessment activities are child friendly and can be
answered in a variety of ways, as long as the child can justify their view with the knowledge they have gained throughout the enquiry. This demonstrates the level of critical thinking that the children can apply – a valuable skill for them throughout the school curriculum.

The final week in every enquiry gives the children time to reflect on what they have learnt about the concept and apply to it their own lives, thus allowing them to form their own beliefs and identity.
For example, learning that Sikhs share their food with all who attend has taught me ..... about sharing that I would like to take forward with me. These lessons are often very creative and children have opportunities to make items to express themselves in ways other than just writing.

Impact

At Leasowe Primary School we endeavour to support all pupils to make better than expected progress and to raise their confidence and self-esteem. We see assessment as central to this. This includes teacher marking work and feedback, observations and group work as well as pupil self-assessment.

Assessment in Discovery RE is both formative and summative. Clear over-arching learning objectives and the key- coloured boxes within the planning allow the teacher to be mindful of the assessment elements within that step that can formatively help them pitch and plan subsequent lessons, and the
content which can contribute to the overall summative assessment completed in Step 3 and when the unit is completed.

The RE leader monitors delivery of the programme and the overall impact of RE through observation and discussion with teaching staff, as well as discussions with children and scrutiny of their written work to ensure consistent and coherent curriculum provision.

Evaluation of the programme’s effectiveness is conducted based on:
• Pupil and teacher evaluation of the content and learning processes
• Staff meetings to review and share experience
• Monitoring of assessment to ensure progression throughout the school.

If you require any further information, please contact the subject co-ordinator

Mrs L Saunders via email at saundersl@leasowe.wirral.sch.uk