This document should be read alongside the school British Values Policy
The importance of religious education in the curriculum
Religious education provokes challenging questions about the meaning and purpose of life, beliefs about God, issues of right and wrong and what it means to be human. RE offers children opportunities for personal reflection and spiritual development. It considers the influence of religion on individuals, families, communities and cultures.
We aim to develop children’s knowledge and understanding of Christianity (which is taught throughout each key stage) and other principal world religions.
Children both learn ABOUT religion and learn FROM religion. When learning about religion children learn about different beliefs and teachings, practices and ways of life and how religions express themselves in different ways. When learning from religion children reflect on and consider important questions of identity and belonging (e.g. who and what matters to me?) questions of meaning and values and commitments (e.g. who and what do I value?)
Key Skills in RE
We seek to develop children’s skills in investigation/enquiry, communication, interpretation, analysis and evaluation. These are important skills for children to develop. These include:
Key Attitudes in RE
Through RE we seek to promote attitudes such as self-esteem (so that every child feels valued and significant), respect (including being sensitive to the beliefs, feelings and values of others), open-mindedness (being willing to learn and gain new understanding) and appreciation and wonder (developing children’s imagination and curiosity).
Expectation in RE
By the end of Key Stage 1 it is expected that most children will be able to use religious words to identify some features of religion and its importance for some people. They will show awareness of similarities in religions and can identify how religion is expressed in different ways. They will ask and respond sensitively to questions about their own and others experiences and feelings. They will recognise their own values and those of others and will become aware that some questions cause people to wonder and are difficult to answer.
By the end of Key Stage 2 it is expected that most children will be able to describe both similarities and differences within and between religions. They will make links between different aspects of religions and will be able to describe the impact of religion on peoples’ lives. They will suggest answers to questions of identity and meaning. They will apply their ideas to their own and those of others. They will also be able to describe what inspires and influences themselves and others.
Approaches to teaching and learning in RE
At The White House School we employ a variety of teaching methods. These include:-
Assessment and Recording
In RE we provide twice yearly reports based on the assessment of children’s learning. Reports provided a brief summary of the work covered, a summary of the standards achieved and how the child can improve their learning. We also recognise that some of the most important learning in RE (e.g. how RE contributes to spiritual development) cannot be formally assessed.
Rights of withdrawal
We believe that RE is an important subject in children’s learning. We recognise, however, the legal right of parents to withdraw their children from all or any part of RE on the grounds of conscience. We encourage parents to contact the Headteacher if they have any concerns about RE provision and practice at the school.
The contribution of RE to the wider curriculum
While RE has its own distinctive subject matter it does make an important contribution to other aspects of children’s learning:
RE contributes to children’s spiritual development by:-
RE contributes to children’s moral development by:-
RE contributes to children’s social development by:-
RE contributes to children’s cultural development by:-
RE and the use of language
RE can also make an important contribution to children’s use of language by enabling them to:-
RE and the use of ICT
RE can make an important contribution to children’s use of ICT by:-
Conclusion
In essence we are aiming to help our children develop respect and sensitivity for all people and to understand more about the importance of religion in today’s world.
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