Religious Education
Intent
At South Failsworth Primary School we believe that it is vital for all our pupils to learn from and about religion so that they can understand the world around them and importantly their community. We believe that Religious Education (RE) has a significant role for the development of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. The principal aim of RE is to explore what people believe and what difference this makes to how they live, so that pupils can gain the knowledge, understanding and skills needed to handle questions raised by religion and belief, reflecting on their own ideas and ways of living. RE promotes respect and open-mindedness towards others with different faiths and beliefs and encourages pupils to develop their sense of identity and belonging through self-awareness and reflection. Our intent is that our RE curriculum will prepare our pupils for adult life as lifelong learners and enable them to make positive contributions to their community.
Implementation
RE is a curriculum subject required under the Education Reform Acts 1988, 1996. However, unlike subjects of the National Curriculum, RE is taught in accordance with the Oldham Locally Agreed Syllabus (Oldham SACRE). This syllabus has its own programme of study and attainment target level descriptions. These are;
- Thinking
- Enquiry
- Creativity
- Response
The Oldham Religious Education Agreed Syllabus (2020-2025).
The number of world religions covered by our RE curriculum are reflective of the religions practised in Oldham and the wider Greater Manchester community. These are Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Judaism with learning about non-religious perspectives including Humanism covered in upper key stage 2. The teaching and learning approach provided by the RE curriculum has three core elements, which are woven together to provide breadth and balance within teaching and learning about religions and beliefs, underpinning the aims of RE. These are: making sense of belief, understanding the impact and making connections. Throughout the curriculum there is a balance of units of work that focus on studying one religion at a time (‘systematic’ units), and also including ‘thematic’ units, which build on learning by comparing the religions, beliefs and practices studied.
The syllabus provides an enquiry led approach to RE through weekly RE lessons and theme days or afternoons. The curriculum will be implemented through teachers following the syllabus and suggested planning documents which will be further adapted by class teachers to ensure the RE lessons and units of work they deliver meet the needs of all individuals within their classes.
Our RE curriculum is enhanced further with trips to places of worship in our local area, religious visitors and the use of artefacts and engaging resources to stimulate questions, discussion and understanding.
Impact
Our RE Curriculum will prepare our pupils for the next steps in their education and life journey including preparing them further to be lifelong learners and supportive and inclusive members of their community. Our pupils enjoy learning about other religions and why people choose, or choose not to follow a religion. Through their RE learning, the children are able to make links and connections between their own lives and those of others in their community and in the wider world. Through RE our children are developing an understanding and a respect of other people’s cultures and ways of life, which they are then able to communicate to the wider community. RE offers our children the means by which to understand how other people choose to live and to understand why they choose to live in that way. As such, RE is invaluable in an ever changing and shrinking world.
The RE lead is responsible for monitoring the RE curriculum though lesson observations, book scrutiny and pupil interviews to establish the impact of our curriculum on the children’s learning.