Religious Education
Intent:
At Goldsmith, we are theologists and philosophers...
At Goldsmith, we endeavour that all children will become aware of a multitude of faiths by exploration and enquiry. They will be compassionate, respectful and open-minded towards others and their beliefs. This will enable their transition into the wider world to be tolerant and respectful of people from different backgrounds and faiths.
Implementation:
What is our curriculum?
We teach RE as a whole school approach by using Discovery RE, which ensures pupils are exposed to a wide variety of religions and religious beliefs through different themes. For example, pupils may learn about Christianity, Islam and Hinduism in the same unit on “special places.” There are 6 units to be taught in each year group. As a leadership team, a yearly overview has been created, which maps out the religions and themes that each year group will teach and explore. This is supplemented by our Inter-Faith Day in the summer term. Where pupils will experience each of the major world religions. Discovery RE is an engaging, inquiry based scheme which ensures Chrisitanity is taught in every year group and the children explore a variety of other faiths such as Hinduism, Sikhism and Judaism. There are additional religions including Baháʼí and Humanism that we can incorporate into the learning.
When is it taught?
RE is taught once weekly for an hour in each Key Stage. There is also an Inter Faith Day planned for each academic year to allow the children to enquire about multiple faiths that they may not have heard of or are learning about in that particular year group.
How is it taught?
RE is taught by the class teacher or cover staff. It should be a practical, engaging lesson that gives children the opportunity to explore, enquire and gain knowledge about the religions they are learning about. The lessons do not require a PowerPoint (teacher discretion) and many resources can be found in the Discovery RE handbook.
How is it recorded?
There is an expectation that both RE displays (KS1-outside Pastoral Office. KS2 - outside of 4a) will be updated half termly with evidence of the learning that has been taking place in each year group (can be taken from the Class Journals). There should also be 2 pieces of evidence each half term in the Class Journals using the Religious Education template.
Impact:
How is impact measured?
As children progress through school, with our spiral curriculum, they will be able to use prior knowledge to gain a deeper understanding of world religions. Children will be able to discuss similarities and differences between religions and be tolerant of different beliefs.
How do we know children have made progress?
Children will be able to talk confidently about the religion they are learning, recalling key facts such as festivals, gods and places of worship. They will produce work that uses facts taught including those achieved with support.
How do we challenge and support lack of progress?
As children progress through school, with our spiral curriculum, they will be able to use prior knowledge to gain a deeper understanding of world religions. Children will be able to discuss similarities and differences between religions and be tolerant of different beliefs.
How are we inclusive?
- Learning is scaffolded and support is given to ensure that learning is accessible to all learners. Word banks are available to support pupils in their learning and modeled writing can serve as a prompt to guide pupils.
- EAL learners are given extra support to develop vocabulary, sentence structure and key skills.
- There is high challenge for all pupils and all pupils have the opportunity to move on in their learning and access the learning at the highest possible expectation. Challenges and tasks which require application and higher level skills are provided in all lessons.