Religious Education

In religious education (RE), pupils enter into a rich discussion about the religious and non-religious traditions that have shaped Great Britain and the world. RE enables pupils to take their place within a diverse multi-religious and multi-secular society. At its best, it is intellectually challenging and personally enriching. It affords pupils both the opportunity to see the religion and non-religion in the world, and the opportunity to make sense of their own place in that world.

Religious education provokes challenging questions about the ultimate meaning and purpose of life, beliefs about God, the self and the nature of reality, issues of right and wrong, and what it means to be human. It can develop pupils’ knowledge and understanding of Christianity, of other principal religions, other religious traditions and worldviews that offer answers to questions such as these.

In today’s current climate it is very important to study RE allowing pupils to express their views within the subject. It builds on civic responsibility allowing pupils to appreciate that they can make a difference to the world. It prepares them to be good citizens. This subject allows pupils to participate in society allowing them to express their views in a non-threatening environment and will allow future leaders to grow.

In year 7 the foundations are laid as to what makes a person a believer of a particular faith. In Year 8 the topics are used to further build on issues believers may face. In Year 9, new topics are introduced allowing pupils to express their views, evaluate different viewpoints, and study religious scriptures which together build more knowledge which pupils can apply to their lives within school, within the community – allowing them to play a bigger role in society in the future. Pupils study RS through the posing of key topics as an enquiry. Pupils are equipped to formulate their own answer to the enquiry and be able to justify their stance. Pupils learn religious beliefs and practices that are revisited regularly.

• • Pupils will know and understand the origin and sources of Authority -an exploration into how religion is formed and how it has developed and grown throughout history.
  • How do Religious Believers Show Commitment to Their Faith? (Identity, Worship and Rituals)
  • How do Religious Believers Remember the Past? (Festivals and Pilgrimage)
  • What does it mean to be a Hindu- An introduction into core Hindu beliefs, a Christian – an introduction to the trinity
  • Does it make sense to believe in God- an insight into the reasons and criticisms with believing in God and religion. Including the history and evidence of the existence of God.
  • War, what is it good for? A look at how religion has caused and impacted war throughout History and what religions believe the correct response is to war.
  • Whose world is it anyway? – Investigating the rights of humans and the worlds creatures. Who is responsible for the way the world is run or how people treat the environment they live in? From animal rights to food laws.
  • Where we come from non-religious explanations – the Big Bang, Christian beliefs about the origin of the world, Muslims beliefs about the origin of the world, Hindu beliefs about the origin of the world, Science vs religion
  • Where are we going – What happens when we die?
  • Akhirah in Islam, Hindu belief in samsara, Jesus: crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension, Christian beliefs about resurrection and the afterlife

In religious studies we run several enrichment clubs, competitions and trips to places of religious significance throughout the year. These activities are designed to support the building of pupils’ social and cultural capital and levels of background knowledge in order that they can better access and make sense of the knowledge gained in lessons.

• Religious organisations
• National and local government, including the Civil Service and government agencies, as well as non-governmental organisations (NGOs)
• schools, colleges and universities (for teaching, research and administrative positions)
• charities, voluntary and not-for-profit organisations
• social services and other caring professions
• National Health Service (NHS) in a chaplaincy role

Pupils with SEND are offered a wide, aspirational and ambitious curriculum across all subject areas through the All Stars Succeed strategy which emphasises the importance of Quality First Teaching. Every teacher has been trained on the understanding of pupil needs and implementation of high-impact adaptive strategies to enable pupils with SEND to make excellent progress, such as the use of High 5 strategies (informed by research conducted by the EEF) to create an inclusive environment in their teaching spaces. Moreover, the subject-specific All Stars Succeed charters allow for the implementation of subject-specific support in the classroom to help pupils overcome their barriers.

Collaboration between Learning Support Assistants (LSAs) and classroom practitioners on MS Teams before, during and after a lesson is a pivotal mechanism to ensure there is a coordinated approach towards support for pupils with SEND. This is evidenced with a purple pen in student books.

Star Maps are created in collaboration with the SENCO, class teachers, pupils and parents advising on strategies to help break down any barriers to learning. Strategies include adaptive teaching methods that are specific to a particular need as well as subject-specific adaptive teaching methods for subjects in which a pupil may find additional challenge due to his need. Star Maps are reviewed on a termly basis strategies by teachers, parents and pupils. These meetings are led by members of the senior leadership team. Star Maps support pupils with a variety of needs including, visual impairment, cognition and learning difficulties, physical disabilities, speech, language and communication difficulties, autistic spectrum disorder, dyslexia, and social, emotional and mental health difficulties.

Ancillary aids and assistive technologies are also utilised to enhance provision and ensure access. Learning aids are deployed to specific pupils with SEN, particularly those with visual impairments and difficulties with writing. Pupils are provided with a mobile learning device to aid research, independent working and innovative approaches to learning. Pupils are also given access to a Virtual Learning Environment through Microsoft Teams and Microsoft

OneNote to access resources and complete learning at school and at home with a device.

Specialist careers advice is provided by New Directions to prepare pupils with SEND for further education and transition to adult life.

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RE offers great potential for leadership be that through teamwork in lessons and stepping up to present the groups findings or the completion of projects later in the year and taking ownership by presenting to the class, this includes:

Civic Leadership – Through the study of environment, pollution, climate change etc pupils are provided with an understanding of their responsibilities in the world. Pupils work together to achieve a common global goal to make the world and in particular the school free from plastic. Many pupils’ cycle to school to ensure they are not the cause of global warming. Pupils are taught conservation strategies and are encouraged to act on these in their day to day lives.

Moral Leadership – Pupils are taught equality and fairness whilst studying Relationships and Families in Year 9, gender equality is taught and also the differences between Sunni/Shias, Catholics/Protestants etc. They are provided with the intellectual tools to help them challenge the unfairness in the world.

Performance Leadership – Being reflective and resilient – the drive to succeed and the need to surpass expectations set on individual pupil – faith teaches the right to succeed and Religious studies allow pupils to focus on moving forward at all times and never thinking we are not capable. Recognising and managing feelings – when faced with moral dilemmas in life pupils are able to use the knowledge and skills learnt in this subject to apply to real life examples, e.g. what to do if a person wanted to end their life, how people feel when they lose a loved one, death penalty for those who have broken the law and how this makes them feel etc.

Real life experiences are linked to events in and around school, and artifacts are made available for pupils to access. An International trip to Rome is offered, this is where pupils visit the religious sites, beautiful architecture and monuments. This experience will allow pupils to bring the Christianity religion to life as they make links to what is being taught within the classroom and religious practices being taught.

In RE we run several enrichment clubs, competitions and trips to places of religious significance throughout the year for example the pupils complete the faith trail. These activities are designed to support the building of pupils’ social and cultural capital and levels of background knowledge in order that they can better access and make sense of the knowledge gained in lessons.

Star RE Learning Journey Y7-11

In Year 11, pupils have the opportunity to deepen their understanding of Religious Education beyond GCSE. They have the opportunity to rehearse, refine and develop their knowledge of religious cultural norms and historical influences in RE. They have the option to research one area studied in greater detail to form the basis of an Extended Project in English). This short course provides useful preparation for using RE in the real world.

In your son’s exercise book, you will find a number of key documentation:

Visual Learning Journeys – An overview of the key knowledge he will study from Y7-11 (vertical) and in your son’s specific year for each subject (horizontal).

Lesson specific Learning Journey – You will also be able to access a learning journey in your son’s exercise book which will allow him to articulate the bigger picture and make links between topics and lessons. This document includes the lesson outcome/s and key knowledge components for each lesson in the half term. This will serve as the reference point for all key learning and revision topics for the given half term whilst helping him to know more and remember more over time.