Religious Education

Curriculum

We use the Discovery RE scheme to support our RE learning; it is mapped against the agreed syllabus for Stoke-On-Trent and is aligned to the non-statutory guidance available to schools and academies.

Discovery RE brings together learning about and from religion, questioning and spiritual development in a comprehensive scheme of learning. Teaching strategies are varied and are mindful of preferred learning styles and the need for differentiation. Each enquiry starts from the children’s own life experiences, using these as a bridge into the investigation of the religion being studied. Learning is assessed and children have opportunities to express their own thoughts and beliefs and empathise with believers of that religion or belief position. Discovery RE is taught discretely in each year group.

KS1 and KS2:

The Religious Education in English Schools (Non-Statutory Guidance) aims to ensure that all pupils play a full part in their learning of RE:

• As learners, by deploying skills, asking questions and exploring answers.
• As individuals, using their own experiences and background to reflect on questions of truth and morality and deeper meanings of life and death.
• As citizens, promoting debate and dialogue, celebrating diversity, taking appropriate action and putting principles into action.

With this in mind, our programme of study for RE is derived from Discovery RE, and this clearly sets out which religion and key question will be taught and learnt at each point in the year for all groups. Each year group learns about Christianity and at least one other religion each year, whilst there is a focus on key themes throughout. During this process, pupils are also encouraged to make comparisons between the different religions, as well as to themselves as an individual. 

Assessment

Children are assessed over three aspects of learning:

• a personal resonance with or reflection on the material/religion being studied to answer the enquiry question.
• knowledge and understanding of the material/religion being studied to answer the enquiry question.
• evaluation/critical thinking in relation to the enquiry question

Formative Assessment (AFL):

During RE lessons, teachers are encouraged to assess the knowledge, learning and understanding of each of their pupils. This is primarily done through the use of questioning and the activities that have been planned by the teacher.

Summative Assessment:

Each term, teachers also make a summative judgement relating to a child’s knowledge and understanding of the RE that has been taught during lessons. This is recorded on the academy’s tracking system, therefore enabling us to ensure that all learners are achieving highly by making good or better progress.