Religious Education
Intent
At Southroyd we have followed the Locally Agreed RE Syllabus which informs our school wide curriculum.
As a non-faith school we feel it is important that in order to grow as respectful local and global citizens, children must have the strong bedrock of a well-developed understanding of a range religious and world views, as well as an understanding of the makeup of our local community.
“Religious Education makes a distinctive contribution to the school curriculum by developing pupils' knowledge and understanding of religion, religious beliefs, practices, language and traditions and their influence on individuals, communities, societies and cultures. The new Agreed Syllabus for Leeds contributes to a coherent curriculum that promotes continuity. It facilitates the transition of pupils between schools and phases of education and can provide foundations for further study and lifelong learning.”
(Leeds Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education, 2019-2024
At Southroyd, the teaching of RE will:
• Enable pupils to develop a broad and balanced understanding of religions and world views.
• Develop critical thinking skills – asking questions, challenging stereotypes and division
• Develop an understanding of ethics and morality
• Broaden children’s perspectives of faiths and cultures – encouraging mutual respect
• Support children to be active citizens of the world - actively learning from others through shared experiences and the experiences of others.
Here are a selection of our trips and experiences over a single calendar year, making religious education real and relevant, but also providing fascinating opportunities for our children.
Implementation
At Southroyd we follow the Locally Agreed RE Syllabus, 'Believing and Belonging' which informs our planning, the progression of skills and approach to RE throughout our school from Early Years to Year 6.
In Years 1-6 the equivalent of one hour of RE is taught per week. This can be in either hour long weekly sessions, or longer blocks. Our scheme of work follows our RE progression plan in order to ensure that content is taught in the specified order and with appropriate time allocated to each unit of learning.
In class, we believe I the importance of delivering an RE syllabus in a varied and therefore engaging way for all pupils. In some sessions children are supported to apply their reading and Literacy skills, while in others they develop their spoken language skills through enquiry, discussion, debate and drama. Visual stimuli such as mystery objects or images of artefacts are also often used to promote discussion. Questioning is also used by both staff and the pupils themselves in order to delve deeper into the RE units being studied. In many sessions a combination of these approaches are used.
Throughout the teaching of RE, children are encouraged to revisit, use and reflect upon their subject knowledge and newly acquired vocabulary with supportive aids such a word mats, visual prompts and stem sentences. Despite opportunities to apply and develop such a wider variety of skills and learning, the core learning of all RE sessions remains RE.
Work Books and Class Journals are used to record sessions, alongside capturing pupil voice. Class Journals are kept in class reading areas and are available for the children to look through at their leisure, enabling them to recap and reflect on their previous learning and make connections between the RE units they explore throughout the year. Links to SMSC are also identified and discussed through the use of Class Journals.
We believe in the importance of giving the children first hand experience across a range of beliefs. We organise visits to the local Church, Gurdwaras, synagogues and mosques and invite guests into school to find out first hand about different religions.
In Nursery and Reception, the children follow the statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage, while also delivering sessions from our school-wide scheme of work and progression plan. RE is covered in a cross curricular, immersive ways as part of topic learning, and focusses on wider world events such as Easter, Diwali, Chinese New Year and Christmas, as well as children's own experiences and special celebrations. Agreed key texts from a range of cultural and religious backgrounds are also shared and enjoyed during story times.
At Southroyd we also believe in the importance of giving children first hand experiences across a range of world views studied. We organise visits to the local Church, Gurdwaras, Synagogues and Mosques and invite workshops and guests from a range of religious backgrounds into school in order for the children to find out first-hand about different religions and world views.
Impact
At Southroyd we aim to deliver a broad and balanced RE curriculum in depth and with integrity. RE lessons combine many approaches including recorded, practical and discussion-based lessons ensuring all pupils are engaged in the subject. Children are encouraged to reflect upon prior learning alongside their current learning through our progression plan and scheme of work, reinforcing and embedding their subject knowledge.
At Southroyd we aim to ensure that pupils have good subject knowledge through the teaching of RE, as well as supporting them to grow as respectful citizens, with a deeper understanding of a range of world views. Through high quality RE planning and teaching, we aspire for pupils to be able to critically think about and identify similarities that connect groups of people or belief systems, as well as celebrate difference and what makes different groups, and themselves, unique.
RE is a statutory expectation, and though parents have the right to withdraw children from RE lessons, they will need to meet with the head teacher and RE subject leader to discuss their decision.
