RELIGIOUS EDUCATION POLICY

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION POLICY
Christopher Reeves VA Lower School.
Hinwick Road, Podington
June 201309
Review date June 20122016
Committee responsible: Curriculum
R.E /BR// AMH/CRVALS/June 20092013
Page 1
Christopher Reeves Lower School Religious Education Policy
Formatted: Font: Bold, Underline
Formatted: Centered
School Foundation
As a Church of England Voluntary Added school, we expect the Christian ethos to
underpin and be reflected in all aspects of school life and all areas of the curriculum.
The Religious Education we provide is based on the Bedford Borough Agreed Syllabus for
R.E 2011. However, the R.E we provide will often extend beyond this document in order
to reflect the distinctively Christian foundation of the school. This will result in a greater
emphasis on the study of Christian beliefs, practices and festivals. Nevertheless, alongside
this we seek to recognise that we belong to a community, country and world where people
adhere to many faiths and none.
Formatted: Font: Bold, Underline
Aims
Through the teaching of Religious Education we aim to;
•
Contribute to the development of a child’s sense of identify
•
Offer opportunities for personal reflection and spiritual development
•
Enable children to see the world and life from different points of view
•
Enable children to gain a knowledge of Christianity and other principal religious
traditions and beliefs, particularly those represented in Great Britain, in order to
understand and appreciate their own and other beliefs and cultures
•
Enable children to develop their understanding of the ways in which beliefs
influence people in their behaviour, practices and outlook
•
Prepare children for life as citizens in a multicultural society
•
Value and celebrate diversity, promoting multicultural understanding and respect
Formatted: Font: Bold, Underline
Content, Planning and Time allocation
Formatted: Font: Bold, Underline
At Christopher Reeves Lower School R.E will be taught as;
•
A discrete (separate) and clearly identified subject on the curriculum
•
Where appropriate, and where natural links exist, opportunities will be made for
cross-curricular study
Children are given opportunities to apply and develop their ICT capability through the use
of ICT to support their learning in R.E where appropriate.
Children are given opportunities to support their work by being taught to;
•
Find things out from a variety of sources, selecting and synthesising the information
to meet their needs and developing an ability to question its accuracy, bias and plausibility
(Use of the internet will be in line with the school’s e-ESafety Policy)
•
Develop their ideas using ICT tools to amend and refine their work and enhance its
quality and accuracy
•
Exchange and share information, both directly and through electronic media
Time for R.E
Effective R.E teaching requires a reasonable time allocation for the subject. The Bedford
Borough Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education is based on the expectation that the
following minimum hours will be devoted to R.E.
R.E /BR// AMH/CRVALS/June 20092013
Page 2
Key Stage 1 – 36 hours per year
Key Stage 2 – 45 hours per year
At Christopher Reeves Lower School children in all year groups are taught RE as a
separate subject for the following amount of time;
Foundation: Approximately 1 hour, with activities as appropriate to the age of the children
Key Stage 1 – 1 hour per week
Key Stage 2 – 1 hour 15 minutes per week
These time allocations are in line with the national recommendations for R.E. it is
important to appreciate that this RE time does not include time for Collective Worship.
Time allocated for Collective Worship is in addition to, and separate from, curriculum time.
Please refer to our Collective Worship Policy.
Content
Religious Education has two main dimensions that are reflected in the two attainment
targets;
•
Attainment Target 1 (AT1) Learning about Religion – knowledge, skills and
understanding in relation to religious beliefs, teachings and sources, religious and spiritual
forms of expression, practices and ways of life.
•
Attainment Target 2 (AT2) Learning from Religion – expressing responses and
insights in relation to questions and issues of meaning, purpose and truth, identity and
experiences and beliefs, values and commitments
Formatted: Font: Bold, Underline
Values Education also forms part of the R.E teaching at Christopher Reeves Lower
School. The children are taught explicitly about one value a month, and links are made to
this value in all aspects of school life. Values are taught on a 2 year programme and
these are regularly reviewed by SLT and school staff.
Formatted: Font: Bold, Underline
Planning
At Christopher Reeves Lower School the Long Term plans for teaching reviewed in 2011,
identified units for learning RE that will be taught mainly from the renewed Bedford
Borough Agreed Syllabus but supplemented with units from other sources including Wirral
LEA Website, HGFL and the Christianity Units on the Bedford RE website.
Due to the changing nature of class organisation at our school, it will be necessary to
review the long term school plan for the teaching of RE on an annual basis to ensure
appropriate coverage and progression.
Our Medium Term plans for teaching are planned by the class teacher (working with TAs
where appropriate) by following either the Bedford Borough Agreed Syllabus or the other
resources detailed above. The short term plans for teaching then follow from these se
Medium Term plans.
Resources
Resources to support the teaching of Religious Education at Christopher Reeves Lower
School are stored in a central resources area for teachers. These include reference
books, pictures, artefacts, videos and DVDs.
R.E /BR// AMH/CRVALS/June 20092013
Page 3
Formatted: Font: Bold, Underline
A set of children’s Bibles are stored in Kingfishers classroom. Further Bibles are stored in
a central resources area. Further reference books are kept in the non-fiction section of the
school library.
Topic loans can be borrowed from the Schools Library Service on a termly basis.
Additional artefacts can also be borrowed through the library service and the diocesan
library based at St. Mark’s Church in Bedford.
Visits and visitors to the school are also used to enhance learning. Key Stage 1 children
participate in the Queen’s Park Faith Tour when studying Places of Worship.
Assessment
Through the experience of RE learners will develop knowledge, understanding and a
range of skills. Assessment involves planning opportunities to observe, analyse
responses, monitor, celebrate and record achievement.
Formatted: Font: Bold, Underline
The assessment of RE is based on expected outcomes expressed in the level descriptors
in the Agreed Syllabus. The levels relate to the two attainment targets.
The level descriptors are used by teachers;
•
As a planning tool to help them gauge whether their own expectations are realistic
and sufficiently challenging to enable children to make good progress in RE
•
To provide the basis for making judgements about children’s performance at the
end of each key stage
A wide range of classroom activities enable teachers to gather information about children’s
learning and progress;
•
Observing children as they work and interact with their peers and adults
•
Listening to children as they describe their work and reasoning to others
•
Questioning, especially the use of open questions which allow for a range of
responses
•
Setting tasks which require the planned use of specific skills
•
Use of a variety of forms of communication – drawing, role play, writing, discussion
etc.
•
Self and peer assessment activities
Recording and reporting
Children’s achievement in RE will be reported on an annual basis as part of the written
report produced for parents in the Summer Term. The statements for RE will include a
brief outline of the work covered during the course of the year and a comment on the
child’s achievement in terms of knowledge, skills and understanding.
Formatted: Font: Bold, Underline
Rights of Withdrawal
Parents have the right to withdraw children from all or part of Religious Education lessons.
Such a request must be put in writing to the Head Teacher. Parents will be made aware of
the contribution that RE lessons make to cross-curricular learning objectives and to the
fact that, although the child will be supervised within school during such times, an
alternative curriculum cannot be specifically provided.
Formatted: Font: Bold, Underline
R.E /BR// AMH/CRVALS/June 20092013
Page 4
This policy is the responsibility of the Curriculum Committee.
It was reviewed in April June 2013.
It was agreed and ratified by the Full Governing Body on ________________
Signed __________________________________(Head Teacher)
__________________________________ (Chair of Governors)
This policy will be reviewed every 3 years or before if necessary.
APPENDIX 1
R.E Long Term Planning Grid
Revised May 2012
Formatted: Font: Bold
Formatted: Centered
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial
Autumn
What makes us special?
Spring
Why are stories special?
Summer
What makes our world
wonderful?
Toucans
Who is a Christian and
what do they believe?
Who is a Hindu and what
do they believe?
Unit ? Agreed Syllabus
Special Places – Unit 6 KS1
Agreed Syllabus
(including faith tour)
What can we learn from
sacred books and stories
Unit 7 Agreed Syllabus
Kingfishers
How should we live and
who can inspire us?
Unit 3 Agreed Syllabus
How and why does a
Christian follow Jesus
Unit 5 Agreed Syllabus
Creation Stories
Unit ? Agreed Syllabus
Worship - Unit 1 Agreed
Syllabus
Penguins
What makes us special?
Why are stories special?
What makes our world
wonderful?
Toucans
Belonging - Unit 1
Agreed Syllabus
Signs and symbols (HGFL)
Why should we care for
the earth?
Unit 9 Agreed Syllabus
Kingfishers
What does it mean to be
a Muslim?
Unit 7/8 Agreed Syllabus
Deeper meaning of
Festivals
Unit 4 Agreed Syllabus
What do the religions
teach us about the world?
Unit 6 Agreed Syllabus
Penguins
R.E /BR// AMH/CRVALS/June 20092013
Page 5
Formatted: Font: Bold, Underline
Formatted: Centered
Formatted: Font: Bold
R.E /BR// AMH/CRVALS/June 20092013
Page 6