At Forest View Primary School we follow the South Tyneside L.A. recommended syllabus for Religious Education (R.E.).  The agreed syllabus gives opportunities for increased knowledge, understanding and the development of R.E. for our pupils.  We provide pupils with the opportunities to ask questions, seek answers and develop a curiosity for the world around them and what it means to follow and respect different religions.  We develop well rounded, independent individuals who are diverse and open minded about the world around them.  R.E. can provide a context for the explanation of moral and ethical opinions and dilemmas by learning about lifestyles and behaviour in real, historical and fictional situations.  It can provide pupils with the knowledge of beliefs and religions around the UK and across the world. RE gives opportunities for pupils to listen to others, hear and analyse conflicting viewpoints and develop empathy and respect. RE teaching in our school helps to promote the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils, and prepares them for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life. Through RE pupils can develop skills e.g. discernment, critical thinking and reasoning.

RE, therefore, contributes to the development of the following:

  • Economic – as pupils develop skills in RE for adult life, employment and lifelong learning.
  • Cultural – as pupils develop understanding of how religious traditions contribute to the cultural heritage in all its diversity.
  • Social – as pupils develop understanding of how religious identity and belonging are expressed, and consider their own participation in groups and communities.
  • Personal – as pupils reflect on their own spiritual and moral ideas and those of others.

 

Intent:

At Forest View Primary, RE is based on 3 main elements:

  • Knowledge and Understanding of Religion
  • Critical Thinking
  • Personal Reflection

Knowledge and Understanding of Religion

Pupils will develop knowledge and understanding of what is meant by religion and the term
‘religious and non-religious worldviews’ and the impact these have for individuals and
communities. It involves investigation of and enquiry into the nature of religion and differing
belief systems. Pupils will develop their knowledge and understanding of individual religions
and some non-religious worldviews. They will apply this to considering ways in which these
are similar to and different from each other. Older students will be able to connect significant
features of religion together in a coherent pattern. All pupils will enquire into ultimate
questions and ethical issues through their study of religious and non-religious worldviews.

Critical Thinking 

Critical thinking (impersonal evaluation) requires pupils to use reason to analyse and
evaluate the claims that religious and non-religious worldviews make. Through learning in
this way pupils have the opportunity to give opinions, support their ideas with reason,
consider alternative arguments, weigh up evidence and listen to and respond to the views of
others, so developing the ability to articulate their own views and form their own opinions.
Critical thinking requires pupils to be open minded and to value the varied reasons and ideas
people use when exploring an issue and giving their views. These views can be based on a
variety of resources and can include personal experience and intuition.

Critical thinking in RE is accessible to pupils of all ages and can be formally assessed.
Pupils can demonstrate progress through the quality of their ability to analyse various
viewpoints, explain or justify their opinion and evaluate the opinions of others. It is not the
opinion itself which is assessable (eg some pupils may state opinions which affirm or deny
religious faith; both are acceptable in the RE classroom) but the process of developing and
justifying opinions.

Personal Reflection 

Personal reflection (personal evaluation) develops pupils’ ability to reflect on religious and
non-religious worldviews in relation to their own beliefs, values and experiences and the
influence of these on their daily life, attitudes and actions.

Personal evaluation is introspective, subjective and private. Pupils can make personal
progress through reflection, empathy, developing respect and appreciation of others but this
should not be assessed by teachers. Pupils could partake in some private self
assessment if they wished, but this would not be included in reporting their progress in RE.
Personal Reflection in RE makes a significant contribution to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social
and cultural development.

 

Implementation:

At Forest View, we follow the Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education in South Tyneside (2020). The RE syllabus provides for a developmental approach to RE. Continuity and progression is achieved by building on the knowledge, understanding and skills that pupils gain across and between key stages.

The key focus for each key stage helps teachers to plan work that is appropriate for the age and ability of their pupils. The key focus for learning at each key stage is indicated through the three elements:

∙ Knowledge and Understanding of Religion

∙ Critical Thinking

∙ Personal Reflection

Each element builds on knowledge and skills from the previous key stage. For example, the table below shows the key words of progression across the key stages for Knowledge and Understanding of Religion:

KS1 – Identify

LKS2 – Describe

UKS2 – Understand

Teachers can use the key focus to build on previous knowledge and skills developed through the three elements, so enabling pupils to make progress.

 

Impact:

Teaching staff and support staff use a wide range of formative assessment tools during the lesson to judge the impact that the teaching is having on the children’s learning. Where it is evident that children have not developed a deep understanding of a concept, they will receive immediate intervention and/or verbal feedback.

At the end of a unit of work, teaching staff use their professional judgement to decide whether each pupil has achieved the level of knowledge, understanding and critical thinking required for the particular topic.

 

**Parents have the right to withdraw their child(ren) from lessons if they wish but should get in touch with school to discuss this, if this is the case.