Religious education

In the RE department, we think RE also stands for 'really engaging' as religious education creates opportunities for personal reflection as well as deepening knowledge and understanding of the world around us. It allows the development of key skills such as analysis, evaluation and empathy.

Religious Education contributes to pupils’ education by provoking challenging questions about meaning and purpose in life, beliefs about God, ultimate reality, issues of right and wrong and what it means to be human? In RE students learn about religious and non-religious world views in order to discover, explore and consider different answers to these questions.

Students learn to interpret, analyse, evaluate and critically respond to the claims that religious and non-religious world views make a well express their insights and to agree or disagree respectfully. Teaching, therefore, equips learners with knowledge and understanding of what is meant by the terms “religion” and “world view” as well as knowledge and understanding of a range of religious and non-religious world views.

RE offers opportunities for personal reflection and pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development (SMSC) as it encourages them to examine the significance of their learning in relation to themselves and others. It enables students to explore their own beliefs - religious or not, ideas, feelings, experiences and values in the light of what they learn. RE encourages empathy and respect and enables learners to develop their own sense of identity and belonging while promoting respect for the right of others to hold different beliefs, values and ideas.

RE enables positive participation in our society with its diverse religious and non-religious world views. The course gives students an informed understanding of political, social and moral issues that they will need to face as they grow up in an increasingly globalised world. Students learn to positively deal with controversial issues, to manage strongly held differences of belief and to challenge stereotypes and prejudice.

Key Stage Three
Learning outcomes Assessment Outcomes	Learning Each unit is designed as an enquiry question. Enquiry Based Learning is a process which actively engages pupils in their learning. It enables them to develop skills as they investigate issues surrounding religion and beliefs. Some examples of enquiry questions are: What is religion? Why do some people believe in God? Why do people suffer? What do Sikhs believe about the nature of God? What does it mean to life as a Muslim in Britain today? In key stage three the three major world religions studied are Christianity, Islam and Sikhism. Assessment Assessment is important in RE for pupils to: make progress in knowing about and evaluating the beliefs and practices of a range of religious and non-religious worldviews know and understand the progress they are making in RE know and understand what they need to do to make further progress are challenged by the enquiries, activities and tasks in which they are engaged achieve standards which match their expected capabilities. At the end of every lesson, pupils self-assess to identify what new learning has taken place for them during the lesson. Three times per year, pupils complete an assessment to demonstrate they understand the topics studied. This also allows the teacher to address any misconceptions. Students are assessed on their knowledge and understanding of religion and critical thinking skills.
Year 7 topics covered	Why do some people believe in God? Is there any evidence of God’s existence? What does incarnation and resurrection matter for Christians today? What do Muslims believe? What do Sikhs believe about the nature of God? Why do people suffer?
Year 8 topic covered	What does it mean to live as a Muslim in Britain today? What does it mean to live as a Sikh in Britain today? What is Prejudice and Discrimination? Should animals and humans have equal rights?

Key Stage Four (GCSE)

Learning outcomes

Assessment outcomes

Learning

We follow Edexcel GCSE Religious Studies (Specification B) the aims of this course are to:

● develop their knowledge and understanding of religions and non-religious beliefs, such as atheism and humanism

● develop their knowledge and understanding of religious beliefs, teachings, and sources of wisdom and authority, including through their reading of key religious texts, other texts, and scriptures of the religions they are studying

● develop their ability to construct well-argued, well-informed, balanced and structured written arguments, demonstrating their depth and breadth of understanding of the subject

● engage with questions of belief, value, meaning, purpose, truth, and their influence on human life

● reflect on and develop their own values, beliefs and attitudes in the light of what they have learnt and will contribute to their preparation for adult life in a pluralistic society and global community

● demonstrate knowledge and understanding of two religions

● demonstrate knowledge and understanding of key sources of wisdom and authority including scripture and/or sacred texts, where appropriate, which support contemporary religious faith

● understand the influence of religion on individuals, communities and societies

● understand significant common and divergent views between and/or within religions and beliefs

● apply knowledge and understanding in order to analyse questions related to religious beliefs and values

● construct well-informed and balanced arguments on matters concerned with religious beliefs and values.

Assessment

Throughout every lesson pupils are given opportunities to practice past paper questions and are given feedback to help strengthen their responses.

There are two examination papers at the end of the course for 1 hour 45 minutes per paper and pupils must answer all questions.

● The assessment consists of four questions.

● The paper may include short open, open response and extended writing questions.

● The paper will assess spelling, punctuation and grammar (SPaG) and use of specialist vocabulary.

Year 10 topics covered

Religion & Ethics

(50% of the qualification)

Pupils will study all four content sections based upon Christianity

● Beliefs

● Marriage and the Family

● Living the Religious Life

● Matters of Life and Death

Year 11 topics covered

Religion, Peace & Conflict

(50% of the qualification)

Pupils will study all four content sections based upon Islam

● Beliefs

● Crime and Punishment

● Living the Religious Life

● Peace and Conflict