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