Teaching R.E. at St Francis

Always use the cycle of enquiry. Use the concept (Living Difference - download the plan) and then add in bits from the relevant Understanding Christianity module to the contextualise, evaluate and enquiry parts of the cycle. Remember, Living Difference IV is the syllabus we have to follow and Understanding Christianity is a resource to help us with our planning to support LDIV. Its aim is to provide children with a deeper understanding of Christian concepts.

Links between UC and LDIV

• Making sense of the text = Apply and Enquire
• Understanding the impact = Contextualise
• Making connections = Evaluate
• Children’s own experiences = Communicate and Apply

Teaching hours

KS1: 36 hours per year (approx. 1 hour a week)

KS2: 45 hours per year (approx.. 1 hour and 15 minutes a week)

RE can be blocked where festivals or dates lend themselves to this or it can be taught weekly.

Religious Education Policy

Purpose

Religious Education should foster in children a reflective approach to living and we aim to enable and enrich this process through the study of the worlds living faiths, whilst acknowledging the fact that St. Francis Primary School is a Church of England Aided School and that the religious traditions in Great Britain are in the main Christian. This reflects the Church of England’s Vision for Education (July 2016).  In the study of living faiths, every child matters and all children can experience a sense of security, stability and being cared for, personal and social development, emotional health, being part of a sustainable community and being ready to successfully deal with life challenges.

Aims

Through the Religious Education programme at St. Francis School, the children will be helped to: -

• Develop a knowledge and understanding of Christian heritage and tradition

• Develop a knowledge and understanding of people of different faiths, their values and the effect faith has on their lives

• Nurture a sense of wonder, awe and reverence

• Foster a reflective approach for living

• Develop a respect and sensitivity for others, whatever their background

• Develop their own sense of spirituality

• Develop their sense of identity and belonging, preparing them for life as citizens in a plural society

• Ask questions and respond freely and openly to questions and experiences, in a variety of ways

• Acknowledge and respect others’ views and opinions

Planning has been developed from the Hampshire Document ‘Living Difference’ and the Diocesan Documents following the Concepts Wheel. There will be opportunities for exploring lives, beliefs, celebrations and customs through

• art

• artefacts

• books

• cooking and baking

• dance

• drama

• dressing up

• media

• modelling (Lego, Playdoh, etc.)

• music

• photos

• poems / letters

• stories

• songs

• visitors

• visits

Teaching and Learning

• A range of teaching and learning styles are used in R.E. lessons including observation, enquiry, investigation, role play, discussions, problem solving and presentation of reports to peers

• Whole class teaching methods are used and combined with individual or group enquiry based research activities

• Pupils are encouraged to explore issues such as belief, values, traditions, rites of passage, meaning and purpose of life

• Children are given the opportunity to reflect on, analyse and evaluate their beliefs, values and practices and communicate their responses

• Pupils are expected to record their work in a variety of ways, including illustrations, pictures, letters, posters, annotated drawings, reports and accounts

Religious education can be approached in a cross-curricular manner incorporating ICT, literacy and contributing to the Spiritual, Moral Social and Cultural development of pupils as well as the Prevent Strategy and fundamental British Values. It also takes into account those of the five strands of the Every Child Matters that are appropriate.

Legal requirements

In Voluntary Aided schools, RE must be taught in accordance with the Trust Deeds.

As a church school, we aim to ensure that a majority of the syllabus focuses explicitly on Christianity, although comparisons may be made with key concepts in other faiths.

From 2017, the focus on Christianity will be drawn from the pilot project Understanding Christianity. Studies of other faiths will continue to use materials from Living Difference with updates included in 2022 from Living Difference IV including the use of the 4 Golden Threads; Special, Love, Belonging and Community. Understanding Christianity is a resource to support the locally agreed syllabus LDIV.

In St. Francis Church of England School at KS1, children will study Christian and Hindu traditions and in EYFS, Multi Faith traditions will be added to the above dependent on the cohort of children. At KS2, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Sikh and Humanist traditions are added to the above and other beliefs are touched on where appropriate to enrich the study further or to incorporate children’s family beliefs.

We hope that parents will support our Religious Education curriculum but it is acknowledged that they have the right to withdraw their children from Religious Education lessons. It is also acknowledged that members of staff may exercise their right to withdraw from the teaching of RE after a discussion with the Headteacher.

The Religious Education curriculum is adapted to make it accessible and challenging to children of all abilities.

EYFS – Early Years Foundation Stage

ICT – Information Communication Technology

KS1 – Key Stage 1

KS2 – Key Stage 2

LDIV – Living Difference 4