‘Allowing all to live life in all its fullness. (John 10:10)’
INTENT
RE at St. Edward’s Church of England Academy is built upon our strong Christian ethos. RE provides the opportunities to learn about a variety of religions and worldviews including exploring some of life’s most difficult and testing questions. This aids pupils to explore their own beliefs whilst reflecting on those of others. The core values are at the heart of our curriculum with a particular emphasis on respect to enable pupils to flourish and embrace life in all its fullness.
CURRICULUM OVERVIEW
All Pupils have the opportunity to belong with RE lessons regardless of their faith and religious background. Pupils are encouraged to explore and challenge other pupils’ views in a respectful way. All pupils learn about Christmas and Easter and are encouraged to develop their thinking and explanation for their thoughts. We base our learning on So What? Why are we learning this how does this apply to you, your peers, your community?
Year 5
At the start of their journey at St Edward’s the pupils will learn about our Academy’s strong Christian ethos and how we aim to allow all to live life in all its fullness. The pupils will learn about the key concept of Worldviews through our Beliefs unit of work. Pupils will then build their skills looking at the Big 6 Religions comparing the similarities and differences between religions, moving on to exploring the main features of Christian belief and ending the year looking at the Sikhi faith.
Year 6
Pupils start Year 6 looking at the Creation and what Christians and people belonging to other faiths believe. We also explore the scientific views of creation and look at whether science and religion can be compatible. Pupils then learn about Stewardship, taking responsibility for Creation and the challenges facing Stewardship. Pupils then move on to an introduction to Islam, looking at the beliefs and practices of this faith and why the faith is growing in popularity. Pupils end the year comparing different religious practices in their pilgrimage unit of work, looking at why people choose to express their faith through this form of practice and whether pilgrimages still have relevancy in today’s climate.
Year 7
Pupils return to their knowledge of Christian beliefs established in year 5 and look at how Christians practice their faith in the world today. Pupils then move on to learning about Evil and Suffering in the world, learning about different philosophical arguments about its presence and necessity in the world. Pupils then make links within their Conflict and Peace unit of work looking at contemporary Conflicts in the world, how it is represented in the media and the causes of different conflicts. Pupils end the year bringing together all of their knowledge and looking at how Buddhists deal with the concept of evil and conflict and their unique perspective on the meaning of life.
Year 8
In Year 8 pupils develop their thinking in relation to RE to prepare them for the transition to high school. Pupils engage with questions of humanity, looking firstly at the Jewish Faith and then the history and culture surrounding the religions and how this lead to persecution during the Holocaust. Pupils then revisit year 6 learning, looking in depth at the Islamic faith including its origins. Pupils then finish the year, looking at Agents of Change: what inspirational leaders have there been both religious and non- religious. Pupils question- what made these leaders successful and how can pupils have the courage to lead their lives to their fullest.
ASSESSMENT
In RE pupil’s complete knowledge checks within lesson as well as end of unit knowledge tests to review what pupils have learned. Pupils also complete skills checkers against key concepts learnt in RE to support pupils to know more and remember more.
CULTURAL CAPITAL AND PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
Year 5 visits to the Derby Faith Trail
Year 7 Visits to the St Edward’s Church
Year 8 Holocaust survivor visits
10:10 Ambassadors
Involvement in local Charity events
