Religious Education at Hamsey School
Intent:
At Hamsey School, we believe that religious education (RE) plays an important role in fostering the social, moral, spiritual and cultural development of pupils and enables pupils to understand their role and responsibilities within a diverse, multi-religious, multi-secular society. The skills, values and attitudes developed in RE are at the heart of a cohesive community where the children are encouraged to have a positive sense of identity and to better understand the world around them.
We place value on the role of RE in developing religious literacy and deepening pupils' understanding of faith traditions and beliefs. Our intent is to ensure that pupils are well-equipped to make connections between religious concepts and beliefs and develop their own spirituality and judgements that are rooted in well-reasoned and informed knowledge of religion. We aim to ensure that the RE curriculum is challenging, dynamic and relevant to pupils of all ages and one that drives creativity, imagination, enquiry, debate, and independence. We encourage the children to ask questions to develop their critical thinking and understanding of the religions and beliefs which form our society and to reflect on their own responses values. Our R.E. curriculum is designed to develop compassionate individuals who think and act with respect and with an understanding of the views of others.
Implementation
At Hamsey School, we follow the East Sussex Agreed Syllabus for RE. We seek to develop the children’s knowledge and understanding of some of the major world faiths, and we address the fundamental questions in life, for example, the meaning of life and the idea of a divine spirit. We enable children to develop a sound knowledge of Christianity and to explore aspects of some other world religions. Children reflect on what it means to have a faith and to develop their own spiritual knowledge and understanding. We help the children learn about religion (knowledge and understanding) and from religion (response, evaluation, application).
During their time at Hamsey School, children have the opportunity through RE to do the following:
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Develop their knowledge and understanding of the Christian faith and of other principal religions (KS1 – Judaism and Islam, KS2 – all world religions covered in a rolling programme)
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Respond to the ideas, beliefs and feelings of principal religions
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Understand the influences of faith individuals on societies, communities and cultures
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Develop enquiry and response skills
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Explore what it means to have a faith
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Develop their sense of identity and belonging
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Reflect on, analyse and evaluate their own beliefs, values and practices
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Consider questions of meaning and purpose in life
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Respect people with different beliefs, values and traditions
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Make reasoned and informed judgements on religious and moral issues
The purpose of RE is not to urge religious beliefs on children nor to compromise the integrity of their own beliefs.
Teaching is planned on an enquiry basis. A question is posed to frame each unit of work, for example: ‘How does believing Jesus is their Saviour inspire Christians to save and serve others?’ (Lower KS2) or ‘How do questions about Brahman and Atman influence the way a Hindu lives?’ (Upper KS2)
Staff at Hamsey Primary School may choose to teach lessons weekly or may block a unit of lessons together.
In Key Stage 1, children’s work is recorded in a class floor book or individual Project books – these contain photographs of drama work, pictures the children have drawn, short pieces of writing they have done, and quotes of what the children have said (scribed by the teacher).
In Key Stage 2, children’s work is recorded in their Project books. The work consists of photos of drama work, poster designs, analysis of pictures and religious texts as well as longer pieces of writing.
Hamsey School has opportunities for reflection where children are encouraged to focus on values for leading a positive and fruitful life.
Staff are supported by the RE subject leaders to ensure they are confidently and creatively delivering the RE curriculum. Both teaching, learning and assessment are monitored by the subject leadership team and professional development materials and training are cascaded to drive forward improvements in the subject.
Impact
Children produce responses to tasks that show their knowledge and understanding of what has been taught as well as a personal reflection stemming from an enquiry question or prompt. These tasks are linked to the content and themes within the unit taught. Sometimes, the contributions pupils make during discussions are used to inform teacher assessment and the impact of the curriculum. Pupil voice surveys, lesson visits and book looks are an integral part of the impact monitoring cycle which is undertaken by both school and subject leaders throughout the year.