Religious Education
Religious Education is an exciting and active subject for all students and the community.It is a legal requirement, in England.
What are the aims of R.E.?
Some of the aims of R.E. are :
i) to contribute to students’ spiritual, moral,personal and social development
ii) to respect different religions and traditions and understand their influences on cultures, individuals and the world
iii) to stimulate curiosity and enjoyment in R.E.
iv) to contribute to the school’s specialisms
What happens in key stage 3?
At key stage 3, students learn about and from religious and non - religious viewpoints, using the Gateshead Agreed Syllabus and the eight levels of progression.
Christianity,Judaism,Islam and Sikhism are amongst the religions studied while atheism and Humanism are also addressed. RE takes into account the importance of the local community and family life as well as reflecting the school’s multicultural policy and fostering of anti – racist attitudes
Students in year 7 begin with a transitional unit to give everyone an introduction to the work ahead. Moving on from there, the syllabus includes the role of religion in our community and the conscience.
The year 8 programme includes of aspects of justice and injustice. Towards the end of year 8, Islam and the call to prayer employ problem solving activities.
The year 9 programme offers insights into spiritual and physical journeys through life and begins the GCSE course by looking at ultimate questions such as ‘Is there life after death?’
Students are given challenging activities concerning issues which are relevant to them, for example, religious and social justice in today’s world which includes the Holocaust, Judaism and Anne Frank, a girl about the same age as our students so empathy and emotional skills are used. These may be linked to Poppy Day and the reasons for celebrating it today.
What strategies are used to teach students at key stage 3?
RE is taught through concepts, skills and attitudes which are transferable to other subjects and life outside of school.
Concepts such as forgiveness are explored through parables and graphs.
It is also important to support students in adopting skills which enable them to make reasoned and informed judgements on religious and moral issues
Also, RE provides cross curricular opportunities such as in the year 8 unit, ‘How do ordinary people respond in extra ordinary circumstances?’. In this unit, Literacy, numeracy, history, geography and Citizenship all have roles to play so that students with interests in different subjects will find they can relate to the units.
What role does assessment for learning play?
Assessment for learning includes teacher, peer and self assessment. Assessment takes place so that students and staff are aware of their levels of achievement. Staff mark the assessment tasks, award a level and give students comments so that they know how to progress to the next level.
Many students reach levels 5 – 7 by the end of year 9.
What course do key stage 4 students study?
At key stage 4, students embark on the Edexcel G.C.S.E. short course in Religious Studies entitled, ‘Religion and Life from a Christian Perspective’. However, non – religious views are also The new course consists of four sections which all examination and non – examination students study. Each section does enable students to know, understand and arrive at their own opinions about issues.
Section 1 is ‘Believing in God’ and is concerned with people’s reasons for believing or not believing in a God.
Section 2 is ‘ Life and death issues’..
Section3 is ‘Marriage ,the family and divorce’.
Section 4 is ‘Social Harmony’
There is an opportunity to take the GCSE short course examination which in past years has always had excellent results in A* - C grades
What strategies are used to teach key stage 4 students?
In many ways the key stage 3 strategies are employed although more challenging work is offered.
Thinking skills and Literacy skills have an important role to play in supporting students to achieve their full potential
How does R.E. incorporate the school’s specialisms?
At both key stages, students engage in various enterprise tasks such as
i)in trying to answer the key question, ‘Does being a good Samaritan make for good business?’
iii) At key stage 4, students may have the task of organizing a wedding using a fixed amount of money
iv)the rural dimension is included in issues concerning creation and respect for the earth
What is the future of R.E.?
RE will continue to be academic subject as well as being one to help the individual student.It will support life long learning and help to ensure our students will be good and informed citizens for the benefit of all communities, now and in the future.
