Intent – What is the purpose of our Religious Education curriculum?
At Tranmere Park Primary, we believe that RE is a fundamental part of our curriculum. Our curriculum is open and objective – it doesn’t seek to urge religious beliefs on young people, nor compromise the integrity of their own religious position by promoting one tradition over another. We intend to:
– Develop the moral compasses of our pupils allowing them to be free to discuss and express their feelings, beliefs and values.
– Study Abrahamic (Christianity, Islam and Judaism), Humanist and Dharmic traditions (Sikhism).
– Know and understand the key concepts of ‘worship’, ‘festivals and morals’ and ‘traditions and beliefs.’
– Equip pupils with the disciplinary knowledge of a theologist (comparing non-judgementally, studying creation stories and how these impact upon wider environmental issues, noticing and studying similarities and differences across faiths and different cultures, whilst understanding the significance of shared belief, community and harmony.)
In summary, we believe that RE should challenge stereotypes, not reinforce them thus ensuring that all pupils reach their full potential as their individual needs and abilities are recognised and developed within a caring and supportive environment. We believe RE is of paramount importance for our children in order to respect each other’s views and values. We promote the equal value of all religions as well as teaching the children to celebrate cultural diversity.
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Our Children will: |
Our Teachers will: |
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Implementation – How do we do it?
The Learning Journey
Children follow the Leeds Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education. We believe it is very important to learn to respect each other’s views and values. We promote the equal value of all religions as well as teaching the children to celebrate cultural diversity.
It is the duty of the Headteacher and Governing Body to ensure that the provision of Religious Education is part of the school’s curriculum. However, parents have the right to withdraw their child from Religious Education and should contact the Headteacher if they wish to exercise this right.
Religious Education at Tranmere Park Primary School reflects three key areas. Firstly, it includes a study of the key beliefs and practices of religions and other world views, including those represented in Leeds (Religious Studies). Secondly, it provides opportunities to explore key religious concepts and common human questions of meaning, purpose and value, often called ‘ultimate’ questions (Philosophy). Thirdly, it enables pupils to investigate how beliefs affect moral decisions and identity, exploring both diversity and shared human values (Ethics). These three areas together will nurture pupils’ religious literacy. Children will work through a unit of work focusing around a key question related to the subject content of the syllabus. Enquiry and investigation of the key question includes at least three elements: 1) An analysis of the question; 2) A critical investigation of relevant beliefs, practices and ways of life; 3) A reasoned and critical response. At Tranmere Park, pupils will focus on specific core religions at each key stage: Christianity and Islam from KS1 adding Sikhism and Judaism at KS2. We also recognise and reflect on a variety of different religions and other faiths and systems of belief beyond the six defined world faiths, including non-religious world views. As the children progress through the programme of study, they can look deeper into spiritual, ethical, moral and social issues and with increasing breadth across different religions and worldviews through time and around the world. Learning is planned and sequenced to support pupils in building an ever-increasing picture over time, constantly building their knowledge and understanding of key subject knowledge and specialist vocabulary. It is a legal requirement that all pupils are entitled to religious education. Therefore, we deliver RE with integrity and time is allocated weekly within each Key Stage.
Foundation Stage
At Tranmere Park Primary, pupils will encounter religions and other world views through special people, books, times, places and objects and by visiting places of worship. They will listen to and talk about stories from a range of different religions and world views. Pupils will be introduced to subject-specific words and use all their senses to encounter beliefs and practices. They will be encouraged to ask questions and talk about their own feelings and experiences.
Key Stage 1
Pupils will develop their knowledge and understanding of religions and world views, recognising local, national and global contexts. They will use basic subject-specific vocabulary. They will start to raise questions about beliefs and find out about questions of right and wrong and begin to respond with their own views.
Key Stage 2
Pupils will extend their knowledge and understanding of religions, beliefs and values, recognising personal, local, national and global contexts. They will be introduced to an extended range of sources and subject-specific vocabulary. They will be encouraged to be curious and to ask and discuss increasingly challenging questions about beliefs, values and human life, drawing on the insights of religions and other world views. Pupils will respond with their own ideas, identifying relevant information, selecting examples and giving reasons to support their ideas and views.
Assessment
By the end of each key stage, pupils are expected to know, apply and understand the knowledge, skills and processes specified in the programme of study. Assessment will be based on pupils’ progress towards the end of key stage statements set out in the Leeds Agreed Syllabus 2019 -2024. The non-statutory units of work provide assessment examples based on this ladder of skills and knowledge, working towards the end of key stage assessments. After each unit, staff will assess children’s attainment in the key areas studied, using the Tranmere Park Foundation Stage Assessment documents.
To achieve this staff will use:
• Short-term assessments – aim to assess the children’s learning informally on a lesson by lesson basis and are key to our curriculum. These could include observations of groups, analysis of whole class feedback, the marking of work or short tests, either in written or oral form.
• Medium-term assessments are completed at the end of a half-term. These grids are kept in the assessment folders within classrooms.
• Long-term assessments assess our children against national expectations. These are also used to provide extra information about individual children’s attainment and progress so that the teacher can report to the next teacher and the child’s parent. Furthermore, data will be used by SLT to brief the governing body, the staff and the LEA on overall progress towards the school’s end of year targets.
Monitoring
There is an ongoing cycle of subject monitoring at Tranmere Park Primary. The Subject Leader will be allocated a block of time during the academic year to monitor the subject across the phases linked to the whole school development priorities. This will focus on RE specific teaching and learning with reference to how we teach Religious Education and may include: classroom observations, talking to children and adults, planning annotations, looking through class RE big books and evidence of first-hand experiences. Results of monitoring will inform the Subject Leader’s action plan and subject self-evaluation at the end of the academic year.
The Subject Leader manages the long-term plan for Religious Education. The Subject Leader also reports to the Head teacher at the end of the academic year, referring to the data analysis of each classes RE end of year data.
Impact – What knowledge and skills are obtained?
At Tranmere Park, every pupil will:
• Make progress and achieve national expectations, irrespective of background and entry points.
• Reflect on their own thoughts, raise questions for themselves and of others.
• Be able to review their own experiences and learn how to respond to them and the world around them.
• Become inspired to learn from others and discover the value of empathy.
• Understand there is a rich heritage of faiths and beliefs which will enable them to develop their own critical and reflective skills
• Develop spiritually, academically, emotionally and morally, promoting and realising a better understanding of themselves and others. Be equipped with the opportunities, challenges and responsibilities that come from living in a rapidly changing, multicultural world.
• Experience lessons that promote choice and independent thinking.
• Have a positive attitude towards people, respecting their right to hold different beliefs.
• Recognise similarities and differences in commitment, self-understanding and the search for truth. Respecting and valuing these for the common good.
Further to the above, our Curriculum, at Tranmere Park, is designed to ensure that each and every child achieves or demonstrates the following:
| The Team Tranmere Way | |||||
| Be Yourself | Be Your Best | Be Team Tranmere | |||
| Our children will learn to like who they are; they respect themselves and live their lives in their own way, regardless of the opinions of others. | Our children ‘give it everything they have got’ to achieve their full potential across the curriculum. | Our children are a part of a community and have respect for the resources and people in it and that surround it. | |||
| Our Learning Values and Behaviours | |||||
| Self-Manager | Effective Participator | Independent Enquirer | Team Worker | Resourceful Thinker | Reflective Learner |
| Our children set their own goals and manage their own time, motivation and concentration. | Our children participate in lessons and persuade and encourage others to do so. | Our children set goals for their research with clear success criteria. | Our children understand that we are stronger together and implement this. | Our children are problem-solvers who can adapt to new or difficult situations. | Our children critically analyse their work ensuring future improvements. |
