Our curriculum offer seeks to follow the National Curriculum prioritising emotional wellbeing alongside academic achievements in order to meet the individual needs of our pupils, this is exemplified by aiding the pupils to develop their levels of religious literacy and conceptual understanding in order to articulate, with confidence, their ideas about religion, beliefs and spirituality. The syllabus intends to provide the structures and support systems that will enable the teaching of RE in a manner that is coherent, progressive, pedagogically and philosophically sound, and that will promote the cognitive, spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of all learners. RE not only promotes understanding between all people but the wellbeing of all pupils as they will find themselves making informed decisions on how they want to live their lives, aiding their emotional wellbeing and understanding.
Also, the curriculum is strategically planned to scaffold the skills required to make successful progress demonstrated through building up skills through the topics. In Year 7, it will address 3 main questions. What is so radical about Jesus? Should religious buildings be sold to feed the starving? And what is good and what is challenging about being a teenage Sikh/Buddhist/Muslim in Britain today? They will have a term on each main question which is intertwined with other sub questions and different religious beliefs. This will progress towards a deeper thinking in Year 8, where they will address the following 3 questions: Is death the end? Does it matter? How can people express the spirituality through music and art? Does religion help people to be good? There are non-religious beliefs added to the syllabus, helping the pupils to gain an understanding of the non-faiths such as humanist views. This is to enhance understanding and knowledge, in order to be able to express and communicate both faith and non-faith views. The last term in Year 8 looks at what is right or wrong, which gives the pupils the opportunity to explore their own views and how this impacts their lives. Year 9 will be the last year before they are able to start working on a pre-GCSE or a GCSE and therefore the topics are even more in-depth and this will cover 3 topics. They will look at: Why is there suffering? Are there any good solutions? What difference does it make to believe in…? And is religion a power for peace or a cause of conflict in the world today? By the end of Year 9, the pupils will be well equipped in their understanding of religious and non-religious views, they should be able to have formed solid opinions and can comment on others’ views.
We strive to enthuse and prepare our young people for the wider world to develop the skills imperative to our pupils’ ability to cope in the wider world and their ability to sustain employment. This is incorporated through the 3 year RE syllabus, which helps to discover both others and their own views, on life and enables them to make informed decisions for themselves, rather than be followers of others’ ideas.
A knowledge-engaged curriculum is promoted and facilitated through following the Manchester SACRA – Agreed syllabus for Religious Education in KS3 and AQA in KS4, which scheme of work follows Manchester agreed syllables. This will enable pupils to gain a coherent knowledge and understanding of different religions, allowing pupils to expand their prior knowledge, and gain new essential knowledge that they need to prepare themselves for their future success. Our ambition for all our pupils, is to give them opportunities which will give them the best understanding of how to be successful in 21st Century Britain. We prioritise communication and literacy skills in every lesson, using discussions and debates supporting pupils’ thought processes. (There is support for S.E.N to records their ideas.) Low literacy skills should not be a hindrance and we encourage all pupils to successfully complete this three year extensive course. This knowledge – engaged curriculum, develops a growth mind-set and allows pupils to become the best versions of themselves. In addition, it supports pupils to develop skills in team work, co-operation, confidence building and improving their self-esteem.
Cultural capital is provided through a programme of on and off-site visits and experiences, and this supports pupil understanding of the RE content. It helps the pupils to understand the complexity of other people’s lives, their expression and life style and for these to be highly and empathetically respected. Visiting or meeting others, promotes spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils at the school and in society. It prepares the pupils for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life. Trips such as visiting museums, religious buildings and working with charities, helps the teaching and understanding of both non- faith and religious and their belief systems; which develops views on morality and social justice. In order to encourage responsible stewardship of the environment and to deepen the experience of being human, promoting social and ethnic harmony and awareness of British Values. The pupils will have the opportunity to ask perceptive questions, think critically, weigh evidence, sift arguments, and develop perspective and judgement, in order to come to an informed and empathetic understanding of different groups. This will provide pupils with a balanced and broadly healthy view which is enhanced by all that we do through the Culture Capital.
Curriculum Map for RE
