Religious Education at Ryedene
“We are Philosophers”
Subject Leader: Mrs Hooper
As a Year 1 teacher and our school’s Religious Education Lead, I am passionate about creating meaningful opportunities for children to explore faith, philosophy and theology, and to understand how these connect to the wider world around them. Religious Education gives our children the opportunity to ask big questions, think deeply, listen to different perspectives and develop a sense of curiosity about people, beliefs and cultures. Through engaging and thoughtful learning, we encourage children to reflect on their own experiences while developing respect and understanding for the diverse world in which we live.
Vision: The vision for RE is for it to be a living part of our whole-school community. I hope to build meaningful links between classroom learning, our school values and the experiences of our families and wider community, helping children to see that questions about faith, meaning, morality and our place in the world are relevant to all of us. My principal aim of religious education at Ryedene is to explore what people believe and what difference this makes to how they live, so that our pupils can gain the knowledge, understanding and skills needed to handle questions raised by religion and belief, reflecting on their own ideas and ways of living. We believe using high-quality religious education to support children’s religious literacy enhances our provision of meaningful and immersive learning opportunities which develop their knowledge of not only Christianity, but also other principal religions represented in our community. Our children will build knowledge of the religious and non-religious traditions that have shaped the world. At Ryedene the children will be able to increase their depth of knowledge about such traditions, which provides them with detail on which to build ideas and concepts about religion. At the same time, our high-quality tailored curriculum will accurately portray some of the diversity and complexity found within and between different traditions.
What we are teaching: Religious Education at Ryedene will be provided in line with the legal requirements. The basic curriculum will include provision for religious education for all pupils on the school roll. The content of RE shall reflect the fact that religious traditions in Great Britain are in the main Christian, while taking account of the teaching and practices of the other principal religious traditions represented in Great Britain. The RE which is provided shall be in accordance with the locally agreed syllabus for Essex. Teachers are given the autonomy to interpret and teach the unit to best suit their children ensuring the key learning from the curriculum is covered. A range of evidence is used to record lessons and teachers are encouraged to use a range of pedagogies to engage all learners. Units are planned across the year groups to consider prior knowledge and to ensure a smooth progression through both knowledge of religion and the skills associated with learning from religion.
How we teach Religious Education: At Ryedene teachers are given the autonomy to interpret and teach the units to best suit their children ensuring the key learning from the curriculum is covered. A range of evidence is used to record the learning using oracy and debate alongside written work and artwork and teachers are encouraged to use a range of pedagogies to engage all learners. Units are planned across the year groups to consider prior knowledge and to ensure a smooth progression through both knowledge of religion and the skills associated with learning from religion.
Impact - What the children have learnt: Children at Ryedene enjoy learning about different religions and their associated beliefs. Through engaging, respectful, and meaningful learning they are able to make links between their own lives and those of others in their community and the wider world. They develop an understanding and appreciation of diversity for people from all cultures, traditions, and communities. Children understand shared values and are able to challenge racism and discrimination in an ever-changing world. The children come to see the relationship between what they learn in the RE curriculum and their own lives as they build awareness of the assumptions that they bring to discussions concerning religious and non-religious traditions. Each teacher is responsible for assessing the learning for each unit where skill progression and unit knowledge is noted following careful observations of contribution and participation, targeted questioning as well as formal written work.
