RE
WHAT WE SAY ABOUT RE AT DEAN BANK PRIMARY SCHOOL
Amealia – “We get to learn about different beliefs and cultures.”
Tyler – “I like to look at videos and pictures to learn more about religions.”
our intent
The Religious Education (R.E.) curriculum at Dean Bank Primary and Nursery School has been designed in accordance with the Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education in County Durham (2020). It has been shaped to allow students to develop secure schemas and avoid cognitive overload within RE lessons. This is particularly important due to the monoculturalism in our setting which means some children begin school with little or no experience of religions beyond the beliefs within their own family.
Through their time at Dean Bank, pupils will develop their knowledge and understanding of individual religions and some non-religious worldviews though exploring the four concepts in which religion can be defined – belief, authority, expression of belief and impact of belief. As they progress through school, students will apply this to considering ways in which religious and non-religious worldviews are similar to and different from each other. Students will gain the skills needed to think critically, to analyse and evaluate the claims that religious and non-religious worldviews make and use as well as the ability to personally reflect on religious and non-religious worldviews in relation to their own beliefs, values and experiences. We believe that this is crucial in developing their self-awareness, open-mindedness and appreciation of the world in which we live.
To enhance learning, we provide opportunities for children to visit religious buildings and invite members of various religious communities into the school. We also celebrate interfaith week on a rolling program at different times each year to celebrate a variety of different religious festivals. These experiences offer children a deeper understanding of different faiths.
implementation
Within RE, teachers are provided with medium term planning for each term that clearly show the sequence that knowledge and skills should be taught, prior learning to be built upon, key vocabulary, possible misconceptions, activities to impart knowledge and where what they are learning will lead to in the future. The focus of teachers is on preparation rather than planning so that they focus their attention on providing high-quality teaching and resources. Teachers will also plan opportunities for retrieval and recall of key knowledge to support children build secure schemas so that they can retain the new knowledge and skills taught.
RE Lessons
RE lessons at Dean Bank should follow a similar pattern in both key stage 1 and 2 – unless it is an activity designed for retrieval and recall of previous content. In order to support children build secure mental schemas, prior learning should be made explicit at the beginning of a lesson. After sharing of the learning objective, the introduction of key vocabulary should also take place to support understanding and manage cognitive overload (some vocabulary may not be shared if it needs to be taught alongside the concept to support understanding). Medium term plans will make it clear where opportunities for personal reflection and critical thinking should be taking place within the lesson.
The example below outlines what an RE lesson at Dean Bank should contain:
- Activation of prior knowledge (this could be quizzes, short activities and teacher-led retrieval)
- Sharing of learning objective
- Vocabulary introduction
- Content teaching
- Tasks
- Mini-plenaries may take place throughout the tasks/lesson
RE in EYFS
RE in EYFS is designed so that it provides children with a foundation of knowledge and skills that will support them as they move through school. Skills and knowledge linked with RE are explored within understanding the world but are also present in many of the other prime and specific areas in EYFS. Teachers adopt a text-led approach and the objectives for RE inform carefully planned formal and play-based activities.
impact
Teachers will be using formative assessment continually within their teaching and using this to support their teaching and support children to develop the knowledge and skills appropriate. They will then use recall and retrieval activities to support students to retain information and support their own ongoing assessment. Staff will record a student’s progress against the relevant knowledge and skills objectives for the unit on ‘Insight’. Children will be judged as working towards age-related expectations or working at age-related expectations based on the number of objectives achieved at the given assessment point.
In EYFS, teachers will use the setting’s assessment system to track progress against the prime and specific areas but will also record evidence of children developing key skills and knowledge through the use of seesaw.
the right of withdrawal
The parent of a pupil at a community, foundation or voluntary school (or pupils themselves if they are aged 18 or over) may request that they be excused from all or part of the religious education (RE) provided. Religion and belief have become more visible in public life in recent years, making it important that all pupils should have an opportunity to engage in RE.
Dean Bank Primary School will ensure that parents who wish to withdraw their children from RE are aware of its aims and what is covered in the RE curriculum and that they are given the opportunity to discuss this if they wish. It should be made clear whether the withdrawal is from the whole RE curriculum or specific parts of it. No reasons need be given.
Whilst parents or carers have a right to withdraw children from RE, they should note that children may also encounter religions and beliefs in other areas of the curriculum from which there is no right of withdrawal. On occasion, spontaneous questions about religious matters are raised by pupils or issues related to religion arise in other subjects such as history or citizenship. For example, our school promotes community cohesion and help pupils to understand ideas about identity and diversity within both religious and non-religious contexts.
managing the right of withdrawal
Parents have the right to choose whether or not to withdraw their child from RE without influence from the school; at Dean Bank Primary we ensure parents and carers are informed of this right, through the school website and prospectus. Where parents have requested that their child be withdrawn, their right will be respected, and where RE is integrated in the curriculum, we will need to discuss the arrangements with the parents or carers to explore how the child’s withdrawal can be best accommodated. If pupils are withdrawn from RE, we have a duty to supervise them, though not to provide additional teaching or to incur extra cost.
We will ensure that parents who want to withdraw their children from RE are aware of the educational objectives and content of the RE syllabus and that the agreed syllabus is relevant to all pupils, respecting their personal beliefs. They will be made aware of its learning outcomes and what is covered and will be given the opportunity to discuss these. In this way, parents can make an informed decision; we may wish review their request in discussion with parents each year.
Where a request for withdrawal is made, we will comply and excuse the pupil until the request is rescinded. Though not legally required, we will follow good practice and invite parents to discuss their written request.