RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
“The beauty of the world lies in the diversity of its people.”
INTENT
At Highfield, we take pride in our commitment to equality and diversity. Religious Education (RE) has a significant role in the development of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. It promotes respect and open-mindedness towards others with different faiths and beliefs and encourages pupils to develop their sense of identity and belonging through self-awareness and reflection. The principle aim of RE is to engage pupils in an enquiry approach where they can develop an understanding and appreciation for the expression of beliefs, cultural practices and influence of principle religions, worldviews and non-religious worldviews in Birmingham, the UK and the world.
Our curriculum prepares pupils for life in modern Britain by equipping them to be responsible, respectful, active citizens, developing their understanding of fundamental British values and their appreciation of diversity.
Following the Birmingham approach to Religious Education, pupils will develop:
Intellectually:
- Through developing knowledge and understanding of religious traditions and non-religious worldviews;
- By evaluating and reflecting on these in the light of their own experiences;
- By developing informed judgment.
Emotionally:
- Through having their feelings deepened;
- By acknowledging, and responding to, shared human experiences, such as joy, grief, thankfulness, care;
- By expressing any personal reflection, which could include the spiritual or religious in words, or through other media.
Behaviourally:
- Through being encouraged to act responsibly;
- By cultivating widely recognised values and virtues such as honesty and integrity;
- By being motivated to act upon their new-found understanding
IMPLEMENTATION
At Highfield, RE is taught weekly and work is recorded in pupils’ RE books. We follow the Birmingham Agreed Syllabus. This syllabus is designed to ensure that during pupils’ first few years in school, they are progressively introduced to 24 dispositions. Subsequently, they re-visit all 24 with increasing depth, enabling a growing sophistication of spiritual and moral character, disposition by disposition, and a growing numbers of religious traditions and non-religious worldviews. Each time a disposition is encountered, the traditions of one faith or a number of faiths and non-religious worldviews are used to resource the learning. A sacred scripture, religious practice, rite of passage, an institution, piece of literature, art or music can equally trigger learning.
The syllabus uses a learning model which breaks the dispositions into four tangible, interconnected dimensions. They are:
- Learning from Experience
- Learning about religious traditions and non-religious worldviews
- Learning from faith and non-religious worldviews
- Learning to discern
These dimensions help pupils in developing skills to consider issues, not only from their own perspective but also from an analytical viewpoint. Key questions guide the lesson planning and correspond to each of the four dimensions of learning for each key stage.
Effective Religious Education takes into account pupils’ experiences and backgrounds. Each disposition is initially encountered by discovering what pupils know about the concept from their experiences.
Lessons are adapted, where appropriate, for pupils that need extra support with their learning and understanding. Visits, visitors and daily collective worship support and complement the RE curriculum.
Our curriculum begins in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) where our children are given opportunities to discover and learn about the key festivals, special books, special people, places of worship, symbols and artefacts. The RE element of the children’s work is related to the knowledge and understanding of the world objectives set out in our EYFS curriculum. Children’s learning is closely linked to the texts they read, they are supported to better understand their own beliefs and those of others.
IMPACT
At Highfield, we seek to ensure that all pupils in our school are educated to develop spiritually, academically, emotionally and morally to enable them to better understand themselves and others and to cope with the opportunities, challenges and responsibilities of living in a rapidly changing, multicultural world.
Pupils show an increased understanding, awareness and positively embrace different cultures and religions. Within class discussion they are increasingly able to give ideas and opinions in a thoughtful and respectful manner. Pupils will ask questions and have a growing interest in other religions and beliefs. Pupils talk with pride about their belief, and it is met with respect and interest. Pupils at Highfield will be able to demonstrate acceptance, tolerance, understanding and empathy.
Attainment in RE is measured through key learning tasks at the end of each term.