R.E.

INTENT Our intent is for all children to leave our schools with a wider understanding of living world faiths both religious (Christianity, Islam, Judaism and Hinduism) as well as mentioning non-religious world views (such as atheism).

 Through developing an understanding of these living faiths and drawing comparisons between them and our own lives, we want all children to gain a deeper appreciation and respect for everyone, no matter what religion they may follow.

To address the needs of socially disadvantaged children, who may not this opportunity at home, we aim to take all children to visit different places of worship to appreciate fully and respect how and where different faith groups worship.

IMPLEMENTATION RE should be taught weekly (or blocked so that the equivalent time is covered). Sessions are taught focusing on a termly key question such as ‘What do Christian’s believe God is like?’ and ‘What does it mean to be a Hindu in Britain today?’. Teachers focus on three core elements ‘Making sense of Belief’, ‘Understanding the impact’ and ‘Making Connections’. We follow the Gloucestershire Agreed Syllabus for RE and use the ‘Understanding Christianity’ resource to support planning and teaching Christianity units. We understand that the children’s starting points will differ, as will their learning behaviours so teachers use a range of approaches to immerse children in their learning. RE sessions can involve drama, art and design, recounts, discussions and visits from people who follow the faith being studied. Resources including audio, visual and physical artefacts help to engage children and provide a tangible understanding of concepts that can be quite abstract. Topics are presented using a variety of views and beliefs so that pupils are able to form their own, informed opinions but also respect that others have a right to differing opinions.

To ensure that whilst they are with us the children learn about a broad range of religions – reflecting some of the diversity of the local area- the following faith groups are taught in each Key Stage.

Different aspects of the wider life of the school also help to develop our children’s understanding of living world faiths. These also help to address the needs of children from socially disadvantaged families who may not have these opportunities at home. These include:

· Trips to different places of worship including a Church of England Church, Gloucester Cathedral, Mosque, Mandir, Baptist Church and Synagogue.

· Visits from people of different faith.

 · Assemblies learning about Bible stories and characters lead by staff, the Open the Book team and members of local church clergy.

· Assemblies based on stories and celebrations from different faiths and traditions.

· Experience Journeys with the local church help to make links between what is taught in school and the church.

IMPACT We measure impact by assessing the children at the end of each unit against the end of unit outcomes for the three core elements. The RE leader analyses the data to ensure that teachers can be supported in any areas of greater need and teachers use the data to make sure there is good progression of skills and knowledge. Through the use of hand over meetings and passing on of assessment records we aim to have a seamless progression between units, year groups and key stages.