Tower Hill Primary School
Religious Education
Aims
The Education Act 1996, Schools Standards and Framework Act 1998 and Education Act 2002 require that:
- Religious education should be taught to all children and except for those withdrawn at the wish of their parents. Teachers’ rights are safeguarded, should they wish to withdraw from the teaching of religious education
- Religious education in all community, foundation and voluntary controlled schools should be taught in accordance with an Agreed Syllabus.
- An Agreed Syllabus should reflect the fact that the religious traditions in Great Britain are in the main Christian, while taking account of the teachings and practises of the other principal religions in Great Britain
- An Agreed Syllabus must not be designed to convert pupils, or to urge a particular religion or religious belief on pupils
- An Agreed Syllabus Conference must be convened every five years to review the existing syllabus.
Living Difference IV
Living Difference IV is the Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education (R.E) in Hampshire and has been written and agreed by all of the SACREs. November 2021
Intent:
All children will have an opportunity to explore their own lives in relation to what it can mean to live with a religious orientation on life, as well as other ways including those informed by a non-religious perspective. We enable all children to have the opportunity to engage in rich discussions and encourage them to reflect and ponder different ideas. We allow them to share their own beliefs and opinions while showing respect to others. The teaching of Religious Education is intended to “allow children to engage intellectually with material that is new and to discern with others what is valuable with regard to living a religious life or one informed by a non-religious or other perspective” (Living Difference IV)
Implementation:
We will follow the guidance from Living Difference IV, Hampshire’s Agreed Syllabus which states: “Living Difference IV seeks to introduce children and young people to what a religious way of looking at, and existing in, the world may offer in leading one’s life, individually and collectively.” Each unit of work taught will engage and build upon skills and experiences previously taught and will allow the children to deepen their understanding through enquiry. We believe that learning is best when the learning is real therefore a hands-on approach is important, using artefacts, visitors and trips to allow the children to make connections and explain their own opinions and ideas.
Planning:
In Early Years Foundation Stage (Year R), children will engage with aspects of what it means to live life in the Christian traditions, along with a depth study of aspects of what it means to live life in a Hindu traditions.
In Key Stage One (Years 1 and 2), the children will continue to develop their understanding of what it means to live life in the Christian and Hindu traditions, along with a depth study of a second tradition, Judaism.
In Key Stage Two (Years 3, 4, 5 and 6), children will continue to build upon their understanding of what it means to live life in the Christian traditions as well as depth studies in two additional religious traditions: Hinduism (LKS2) and Islam (UKS2).
Within the long term planning for RE at Tower Hill there is also the opportunity to revisit taught religions as well as teach children about other religions that are followed by our school community such as Humanism in Year 6 and Sikhism in Year 1 and 5.
Key Concepts:
Living Difference IV uses three broad, groups of concepts/words which assist with making and organising the curriculum. This is so the material encountered and studied by the children and young people through the teaching activities is well sequenced, connected and revisited over time.
A: concept/words shared within as well as outside of religions and religious traditions. These include the Golden Thread concepts/words: community, belonging, special and love
B: concepts/words that are shared across religions and religious traditions
C: concepts/words distinctive to particular religions and religious traditions.
Identified in Living Difference IV, the four Golden Thread concepts thread through the curriculum to enable continuity across key stages.
In Foundation Stage, the children explore Belonging, Special and Community.
In Key Stage One, they continue to develop the four Golden Thread concepts (Love, Community and Belonging in Year 1 and Special and belonging in Year 2)
In Key Stage Two, they continue to develop the four Golden Thread concepts in both LKS2 and UKS2 (Special, Belonging and Community in Year 3, Special and Love in Year 4, Belonging and Love in Year 5 and Community and Special in Year 6). As children get older, the nuances of golden thread concepts will be explored, for example by studying special as sacred or holy.
Impact:
Article 14 of the UNCRC says that children and young people are free to be of any or no religion. At Tower Hill Primary School, the impact of teaching a successful Religious Education curriculum will allow children to develop and understand their own beliefs and opinions whilst respecting those of others. Each step of the cycle requires the children to use different skills and allows them to revisit these skills through each unit of work allowing for each concept to be revisited and explored further.
At Tower Hill Primary School, religious education for our children and young people:
- provokes challenging questions about the meaning and purpose of life, beliefs, the self, issues of right and wrong, and what it means to be human. It develops pupils’ knowledge and understanding of Christianity, other principal religions, and religious traditions that examine these questions, fostering personal reflection and spiritual development
- encourages pupils to explore their own beliefs (whether they are religious or non-religious), in the light of what they learn, as they examine issues of religious belief and faith and how these impact on personal, institutional and social ethics; and to express their responses. This also builds resilience to anti-democratic or extremist narratives
- enables pupils to build their sense of identity and belonging, which helps them flourish within their communities and as citizens in a diverse society
- teaches pupils to develop respect for others, including people with different faiths and beliefs, and helps to challenge prejudice
- prompts pupils to consider their responsibilities to themselves and to others, and to explore how they might contribute to their communities and to wider society. It encourages empathy, generosity and compassion.
