Cringleford CE VA Primary School

Religious Education Policy

Approved by:Cringleford CE VA Primary School Governors

Approval Date:

Review Date:September 2018

Staff Responsible:Mary Prendi (RE Subject Leader)

Neil Henery (Head Teacher)

Cringleford CE VA Primary School Governors

RE Policy Statement

Cringleford staff and governors are committed to the provision of a high quality education within the context of Christian values. Religious Education is unique in the school curriculum, in that it is neither a core subject nor a foundation subject. The 1988 Education Act states that ‘Religious Education has equal standing in relation to core subjects in the National Curriculum in that it is compulsory for all registered pupils’. The Governors have agreed to adopt the Norfolk Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education, as well as the Church of England’s Understanding Christianity teaching programme. The primary aim of Religious Education is to promote religious literacy.

Aims

At Cringleford Primary, we aim for Religious Education to enable pupils to:

  • Encounter Christianity as the religion that shaped British culture, and continues to influence the lives of millions of people in the modern age.
  • Learn about the other major world religions: Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism – and appreciate their impact on culture, politics and history.
  • Develop an understanding of religious faith as a search for, and expression of, truth.
  • Examine moral and ethical issues relating to religious belief and faith – building resilience to anti-democratic or extremist narratives.
  • Explore their own beliefs and sense of identity, enabling them to flourish as citizens of a diverse society and contribute to their community.

Contribution of RE to other Curriculum Aims

Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Development:Section 78 of 2002 Education Act states that all pupils should follow a balanced curriculum which ‘promotes the spiritual, moral, cultural, social, mental and physical development of pupils and of society’. Exploring the concepts of religion and belief helps pupils to develop moral awareness and social understanding.

Community Cohesion: RE plays an important role in helping pupils to become successful learners, confident individuals and responsible citizens – and strengthens their capacity for making moral judgements and making positive and healthy choices.

Global Community: RE involves the study of matters of global significance, recognising the diversity of religion and its impact on world issues. RE gives specific opportunities create an ethos of respect, challenge stereotypes and build an understanding of others cultures and beliefs.

Collective Worship: Religious Education and Collective Worship are legally distinct. RE cannot be delivered during Collective Worship, and RE curriculum time is not allocated for Collective Worship experiences. Having said this, leaders from local churches (including St. Peter’s, Cringleford) often take part in collective worship at the school. In addition, Christian festivals are celebrated and Bible stories are shared during school assemblies. Please refer to the Collective Worship Policy.

Curriculum and Teaching

The RE Curriculum Map is planned around key enquiry questions known as ‘Big Questions’. Foundation Stage and KS1 investigate two Big Questions per term, and KS2 investigates one Big Question per term. Each of these Big Questions is broken down into a series of Bitesize Questions, each of which is explored over the course of approximately two lessons. Teachers follow an enquiry-based learning model with their classes:

Engage: Pupils are engaged through stimulus and a key question. For example, ‘What do Hindus celebrate at Diwali?’

Enquire: Pupils create their own enquiry questions, based on the stimulus.

Explore: Pupils explore the concept through the process of enquiry and use of appropriate resources. They look for answers to their questions.

Evaluate: Pupils respond to, analyse and evaluate their understanding of the concept. Have they answered their questions?

Express: Pupils express the knowledge and understanding they have gained in answer to the key question.

All Foundation Stage and KS1 pupils have a 45 minute RE lesson every week. All KS2 pupils have a 1 hour RE lesson every week. More than one half of RE curriculum time is allocated to Christianity, with the remaining time divided between the other major world religions (Islam and Judaism being given slightly more time than the others). RE Theme Days take place for Y2 in Autumn (Christmas Experience), Y4 in Spring (Easter Experience) and Y6 in Summer (Big Story Experience).

Please refer to Cringleford RE Curriculum Map.

Assessment

Assessment is an integral part of teaching and learning at Cringleford, and is a continuous process. Teachers assess RE to ensure that the children are making good progress on their journey of developing religious literacy, and to plan future work. Each term, every pupil will be assessed on their knowledge and understanding related to the Big Question that they have investigated over 12 weeks. This will be reported to parents on the pupil’s Annual Report, and also recorded on termly RE Assessment Records. Teachers can use the pupil’s responses to the smaller Bitesize Questions to help them inform their judgement.

Monitoring and Evaluation

The RE Subject Leader, the Head Teacher and the RE Governor are jointly responsible for monitoring the provision of RE within Cringleford CE VA Primary School. This will ensure that the RE Policy and Curriculum Map are being adhered to, and standards are being upheld. An annual RE Subject Leader’s Report and Resources Audit will be produced by the RE Subject Leader. Monitoring of the work on the RE Subject Leader will be done as part of the school’s Performance Management process. The RE Subject Leader will aim to meet at least once per academic year with the RE Governor. Each term, the RE Subject leader will monitor lessons or books in one Foundation Stage/ KS1 class, and one KS2 class.

Right of Withdrawal from Religious Education

Cringleford CE VA Primary School aims to be an inclusive community, but recognises that parents and carers have the right to withdraw their child from RE on the grounds of conscience and beliefs. This is in accordance with the Education Act 1944 (Sections 25(4) and 30), which was re-enacted in 1988. Any parent considering withdrawal is requested to discuss this with the Head Teacher, in order to consider any concerns they have about the policy, provision and practice of RE at the school before they make their final decision. Parents do not need to give a reason as to why they are withdrawing their child.

  • The school has a duty to supervise withdrawn pupils, but not to provide alternative teaching which incurs an extra cost. When a parent requests that a pupil receives a specific form of RE education, arrangements for this can be made off site (at no additional cost to the school). The parent can also provide alternative RE teaching materials for their child to work on during RE lesson time, on condition that they are approved by the Head Teacher.

Role of RE Subject Leader

The RE Subject Leader will keep the RE Policy and RE Curriculum Map under regular review. They will audit and update resources as needed, and monitor pupil progress and achievement. The RE Subject Leader will mentor and support teachers in developing their strengths in teaching RE, and work to develop positive links with the Diocese, wider Christian community and other faith groups within Norfolk.

Entitlement and Inclusion for SEN, EAL and More Able

All children are entitled to access a broad and balanced curriculum at an appropriate level. Teachers should include a range of teaching styles and groupings to allow all children to make progress. Every child should be given opportunity to develop their skills within the enquiry-based process, thus enhancing their confidence and self esteem.

Resources

Cringleford CE VA Primary has a good bank of RE resources. A portable trolley contains six boxes of resources and artefacts – one for each of the six major world religions. A second trolley contains a wide selection of teaching materials, books, activity books and RE DVDs. The school subscribes to NATRE, and makes regular use of the RE:Online website and REQuest website for film clips and teaching ideas. The RE Subject Leader is available to support and advise teachers.