Browney Primary Academy

Browney Primary Academy

RE & SMSC

Scheme of Work

July 2016

Table of Contents

Introduction 3

Religious Education: The 2014 Curriculum 3

RE: Areas of study 4

Resources 4

Useful Links 4

SMSC (PSHE) 5

What is SMSC? 5

SMSC within Browney Academy 5

Planning and Assessment 6

EYFS / Key Stage One 6

Key Stage Two 7

Introduction

The current 2014 curriculum for schools in England and Wales states that “All schools are required to make provision for a daily act of collective worship and must teach Religious Education to pupils at every key stage”; an aim which Browney Academy envelops as a foundation by which to achieve above and beyond these expectations.

SMSC (previously PSHE) is the ‘feeder subject’ for Citizenship education, which helps to provide pupils with knowledge, skills and understanding, to prepare them to play a full and active part in society. In particular, Citizenship focuses pupils’ awareness of how the United Kingdom is governed and how its laws are made and upheld. It prepares pupils to take their place in society as responsible citizens by providing them with the skills and knowledge to manage their money well and make sound financial decisions. Consequently, the teaching of Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural practices and the important role of British values have become key in ensuring excellence within this area of teaching; how well schools promote such values are now part of the Ofsted inspection process.

Religious Education: The 2014 Curriculum

Religious education (RE) makes a significant contribution to pupils’ academic and personal development. It also plays a key role in promoting social cohesion and the virtues of respect and empathy, which are important in our diverse society. It helps young people to develop beliefs and values, and promotes the virtues of respect and empathy, which are important in our diverse society. It fosters civilised debate and reasoned argument, and helps pupils to understand the place of religion and belief in the modern world (OFSTED, 2013). There are no set goals or levels of attainment for Religious Education in the current curriculum; however, in order to achieve the expectations set out above and also “promote the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils at the school and of society” (Department for Education, 2014), it is vital that we have a progressive and attainable scheme of work for this area in order to provide a reliable and informative method by which to meet and surpass these expectations.

Additionally to the above, the 2014 curriculum also states that as a statutory obligation, each school and academy “prepares pupils at the school for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life” and that “schools should make provision for personal, social, health and economic education (PSHE), drawing on good practice” (Department for Education, 2014). However, schools are also free to include other subjects or topics of their choice in planning and designing their own programme of education for this area. These attainments and expectations are addressed later in this scheme of work, promoting fundamental British values in our curriculum at Browney Academy and in all that we do.

As such, Browney Academy follows the recommendations of OFSTED, in that we:

·  ensure that learning in RE has a stronger focus on deepening pupils’ understanding of the nature, diversity and impact of religion and belief in the contemporary world

·  continually improve lesson planning so that teaching has a clear and straightforward focus on what pupils need to learn and engages their interest.

·  raise the status of RE in the curriculum and strengthen the quality of subject leadership by improving the arrangements for developing teachers’ subject expertise, sharing good practice, and monitoring the quality of the curriculum and teaching.

·  improve the quality of teaching and the curriculum to increase opportunities for pupils to work independently, make links with other subjects and tackle more challenging tasks.

·  place enquiry at the heart of learning – as a key to improving teaching

In order to rise to this challenge, teachers within Browney are expected to consider many strands with regards to their planning, teaching and assessment of Religious Education (see appendices)

RE: Areas of study

Areas of Religious Education covered include the faiths of Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism and Buddhism (the six largest worldwide religions, based on individual numbers within the faiths), in order to encompass the culturally diverse experiences and population of our society today. Each half term, there will be a focus on one of these religions across the whole school, in order that we are working together in a methodical manner, providing a comprehensive learning walk through the needs of this subject from Reception to Year 6. The timetable for when to teach the outlooks and traditions of each faith has been organised to coincide with the major festivals of each Religion, alongside being colour-coded to coincide with the significant colours for each religion.

Resources

A key part of the government’s plan for education is “ensuring that teachers can focus on what they do best - teaching and raising standards - so they can prepare young people for life in modern Britain, and not be bogged down with unnecessary tasks” (Clegg, Feb 2015). This is reflected in the provision of the RE curriculum for Browney – the focus is centred on understanding, enjoyment and knowledge, rather than summative testing or lengthy written tasks. Physical resources are available from our colleagues at Durham Learning Resources, our local faith lending-library and there are also plentiful websites through which practitioners can add to their teaching alongside these excellent artefacts. As each year group will focus on a different aspect of the religion to be studied during that term, resources should be freely shared, with an emphasis on the most relevant artefacts being in the right classrooms at the correct times.

The teaching of both RE and SMSC will be supported within the daily life of the school, by both teachers and the senior leadership team. This will include coming together for whole school events and activities, as SMSC is a fundamental part of our school life and also by our weekly assemblies, including the Statements to Live By, which address current themes and provide accessible and inclusive ways by which to live our lives by including and supporting Christian values.

Useful Links

http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion

http://www.calendarlabs.com

http://primaryhomeworkhelp.co.uk/Religion.html

SMSC (PSHE)

What is SMSC?

SMSC stands for spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. All schools in England must show how well their pupils develop in SMSC.

All schools must meet the requirements set out in section 78 of the Education Act 2002 and actively promote the spiritual, moral, social and cultural (SMSC) development of their pupils. Through ensuring pupils’ SMSC development, schools can also demonstrate they are actively promoting fundamental British values. Academies such as our own must meet the SMSC standard that is set out in Part 2 of Schedule 1 to the Education (Independent School Standards) (England) Regulations 2010 (as amended in November 2014) within our activities and schemes of work.

Meeting requirements for collective worship, establishing a strong school ethos supported by effective relationships throughout the school, and providing relevant activities beyond the classroom are all ways of ensuring pupils’ SMSC development at Browney Academy. Pupils must be encouraged to regard people of all faiths, races and cultures with respect and tolerance. Aspects of SMSC can be developed through virtually all parts of the curriculum and infused within the day to day operation of our academy, in its behaviours and ethos, although some subjects and activities are likely to be more relevant than others. Expectations in all areas must be adjusted for the age and ability of pupils, including those with special needs.

It is expected that pupils should understand that while different people may hold different views about what is ‘right’ and ‘wrong’, all people living in England are subject to its law. The school’s ethos and teaching will support the rule of English civil and criminal law and not teach anything that undermines it. If teaching about religious law, particular care should be taken to explore the relationship between state and religious law. Pupils should be made aware of the difference between the law of the land and religious law.

SMSC within Browney Academy

Through our provision of SMSC, Browney Academy will:

• enable students to develop their self-knowledge, self-esteem and self-confidence;

• enable students to distinguish right from wrong and to respect the civil and criminal law of England;

• encourage students to accept responsibility for their behaviour, show initiative, and to understand how they can contribute positively to the lives of those living and working in the locality of the school and to society more widely;

• enable students to acquire a broad general knowledge of and respect for public institutions and services in England;

• further tolerance and harmony between different cultural traditions by enabling students to acquire an appreciation of and respect for their own and other cultures;

• encourage respect for other people

• encourage respect for democracy and support for participation in the democratic processes, including respect for the basis on which the law is made and applied in England.

Planning and Assessment

Whilst assessment is not statutory in either RE or SMSC, great value can be gained by tracking pupil progress in each and every subject, in order to assess the quality of teaching and learning that we are offering in these areas. Full tracking systems show clear progression in the children’s learning journey through the academy; an example (using Judaism) is shown below, which is adapted to all Faiths covered within our planning and assessment grids for these subjects.

Age-related SMSC objectives are actively promoted from the current curriculum and are tailored to link with from the current faith focus. Each year group has progressive learning intentions for Religious Education and Spirituality that build children’s knowledge year on year, providing a reliable and enlightening learning journey in these subjects within their time at Browney Academy.

EYFS / Key Stage One

Key Stage Two

Planning Templates