St Mary’s Episcopal Primary School
Dunblane
Policy and Programme in RME
Including
Principles & Aims
Advice on:
How learning is organised
Learning and teaching approaches
Planning
Available resources
Assessment
Eight year overview
Principles and Aims
Learning and teaching in Religious and moral Education provides an excellent opportunity to develop the four capacities in our young people
· successful learners with an understanding of moral issues & faith groups
· confident individuals able to express their own values and beliefs
· responsible citizens in a multi faith society
· effective contributors putting their own values into action
Fundamental to this is the aim of developing an understanding of the Christian tradition in Scotland as well as exploring the diversity of belief in communities in our own country and beyond. Through an exploration of this we should aim to promote respect for others and a confidence in our young people to be secure in their own beliefs and values. Many aspects of the RME curriculum are reinforced in the ethos of the school. In, for example, how we live our school values of respect, enthusiasm, aspiration compassion and honesty.
Our aims in religious and moral education are to enable children and young people to
· recognise religion as an important expression of human experience
· learn about and from the beliefs, values, practices and traditions of Christianity and the world religions selected for study, other traditions and viewpoints independent of religious belief
· explore and develop knowledge and understanding of religions, recognising the place of Christianity in the Scottish context
· investigate and understand the responses which religious and non-religious views can offer to questions about the nature and meaning of life
· recognise and understand religious diversity and the importance of religion in society
· develop respect for others and an understanding of beliefs and practices which are different from my own
· explore and establish values such as wisdom, justice, compassion and integrity and engage in the development of and reflection upon my own moral values
· develop my beliefs, attitudes, values and practices through reflection, discovery and critical evaluation
· develop the skills of reflection, discernment, critical thinking and deciding how to act when making moral decisions
· make a positive difference to the world by putting my beliefs and values into action
· establish a firm foundation for lifelong learning, further learning and adult life.
How learning is organised
Learning and teaching in RME sits well within the four elements of curriculum planning.
Life and ethos of the school and how we share our values in our daily actions and interactions.
Interdisciplinary learning - incorporating elements of RME can enhance understanding in other curricular areas. Our Fair Trade topic and much of ECO work links well with values and faith in action for example.
Wider achievement is also promoted in RME when we consider issues of equality of opportunity, fairness in our community and beyond and in how we develop children as global citizens in actions such as recognising the needs of others, fundraising and charitable giving.
RME is also taught as a discreet subject.
The experiences and outcomes are organised in three main lines of development:
· Beliefs
· Values and Issues
· Practices and Traditions
Our school programme of study has a balance between each of the three organisers over the time children spend in nursery to Primary Seven.
Learning and teaching approaches.
As in other areas of the curriculum good practice in planning, active experiential learning and assessment apply. Co-operative learning and critical skills strategies are very useful in learning and teaching in RME. For example in exploring practices and traditions of faith groups children can work in groups to investigate different groups’ traditions and then present their finding to the rest of the class. This approach would allow for deeper investigations and link well with ICT, health and literacy outcomes of working together and presentation skills.
In planning study at early first and second stage it is advisable to study religions in the context of a comparative study. For example rights and responsibilities provides an opportunity to investigate the similarities and differences between various faith and secular groups.
In practices and traditions the context of “light as a symbol” is a good way to develop how light & fire are important symbols in Christianity and in many other faith groups.
An eight year overview is in place to ensure a balanced progressive programme which allows them to access an appropriate range of experiences and outcomes
In planning learning and teaching in religious and moral education, teachers must be able to:
• sensitively take account of and value the religious and cultural diversity within their own local communities, using relevant contexts which are familiar to young people
• actively encourage children and young people to participate in service to others
• develop, through knowledge and understanding and discussion and active debate, an ability to understand other people’s beliefs
• draw upon a variety of approaches including active learning and planned, purposeful play
• encourage the development of enquiry and critical thinking skills
• create opportunities for the development of problem -solving skills
• build in time for personal reflection and encourage discussion in depth and debate
• provide opportunities for collaborative and independent learning
• take account of the faith background, circumstances and developmental stage of the children and young people and their capacity to engage with complex ideas
• recognise and build on the considerable scope for connections between themes and learning in religious and moral education and other areas of the curriculum
• make appropriate and imaginative use of technology
• build on the principles of Assessment is for Learning.
Active learning approaches, including collaborative learning, will encourage children and young people to discuss and share ideas, experiences and moral challenges in a variety of ways.
Planning in RME should be on the agreed format, show cross curricular links, learning intentions, resources, key questions to be investigated and progression in learning over time.
Resources to support Learning and Teaching in RME
We have considerable resources in school to support learning and teaching in RME. As well as books which provide reference for teachers there are numerous pupil activity books with ideas and activities which link across the curriculum. Artefact boxes are stored in the resources room. Visits to places of interest can also be arranged.
Assessment Approaches
The how, when and what of assessment should be clear in planning. The range of assessment tools which apply to other areas of the curriculum also apply to RME-assessment can be of what children say do or make. In addition to this we should aim to support children to self reflect in order to become clearer and more confident about their own beliefs as part of their personal growth.
Children and young people can demonstrate their progress and understanding through:
How well they respond to questions and issues
The depth to which they engage with issues of belief and morality-this will of course be linked to age and stage
Their developing abilities to think critically and to understand and explain religious and moral beliefs actions, values customs etc.
Their awareness of how they can put their own beliefs, values and attitudes into action and show respect for those who hold different beliefs.