Religious Education (RE)
Barley Hill Primary School Religious Education Intent
At Barley Hill Primary School, we believe that it is important for our children to learn about and from religion, so that they can develop an understanding of the world around them.
Our aim, through Religious Education, is to help our children to acquire and develop knowledge and understanding of Christianity and other principal world religions. This will enable them to appreciate and respect the way religious beliefs shape the values and lives of many, whilst also developing their ability to ask questions about the world and reflect on their own beliefs, values and experiences.
RE has an imperative part to play in promoting the spiritual, moral, social, cultural and intellectual development of our pupils. At Barley Hill, we believe that it is important for all our pupils to learn from and about religion, gain a greater understanding of themselves and a more compassionate awareness of the world and the people in it. We want our children to have the opportunity to identify, share and discuss the deepest values of human life and develop the ability to make reasoned and informed judgements about religions. To promote the ideas of our vision, we believe that education in RE should be an exciting and child-centred journey. Children will learn to understand the world and their place in it, know that all members of the school community must show respect and tolerance for others and develop a better cultural awareness.
At Barley Hill, we follow our locally agreed syllabus using Discovery RE.
Discovery RE is an enquiry-based scheme of work, covering the 6 principal world faiths in a progressive way from EYFS to Year 6. In the early years, the learning is closely matched to Birth to 5 matters to contribute meaningfully to your child’s holistic development. Throughout all the enquiries, the children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural education is carefully considered.
Each enquiry lasts for half a term and begins with a “big” question such as “What is the best way for a Christian/Jew/Muslim etc. to show commitment to God?” The children then start discussing the theme of the enquiry (in this case, commitment) from their own experience. What have they shown commitment to? Brownies? Cubs? Their sporting team? Playing an instrument?
Oly when the children fully understand the concept they are considering, do they then move on to investigating what the people following the studied religion believe about it. They will spend approximately 3 lessons on this, learning in a variety of ways, so they can adapt their responses and come to a measured conclusion. In week 5 they will complete an activity which can assess their learning, by answering their “big” question. The assessment activities are child friendly and can be answered in a variety of ways, as long as the child can justify their view with the knowledge they have gained throughout the enquiry. This demonstrates the level of critical thinking that the children can apply – a valuable skill for them throughout the school curriculum.
The final week in every enquiry gives the children time to reflect on what they have learnt about the concept and apply to it their own lives, thus allowing them to form their own beliefs and identity. For example, learning that Sikhs share their food with all who attend has taught me ……… about sharing that I would like to take forward with me. These lessons are often very creative and children have opportunities to make items to express themselves in ways other than just writing.
