Our vision:

Our vision at Mead Vale is for teaching of Religious Education to encourage children to think deeply about religions, beliefs and what it means to them as individuals and within the wider community. Through exciting and engaging teaching, we invite the children to question their understanding of themselves as well as those around them whilst embedding the importance of understanding each other and empowering them to have the courage to do what is right.

The RE curriculum at Mead Vale will:

By following our RE curriculum pupils are given the opportunity to:

• learn about the main religions of the world, discover the different festivals and gain an understanding into their beliefs and what it means to them
• look at themselves and understand their own beliefs as well as those of others.
• compare themselves to others and understand that each person has a right to their own beliefs.
• understand and accept different religious beliefs as well as showing respect.
• show respect and to have the courage to ask questions to deepen their understanding of others.
• explore and show commitment.
• understand that religion can be expressed in different ways.

RE teaching at Mead Vale will:

The discovery RE curriculum uses an enquiry question approach, which encourages the children to think for themselves and to deepen their understanding of religion by questioning what they already know and what we can find out together. Discovery RE focuses on critical thinking skills, on personal reflection into the child’s own thoughts and feelings, on growing subject knowledge and nurturing spiritual development.

Each term follows the same approach with different religions and festivals being studied at different points, Teachers are given the opportunity to adapt their lessons to suit the needs of their class and their teaching style. Session 1 of a topic is an Engagement lesson, where the children are given the opportunity to reflect on their own beliefs and understanding that relate to the topic. This gives them the ability to relate to the topic or religion before deepening their understanding. Sessions 2 – 4 are investigation. These sessions are planned to give the children understanding about religion and how they are followed. The children are given the opportunity to ask questions to further their understanding and are given time to investigate parts of religion to deepen their understanding. Teachers are given the tools to guide the children through their understanding of each topic. Session 5 is an evaluation session where the children are given the opportunity to demonstrate their understanding and reflect on the enquiry question. The final session is about expression this gives the children the opportunity to demonstrate how the religion or practice is reflected in their own lives.

Each religion is supported with resources that the children can engage with to further their understanding, these range from religious artefacts and ornaments to items of clothing. By giving the children the opportunity to see and explore religious items, they get a deeper understanding and a multi-sensory approach to learning. The children show a better understanding and ask questions related to the item when they are able to see and touch it within the lesson.

Assessment of RE at Mead Vale will:

A large amount of RE is learnt through questioning and engaging the children with learning. There are limited amounts of writing opportunities within the RE curriculum. Assessment is done throughout the lesson and is achieved through teacher led questioning. Assessments are recorded through exceptions reports this allows teachers to assess and record those children who have not quite understood the objective and those that have shown an exceptional understanding.

Curriculum Rationale – RE

At Mead Vale, we choose to follow the Discovery RE scheme of work because it gives the children the opportunity to learn about a number of different religions in depth and gives them the chance to enquire and deepen their respect for people that are different and whose beliefs differ. By following the Discovery RE scheme of work we are embracing the vision that is set by the SACRE, which is about Awareness, Mystery and Value. It gives pupils an awareness of their own set of beliefs as well as that of others. It gives pupils an opportunity to discuss the mysteries of life and religion as well as answering some of these mysteries. They are also allowed to develop a clear sense of what is of real value in the world today.

By following the Discovery RE scheme of work teaching “RE provokes challenging questions about the ultimate meaning and purpose of life, beliefs about God, the self and the nature of reality, issues of right and wrong and what it means to be human. It develops pupils’ knowledge and understanding of Christianity, other principle religions, other religious traditions and other worldviews that offer answers to these challenging questions. RE encourages pupils to learn from different religions, beliefs, values and traditions, while exploring their own beliefs and questions meaning. It challenges pupils to reflect on, consider, analyse, interpret and evaluate issues of truth, belief, faith and ethics and to communicate their responses.” (Aims and rationale SACRE)

We encourage visitors of all faiths and beliefs to talk to the children during assemblies; this gives the learning a sense of reality and increases understanding of what it means. Inviting religious people to talk in assembly engages the children in their learning and gives them the opportunity to ask questions to further their understanding of the daily aspects of religion and what they mean to that person.