RE Philosophers at Queen's Crescent

Being an RE Philosopher

Lead Philosopher: Miss Sophie Chivers

Intent:

At Queen’s Crescent Primary School, we believe that it is vital for all our pupils to learn from and about religion, so that they can understand more about the world around them and the impact of different cultures on society. Throughout our Religious Education curriculum, we promote British values through valuing a wide range of faith communities. Pupils develop their knowledge of the world faiths, and their understanding and awareness of the beliefs, values and traditions of other individuals, societies, communities and cultures. It is our intent to engage, inspire, challenge and encourage pupils, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to ask, and answer, challenging questions. Our curriculum promotes respect and open-mindedness towards others with different faiths and beliefs and encourages pupils to develop their sense of identity and belonging through self-awareness and reflection.

The RE curriculum is organised within the following strands:

Beliefs and teachings
How Beliefs are expressed
Rituals, ceremonies and lifestyles
Time to reflect and personal growth
Values (in your own life and others’)

Our curriculum has been specifically designed so that:

Children will build understanding of each religion as they move through the school; there will be a wide-ranging discussion and comparison of different religions and world views across each year of learning.
Children will have frequent opportunities to develop positive attitudes and values and to reflect and relate their learning in RE to their personal experience.
Children will identify, investigate and respond to a variety of issues. SMSC, personal growth and community cohesion are featured in each strand.

Aims:

The national curriculum for religious education aims to ensure that all pupils:

provokes challenging questions about the meaning and purpose of life, beliefs, the self, issues of right and wrong, and what it means to be human. It develops pupils’ knowledge and understanding of Christianity, other principal religions, and religious traditions that examine these questions, fostering personal reflection and spiritual development
encourages pupils to explore their own beliefs (whether they are religious or non-religious), in the light of what they learn, as they examine issues of religious belief and faith and how these impact on personal, institutional and social ethics; and to express their responses. This also builds resilience to anti-democratic or extremist narratives
enables pupils to build their sense of identity and belonging, which helps them flourish within their communities and as citizens in a diverse society
teaches pupils to develop respect for others, including people with different faiths and beliefs, and helps to challenge prejudice
prompts pupils to consider their responsibilities to themselves and to others, and to explore how they might contribute to their communities and to wider society. It encourages empathy, generosity and compassion.

RE has an important part to play as part of a broad, balanced and coherent curriculum to which all pupils are entitled. High quality learning experiences in

How do we teach RE and why has this approach been chosen?

RE is delivered as a discrete subject, and where relevant, cross curricular links are formed. Pupils are encouraged to think like a ‘Philosopher’ during RE lessons.

RE lessons are taught throughout the whole year in classes. Each class has access to one hour of high quality RE each week. We follow a scheme of planned lessons, using Discovery RE, which has been created to offer a broad range of study for children studying RE. In Key Stage 1, children begin to look at other religions, focusing on celebrations and rituals. In Key Stage 2, we offer a wider range of learning opportunities about the world’s religions including deeper understanding of the origin of those religions and their key stories and teachings. Throughout both key stages, emphasis on personal growth and community cohesion is evident, allowing for personal development for the children from Key Stage 1 to the end of Key Stage 2.

What our RE Lessons involve:

Re-cap prior knowledge	These information recall activities may involve : Class discussion Mini quizzes Vocabulary flashcards
New information presented in small and simple steps	Children are then given time to practise applying the new knowledge, in an effort to support working memory.
Teachers pose carefully considered questions	This allows pupils to deepen their understanding.
Clear modelling	Teacher demonstrate a new concept or approach to learning.
Quality verbal feedback	Giving pupil regular and consistent verbal feedback allows for instant learning opportunities.
Scaffolding	Children’s activities are matched to their needs. The learning is broken up into chunks and pupils are provided with the tools and structures needed to be successful.
A range of learning opportunities	Through structured learning, pupils are able to apply their knowledge in a range of ways including, but not limited to, discussions, drawings and written tasks.

Children’s learning is documented in wider curriculum books.

RE outcomes:

Religious education is monitored by the Philosopher Lead (RE) through teacher conferencing and feedback, book looks and use of a consistent assessment method, throughout the year. Pupil conferencing is another means of monitoring, although due to COVID-19, this has been difficult to implement.

Teachers continually assess children in RE lessons and complete an assessment at the end of each enquiry using key questions of the previous learning. Progression grids act as a reference for end of year expectations for each year group and teachers are aware of the entry and exit points for their children.

The lead philosopher (RE) works closely with the link governor to assess the impact of religious education curriculum each year.

Being a Queen's Crescent RE Philosopher Progression Document