Religious Education

Religious Education at Harris

At Harris Primary School, our aim is for every child to be well prepared for life in our increasingly diverse society. Our children need to acquire the necessary knowledge and skills to make sense of the complex world in which they live so that they can respect religious and cultural differences and contribute to a cohesive and compassionate society. A study of Religious Education will enable our children to take their place within a diverse multi-religious and multi- secular society.

Religious Education 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. Pupils learn to weigh up the value of wisdom from different sources, to develop and express insights in response, and to agree or disagree respectfully.

How we do this

At Harris we follow the Lancashire Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education 'Searching for Meaning'. The principle aim for RE in Harris is to support pupils' personal search for meaning by engaging enquiry into the question 'what is it to be human?' - exploring answers offered by religion and belief.'

At Harris we use an enquiry-based approach to Religious Education and the units of learning for each year group are focused on a key question.  We follow the Lancashire Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education and this includes units of learning about Christianity. Christianity is taught within three strands: God, Jesus and Church. By the end of KS2 pupils will also have opportunities to encounter Buddhism, Judaism, Sikh Dharam and non-religious world views such as Humanism. Children’s RE skills are developed throughout the year in all aspects of the RE curriculum and in the three strands of teaching about Christianity. Although the three strands are taught distinctly, they will also contribute to a holistic understanding of the beliefs, values and living religious traditions of Christianity. As pupils progress, they will increasingly be able to make connections from across the strands.

The Field of Enquiry

Each unit of work is structured to include the following four elements: • Shared human experience - the nature of being human. • Living religious tradition - principal religious traditions encountered in the world. • Beliefs and values – the theology that lies at the heart of these traditions. • The search for personal meaning – a lifelong quest for understanding.

Oracy

Pupils learn to articulate clearly and coherently their personal beliefs, ideas, values and experiences so that they can hold balanced and well-informed conversations about religions and worldviews whilst respecting the views of others.

Assessment

Assessment of RE will: • Evaluate how pupils are doing and ascertain standards of attainment. • Enable teachers to adapt and adjust their teaching to ensure that learning supports progression. • Evaluate the impact of the curriculum and the effectiveness of teaching. • Provide information for parents about their child’s strengths, next steps and achievements.