RE

Strategic Lead for RE/ PSHE | Mrs A Glencorse | aglencorse@themast.co.uk

RE MISSION STATEMENT

The central purpose of RE teaching at KMS is to understand both ourselves as individual humans as well as the variety of beliefs and lifestyles within local, national and global communities. 

Religious Education achieves this by asking fundamental questions such as; Who am I? How can I know what is true? Where have I come from? How can I work out what is good and bad? Answering these questions fosters a sense of empathy, tolerance and resilience which allows young people to become full and active members of their local communities, national populace and global society.

We deliver the RE curriculum through carefully planned units of learning supported by a wide variety of resources including but not limited to video clips and documentaries, booklets, worksheets, textbooks and other printed resources. Further to this lessons consistently involve discussion & debate, pupil questions, independent research, individual, pair & group activities and personal reflection time where pupils think about the significance of what they have learnt.

Purpose of RE

• Preparing students for life in modern Britain and with confidence take the next step in their school career.
• Articulating personal beliefs & values and respecting the right of others to differ.
• Developing resilient responses to misunderstanding, stereotyping and division.
• Raising awareness of other cultures and experiences.
• Developing critical thinking skills.

Why is RE important?

Our world is enriched by a wide and profound diversity of cultures and beliefs. Human beings are strengthened and empowered by learning from each other. Engaging and stimulating RE helps to nurture informed and resilient responses to misunderstanding, stereotyping and division. It offers a place of integrity and security within which difficult or ‘risky’ questions can be tackled within a safe but challenging context. Religious education contributes dynamically to children and young people’s education in schools by provoking challenging questions about meaning and purpose in life, beliefs about God, ultimate reality, issues of right and wrong and what it means to be human.

What happens in RE?

In RE pupils discover, explore and consider different answers to these questions, in local, national and global contexts, through learning about and from religions and other world views. They learn to appraise the value of wisdom from different sources, to develop and express their insights in response, and to agree or disagree respectfully.

Teaching should equip pupils with knowledge and understanding of a range of religions and other world views, enabling them to develop their ideas, values and identities. It should develop in pupils an aptitude for dialogue so that they can participate positively in society with its diverse understanding of life from religious and other world views.

Pupils should gain and deploy the skills needed to understand, interpret and evaluate texts, sources of wisdom and authority and other evidence. They learn to articulate clearly and coherently their personal beliefs, ideas, values and experiences while respecting the right of others to differ.

RE curriculum

Year 6

RE is taught for half of the year and PSE is taught for the other half in the order below.

Christianity  What are the features of a church?  What are the main Christian beliefs? Why is the bible important to Christians? What are parables? What is Communion? Islam Who was Muhammad? What are the 5 Pillars of Islam? Why is the Quran important to Muslims? What doe Islam teach about morality? Life as a Muslim in Modern Britain? What are the features of a Mosque?

Year 7

Autumn Term	Hinduism What Gods do Hindus believe in? How do Hindus worship? What are the 4 main Hindu beliefs? Where do Hindus live? What is inside a Mandir? Why is the Ganges so important to Hindus?
Spring Term	Religious Art and Spirituality What is beauty? How do Christians use stained glass windows to teach about their religion?  How does Islam use calligraphy to teach about the Word of Allah? How does Islam use symmetry to explain some of the features of Allah? How do Buddhists use Mandalas as part of their religion?
Summer Term	Religious Special Places What makes a place special? Why is Lourdes a special place for Christians? Why is Mecca an important place for Islam? Why is Varanasi a sacred place for Hindus? Why is Jerusalem a place of conflict?

Year 8

Autumn Term	Judaism What are the main beliefs of Judaism? What is the difference between orthodox and reform Judaism? Why is a Bar/Bat Mitzvah important to a young Jewish person? What is Kosher and how does it impact on the lives of Jews?  What are the features of a synagogue and how do they relate to the significant beliefs within Judaism? What are the features of Jewish marriage? How might the teachings of Moses Maimonides explain Jewish understanding of morality and ethics?
Spring Term	Evil and Suffering What is evil? Who is evil? What is the duality of evil? What is the problem of evil? What is a Christian response to evil? What is a humanism response to evil? Sub-Unit: The Holocaust What was the Holocaust?
Summer Term	Evil and Suffering What is anti-Semitism? Who helped in the Holocaust? What was Britain’s response to the Holocaust? Humanism  What is the difference between Theist, Atheist and Agnostic?   How might we compare the first cause argument and the big bang theory?  How might we compare the theory and evolution and the design argument?  What is humanism?  What do humanists believe?

RE policy

Enquiries and questions

The school welcomes enquiries or questions about RE. In the first instance parents should contact their child’s class teacher or the Head of RE/PSHCE.

What career…?

Students can choose to study an A Level in Religion, Philosophy and Ethics, which can lead into a BA Honors degree in RPE. Huddersfield post-16 colleges and The University of Huddersfield offer RPE courses for further study