Intent:
At Codicote School, we believe that the teaching of RE is essential in developing children’s understanding of the meaning and purpose in life, beliefs and values about God, an understanding of World religions, issues of right and wrong and what it means to be human.
The Hertfordshire syllabus curriculum allows children to discover and gain an insight into religions within the world that we live. Through the exploration of big questions, children learn about world faiths, their customs and traditions.
Implementation:
Religious Education is taught throughout all year groups, following the Herts SACRE agreed syllabus. This reflects the fact that religious traditions of Great Britain, are, in the main, Christian, whilst taking into account the teaching and practices of other key religions in the world. Through questioning and reflecting, children are enabled to explore and respond to these areas of study. Learning is embedded through the development of knowledge and skills over time.
The subject is taught weekly, through themes and topics, and sometimes blocked to study a topic at greater depth. Whole school focus days enable all children to explore common themes and values in a vibrant context. Children learn through cross curricular approaches, using story, drama, art, celebrations, focus days, visits and visitors, incorporating our locality and links with the local church – St. Giles – our vicar, and the community as a key resource. Published materials in use include ‘Understanding Christianity’.
Recognising the central role Religious Education plays, the subject is led by senior leaders, who have a depth and range of subject knowledge. The school benefits from high quality training opportunities provided by the diocesan lead for teaching and learning in RE.
Impact:
Alongside an evaluation of children’s work, we assess the impact of our curriculum through the behaviour and values children reflect in their everyday life. Children consistently demonstrate harmonious relationships across the school community, a positive attitude and sense of self –worth. These values are modeled consistently by staff.
Learning displayed in Art, Music, Drama, written and illustrated forms all show a consistently high quality, with almost all children achieving age related expectations or above.
Skills Progression in RE