For
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
Agreed on March 10th 2008
INDEX
Page
FOREWORD 3
Background 5
The importance of religious education 5
About RE in the curriculum
The contributions of religious education to the
values and aims of the
school curriculum
- Supporting the values of the curriculum 6
- Supporting the aims of the curriculum 6
- Distinctive contribution of RE 7
The Structure of religious education in schools
- Legal position 8
- Curriculum time 8
- Resources 8
- The structure of this syllabus 8
-
Religions
studied 9
-
Themes 10
-
Ages
14-19 11
Attitudes to religious education 12
Learning across the curriculum:
- The contribution of RE 13
Religious education and the general teaching
Requirements 16
Foundations Stage 19
Key Stage 1 21
Key Stage 2 23
Key Stage 3 25
14 – 19 27
About the Attainment Targets 30
Assessing attainment at the end of the key stage 31
Attainment targets for religious education 32 Pupils with learning difficulties 35
FOREWORD
TO BE
WRITTEN
PART ONE
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
IN THE CURRICULUM
BACKGROUND
In
1950 the West Sussex Education Authority, in keeping with the requirements of
the Education Act 1944, established a Statutory Conference to produce an Agreed
Syllabus for Religious Instruction in schools. A new syllabus was produced in
1983 that built on principles that were widely shared in the County and
provided the basis for the development in religious education during the 1980s.
The
Education Reform Act (1988) provided a new impetus in religious education and
as a result a new Agreed Syllabus was developed in 1993 to reflect the
requirement of the Act and was revised in 1998 and 2003.
In
2004 the Qualification and Curriculum Authority along with the Department for
education and skills published a non-statutory national framework for religious
education. The purpose of this framework was to provide guidance for Agreed
Syllabus Conferences. This Agreed Syllabus is based on that guidance.
The importance
of religious education
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. It develops pupils’ knowledge and understanding
of Christianity, other religions and other world views that offer answers to
questions such as these. It offers opportunities for personal reflection and
spiritual development. It enhances pupils’ awareness and understanding of
religions and beliefs, teachings, practices and forms of expression, as well as
of the influence of religion on individuals, families, communities and
cultures.
Religious education
encourages pupils to learn from different religions, beliefs, values and
traditions while exploring their own beliefs and questions of meaning. It
challenges pupils to reflect on, consider, analyse, interpret and evaluate
issues of truth, belief, faith and ethics and to communicate their responses.
Religious education
encourages pupils to develop their sense of identity and belonging. It enables
them to flourish individually within their communities and as citizens in a
pluralistic society and global community. Religious education has an important
role in preparing pupils for adult life, employment and lifelong learning. It
enables pupils to develop respect for and sensitivity to others, in particular
those whose faiths and beliefs are different from their own. It promotes
discernment and enables pupils to combat prejudice.
About
Religious Education in the Curriculum
The contributions of
religious education to the values and aims of the school curriculum
Religious education actively promotes the values of
truth, justice, respect for all and care of the environment. It places specific emphasis on:
Religious education also recognises the changing
nature of society, including changes in religious practice and expression and
the influence of religion, in the local, national and global community.
Aim 1: The
school curriculum should aim to provide opportunities for all pupils to learn
and achieve.
Religious education should be a stimulating,
interesting and enjoyable subject.
The Knowledge, skills and understanding outlined
in the national framework are designed to promote the best possible progress
and attainment for all pupils. Religious education develops independent and
interdependent learning. It makes an important contribution to pupils’ skills
in literacy and information and communication technology (ICT). Religious
education promotes an enquiring approach in which pupils carefully consider
issues of beliefs and truth in religion. It also enhances the capacity to think
coherently and consistently. This enables pupils to evaluate thoughtfully their
own and others’ views in a reasoned and informed manner.
Aim 2: The school curriculum should aim to promote
pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and prepare all
pupils for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of life.
Religious education has a significant role in the
promotion of spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. At the heart of this syllabus for religious
education is a focus on ultimate questions and ethical issues. This focus enables
pupils to appreciate their own and others’ beliefs and cultures and how these
impact on individuals, communities, societies and cultures. Religious education seeks to develop pupils’
awareness of themselves and others. This help pupils to gain a clear
understanding of the significance of religion in the world today and to learn
about the ways different faith communities relate to each other.
The Agreed
Syllabus aims to promote religious understanding, discernment and respect and
challenge prejudice and stereotyping. Religious education is committed to
exploring the significance of the environment, both locally and globally, and
the role of human beings and other species within it. A central concern of
religious education is the promotion of each pupil’s self-worth. A sense of
self-worth helps pupils to reflect on their uniqueness as human beings, share
their feelings and emotions with others and appreciate the importance of
forming and maintaining positive relationships.
DISTINCTIVE
CONTRIBUTION OF RE
Religious
education has a distinctive character that needs to be recognised and
safeguarded. It makes its own contribution to the school curriculum in terms of
knowledge, concepts, skills and attitudes, as well as sharing common ground
with other subjects in contributing to the spiritual, moral, cultural, social
and mental development of pupils and preparing them for adult life. The subject
is concerned to promote, through an encounter with Christianity and other
religions, the pupil’s search for values, meaning and purpose. Therefore any
form of integration of the subject with other areas of the curriculum must not
only ensure that the distinctive subject matter of Christianity and other
religions and beliefs is adequately covered by the joint syllabus, but also
that this specific concern with meaning and purpose finds adequate expression.
Care must be taken, too, to ensure that pupils develop the ability to perceive
and appreciate the use of simile, metaphor and other forms of both verbal and
non-verbal expression used in religious communication.
The legal position
The
statutory requirements for religious education were set out in the 1944
Education Act and then amended in the Education Act 1988 and restated in
subsequent Acts of Parliament. These requirements apply to all maintained
schools but not to nursery schools or further education institutions. The
statutory requirements state that:
CURRICULUM
TIME
This syllabus needs 5% of curriculum
time for years R to 11 in order for it to be taught effectively. This is based
on advice given both nationally and by the West Sussex Standing Advisory
Council for Religious Education. The way this time is used is for schools to
decide but it should be done in such a way that the religious education is
easily identifiable and assists progression and continuity.
The provision of religious education is
required in the sixth form of all schools. Although the organisation may change
from pre-16 there should be continuing provision for RE in Years 12 and 13 to
meet the needs of the students and the requirements of this syllabus.
RESOURCES
Sufficient
resources should be provided to deliver the RE curriculum in an exciting and
dynamic way, including books, artefacts, ICT and video materials. It should
include the provision of human resources to enable educational visits and
visitors from faith communities in school. This should be at a level at least
equivalent to the level that is provided for foundation subjects.
The structure of this syllabus
The foundation stage (ages 3–5)
Curriculum guidance for the foundation stage (QCA,
2000) sets out expectations of what pupils should learn to meet the early
learning goals. This syllabus describes how religious education can contribute
to the early learning goals and provides examples of religious
education-related activities.
Key stages 1, 2 and 3 (ages 5–14)
This Agreed Syllabus follows the same broad format
as the National Curriculum programmes of study with sections on knowledge,
skills and understanding and breadth of study.
Knowledge,
skills and understanding
The
knowledge, skills and understanding identify the key aspects of learning in
religious education. These are described
as Learning about religion and Learning from religion.
Learning about religion includes enquiry into, and investigation of, the
nature of religion, its beliefs, teachings and ways of life, sources, practices
and forms of expression. It includes the skills of interpretation, analysis and
explanation. Pupils learn to communicate their knowledge and understanding
using specialist vocabulary. It also includes identifying and developing an
understanding of ultimate questions
and ethical issues. Learning
about religion covers pupils’ knowledge and understanding of individual
religions and how they relate to each other as well as the study of the nature
and characteristics of religion.
Learning
from religion is concerned with developing pupils’ reflection on
and response to their own and others’ experiences in the light of their
learning about religion. It develops pupils’ skills of application,
interpretation and evaluation of what they learn about religion. Pupils learn
to develop and communicate their own ideas, particularly in relation to
questions of identity and belonging, meaning, purpose and truth, and values and
commitments.
The knowledge, skills and understanding specified
in the programmes of study are developed through the breadth of study that has
three elements:
In order to provide a broad and balanced religious
education curriculum and to ensure statutory requirements are met this syllabus
requires that:
·
Christianity should be studied
throughout each key stage
·
the other principal religions
represented in Great Britain (here regarded as Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam,
Judaism and Sikhism) should be studied across the key stages as set out below.
·
Other religious traditions
represented in Great Britain such as the Bah’ai Faith, Jainism and Zoroastrianism
may also be studied at various stages
In
order to aid progression and continuity and to avoid repetition this syllabus
requires that:
The
intention of this syllabus is to ensure that all pupils gain a basic
understanding of the principal religions in Great Britain by the time they
leave school. The minimum content is set out in the support material to this
syllabus to ensure adequate coverage.
This
does not preclude schemes of work from covering those specified religions in
greater depth or from including content from other religions or beliefs if
appropriate. This should not, however, result in pupils being confused by
covering too many religions or beliefs in insufficient depth.
The arrangement to teach religions other
than Christianity over the Primary and Secondary phase is to enable the
greatest flexibility possible while ensuring a broad coverage. To provide a
coherent scheme of work religions other than Christianity should be planned
over two Key Stages (Key Stages 1 and 2; Key Stages 3 and 4). Schools will need
to liaise where necessary to ensure that this is planned effectively.
It is also essential
that religious education enables pupils to share their own beliefs, viewpoints
and ideas without embarrassment or ridicule. Many pupils come from religious
backgrounds but it is recognized that others have no attachment to religious
beliefs and practices. To ensure that all pupils’ voices are heard and the
religious education curriculum is broad and balanced, it is recommended that
there are opportunities to consider other religious traditions such as the
Baha’i faith, Jainism and Zoroastrianism and secular
philosophies such as humanism.
Pupils should also study how religions relate to
each other, recognising both similarities and differences within and between
religions. They should be encouraged to reflect on:
Themes
The themes
provide the context for ‘learning about religion’ and ‘learning from religion’.
They may be taught separately, in combination with other themes, or as part of
religions and beliefs. However the themes are combined, the knowledge, skills
and understanding should be covered with sufficient breadth and depth.
Ages 14–19
This
Syllabus sets out an entitlement for all students to study religious education
and to have their learning accredited.
At Key Stage 4 all schemes developed in
schools should comply with the principles set out in this syllabus. It is
recommended that all pupils follow a syllabus leading towards an accredited
course such as GCSE Religious Studies (short or full course). In order to
comply with this syllabus schools that choose not to follow a course leading to
a GCSE qualification should follow a course that meets the GCSE criteria.
While the
knowledge, skills and understanding are central to the Agreed Syllabus for
religious education, it is also vital that religious education encourages
pupils to develop positive attitudes to their learning and to the beliefs and
values of others. The following
attitudes are critical for good learning in religious education and need to be
consistently developed at each key stage of religious education.
Self-Awareness
In religious education, this includes:
§
enabling pupils to feel
confident about their own beliefs and identity and to share them without fear
of embarrassment or ridicule;
§
developing a realistic and
positive sense of their own religious and spiritual ideas;
§
recognising their own uniqueness
as human beings;
§
becoming increasingly sensitive
to the impact of their ideas and behaviour upon other people.
Respect for all
In religious education, this includes:
Open Mindedness
In religious education, this includes:
§
willingness to seek new truth
through learning;
§
the ability to engage in
argument or disagree reasonably and respectfully (without belittling or abusing
others)
§
the development of attitudes
that distinguish between such things as superstition or prejudice and such
things as conviction and faith;
§
the ability to argue
respectfully, reasonably and evidentially about religious, moral and spiritual
questions
Appreciation and wonder
In religious education, this includes:
§
developing their imagination and
curiosity,
§
recognising that knowledge is
bounded by mystery
§
appreciating the sense of wonder
at the world in which they live, and their response to questions of meaning and
purpose.
LEARNING ACROSS THE CURRICULUM:
THE CONTRIBUTION OF RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
Promoting
spiritual, moral, social and cultural development
through
religious education
Religious
education provides opportunities to promote spiritual development through:
Religious
education provides opportunities to promote moral development through:
Religious
education provides opportunities to promote social development through:
Religious
education provides opportunities to promote cultural development
through:
Promoting
citizenship through religious education
Religious
education plays a significant part in promoting citizenship through:
Promoting
personal, social and health education through
religious
education
Religious
education plays a significant part in promoting personal, social and
health education through pupils: