Aims of the Curriculum Area

• We aim to develop students’ knowledge of the diversity of belief in their local community, as well as nationally. We will encourage them to think critically and personally reflect on their own world views.
• Students will be encouraged to discuss and debate challenging topics, to develop inquisitive and enquiring minds.
• We prepare our students for their future careers and embed oracy and literacy throughout our curriculum.
• We deliver quality first teaching, bespoke intervention and build exam skills to drive academic success.

Teaching Methods and Student Organisation

• Students start their RE journey in year 7 as mixed ability classes and remain in these groups throughout KS3. This approach enables the department to provide quality teaching to students of all abilities using a curriculum that is accessible to all.
• All lessons start with a Do Now Task (DNA); this is either a short challenging task based on independent spaced retrieval activity or a task based on qualified opinion and prior knowledge.
• All lessons promote challenge and provide a benchmark for measuring progress. A combination of teacher input (I do), demonstration/modelling (we do) and application (you do) coupled with skilfully used questioning helps assess student understanding and promotes inclusion for all.
• Our teachers use modelling to show students what excellent answers look like, unpacking each stage of their thinking and providing success criteria throughout to support students towards self-assessment and independence.

Curriculum and Resources

• Our students study RE at a local, national and global level in line with the locally agreed syllabus.
• Our curriculum promotes the spiritual, moral, cultural and mental development of pupils by encouraging them to reflect on their own beliefs, values and experiences.
• Our curriculum prepares pupils for the responsibilities, opportunities and experiences of their later life by developing awareness of the fundamental questions raised by human experiences and how religious teachings can relate to them.
• Students will study all f the 6 major world religions and other non-religious world views, in line with the agreed syllabus.
• Students will consider themes such as how we treat animals, prejudice and discrimination, how we decide between right and wrong, human rights and social justice.
• We are actively adapting ur curriculum to include a wide range of themes and concepts within RE to ensure a broad and balanced curriculum for all to explore that covers the three disciplines of social sciences, theology and philosophy.

After KS3

• Our intention is to offer AQA full course RE from 2024, alongside core RE, in line with statutory requirements.

Other Activities

• Targeted intervention and support groups for students for key stage 4 take place throughout the year. Students are selected to access these groups based on a wide range of factors which include prior ability as well as wellbeing.