BRANKSOME HEATH MIDDLE SCHOOL
SCHOOL POLICY STATEMENT: RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
INTRODUCTION
The Education Act 1996 states that the curriculum for every maintained school shall include provision for religious education for all registered pupils.
The school is now working with schemes of work entirely in accordance with the 2005 Poole Agreed Syllabus for religious education 'REaching out, REaching Within'. This syllabus is in line with the government requirements (Circular 1/94) and the non-statutory national framework for RE (10/04) that RE should:-
o Reflect the fact that religious traditions in Britain are, in the main, Christian while taking account of the teaching and practices of the other principal religions represented in Britain.
o Not be denominational
o Not seek to convert pupils or urge a particular religion or religious belief on pupils
o Not be confined to information about religious traditions and practices, but extend to wider issues of morality and the impact religious beliefs have on people's lives.
At Branksome Heath, we agree that schools should:
"Develop an ethos and a creative curriculum which reflects and values cultural diversity and turns it to advantage in enriching students' experience and understanding of the world in which they live".
To this end each of the modules starts from pupils' own experience and progresses through schemes of work, building their individual knowledge.
Main Principles
The main principles of religious education within the school are that:
o It makes no assumption about the teacher's, or pupil's, personal faith stance;
o It does not wish to persuade towards, or away from, a particular belief;
o It is available for all pupils regardless of their faith background;
o The planning and organisation takes into account different faith and family background;
o The teacher is an educator to help pupils to evaluate a range of different religious beliefs; experiences and practices.
Aims
The central aims of religious education in the school are to help children:
o Grow in their spiritual development through reflection on their feelings and relationships;
o Develop skills and attitudes which will support them in their personal, moral and social development;
o Develop knowledge and understanding of Christianity and its impact on our local community, and on society today;
o Explore some questions of meaning and consider how the world's religions have responded to them;
o Think about their beliefs and values in the light of the beliefs and values of others, both religious and non religious and the values of the school community;
o Develop knowledge and understanding of the other principal world religions.
Year 4 - Islam, Year 5 - Judaism, Year 6 - Sikhism, Year 7 - Buddhism.
o Recognise the distinctive contribution RE makes to pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.
Approaches to, and Organisation of, Religious Education
In order to make religious education a lively, active subject, we employ a variety of teaching methods including art, music, discussion, debate, dance and drama, the use of artefacts, pictures, photographs and the use of periods of stillness and quiet reflection. We visit places of local worship and invite in and talk to members of the local religious communities. We also use story, video and cultural and religious foods to enhance and support the pupils' learning.
Religious Education at Branksome Heath Middle is organised into a range of themes and topics taught in modules as outlined below:
KEY STAGE NCY AUTUMN SPRING SUMMER
2 4 Jesus a special person Islam Worship/Symbol
2 5 Creation & Trinity Places Judaism
2 6 Sikhism Values Community
3 7 Questions Buddhism Symbolism (RE & Art)
We aim to make the most of cross curricular links throughout the school, linking Religious Education with Humanities topics, Literacy, PSHE and Art. Some examples of this are: Charity work in Year 7, Dr Barnardo in Year 6, Symbolism and Christian Art in Year 4 and Special Places in Year 5.
Assessment of children's learning is based on the attainment targets in the Agreed Syllabus. (Copies are available to parents on request). Assessment by National Curriculum levels will be used in reports to parents.
We make use of assessments tasks to show how our children progress in RE and encourage our special educational needs pupils to fulfil their potential (see Appendix One).
Skills and Attitudes
At Branksome Heath Middle, we believe that religious education has a major contribution to make to children's learning, especially in terms of their spiritual awareness. Important skills we seek to develop include reflection, empathy (to begin to understand another's point of view), communication (through art and music as well as writing and speaking) and enquiry. Important attitudes include developing respect, sensitivity, open-mindedness and self-esteem, self awareness, appreciation and wonder. Much of the work in religious education begins with children's own experiences and emphasises how special and unique they are.
Right of Withdrawal
The schools Standards and Framework Act 1998 states that parents have the right to require that children should not attend religious education. In Community, Foundation and Voluntary schools without a religious character, religious education must be in accordance with the Agreed Syllabus.
Parents, of course, have the legal right to withdraw their children from religious education on the grounds of conscience. We strongly encourage parents to contact the Headteacher/Religious Education Co-ordinator/Chair of Governors if they have any concerns and anxieties about the policy, provision and practice of religious education at the school.
Summary
We hope that religious education at Branksome Heath Middle is an exciting, relevant activity for our children to share in. We regard it as a particular area of the curriculum where values and school ethos 'come alive' in the classroom. We are aiming to help children develop respect and sensitivity for all people and to understand more of the importance of religion in today's world.
APPENDIX ONE
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION AND SPECIAL EDUCATION NEEDS
All pupils at Branksome Heath Middle School receive the statutory requirements for religious education. Wherever possible special educational needs (SEN) pupils are not withdrawn from RE for language or numeracy support. Where a pupil is assigned extra support that is within the classroom for RE.
How is the SEN Policy implemented within RE?
The themes that have been chosen allow differentiation and planning to enable provision for SEN pupils in individual programmes and extension activities. All staff are encouraged to adapt the lesson plans to suit the class profile and this includes both higher and lower ability special educational needs.
Teaching methods used within RE of specific usefulness with SEN pupils
Teaching methods that are of specific usefulness for SEN are individually prepared worksheets, videos, diagrams and pictures, artefacts and practical activities such as drama, art, music, dance and games. These focus especially on practical and sensory activities wherever possible.
RE is a subject where the SEN lower ability child need not feel different, inadequate or isolated as they are introduced to an oral vocabulary at the same time as pupils of a higher ability. The teaching methods used are often the same for a wide range of abilities and the achievement comes from a similar activity at their own level.
Strategies to adapt work for lower ability SEN pupils
o Cloze procedures for all pupils (with the words at the end for the SEN pupils to insert in the correct places).
o Provide wordbanks/word booklets appropriate to the theme/module.
o Provide the same topic worksheets but with a more limited vocabulary. (There is no need to limit the religious vocabulary that they have been introduced to in a lesson).
o Exploit the growing availability of video and recording equipment.
o All pupils are encouraged by positive reinforcement of their work and RE provides a vehicle by which the lower ability pupil can often achieve higher assessments than the more gifted. This is due to the oral content and practical elements but also in the awe and wonder areas of spirituality. For these reasons religious education can provide a very useful tool for self-esteem in those that often lack it.
o Positive reinforcement for the more gifted pupil encourages them to strive even further.
o The use of research techniques and assignments using ICT stretch the more able while providing the less able with access to information that would be time consuming for them to find elsewhere. A good knowledge of the ICT software allows teacher to prepare keys that will be pathways into the information and save on wasted time and dead ends that often cause confusion.
INSET
The INSET Co-ordinator and the SEN and RE Co-ordinator, work closely together to ensure that every opportunity is taken to provide the SEN pupils with the most up to date resources and training. All of the recommendations and advice is passed on to staff and is disseminated through year groups. In school INSET also occurs on a one to one basis.
Hannah Lewis
September 2009
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