Religious Education
Jesus answered, "I am the way, and the truth and the life. No-one comes to the Father except through me."
Subject Leader: Mrs S Tolson
Subject Team: Vicky Mason, Laura Fleming, Sharon Adams and Anna James
At St. Joseph's, R.E. is taught actively and creatively. Through a range of approaches and working closely with the Diocese, teachers work collaboratively to plan exciting and engaging lessons which challenge children to think deeply and make connections between themselves and the teaching of Jesus. The school's Virtues are explicitly referred to within each unit which is based on the Way, the Truth and the Life. The aim of all our R.E. teaching is that children ask themselves: So what does this mean for me? How will I live out this Virtue in my life? How can I become closer to Jesus? We use learning lenses to help us explore each topic fully.
How R.E. is taught:
As we have mixed age classes in Key Stage 1 and Lower Key Stage 2, R.E. in these year groups is taught on a two year cycle. Teachers plan together to make sure that the topic is well adapted to the individual needs of the children in each class including those pupils with SEND. Learning is adapted carefully so that all children can express their understanding and reflections on the Gospel. There is a great focus in our lessons on children exploring their own beliefs in response to Sacred Scripture. The Bible is central to our teaching of R.E.- pupils are given the chance to read and explore Bible passages in depth. In Early Years and KS1- pupils explore Jesus' parables and the stories of the Old Testament through provision and Godly play.
In Key Stage 2, there is a big focus on the learning lenses which help children to explore a topic in a range of ways. This usually starts with the Bible lens and in some topics then connects to the Liturgical lens- how does this part of the Bible link to the Mass? Our school Virtues are also really threaded through the curriculum so that children understand the Virtues are rooted in the teaching of Jesus. The Catholic beliefs and my own beliefs lenses really help children to explore what people and themselves believe in response to the Bible and the Mass. Finally, we want pupils to gain cultural capital by being exposed to the very best religious art, music and poetry and to use this as a stimulus for their own creative thinking.
How R.E. is assessed:
The most important part of teachers' assessment of pupils takes place through discussions in lessons. Through careful questioning, teachers are able to draw out pupils' understanding of key themes and extend their thinking.
Teachers make observations in lessons, in discussion with pupils and by looking at children's work. All this information helps teachers to decide what they need to teach next, what topics need revisiting and an overall picture of the child's understanding. Knowledge mats are used to help the children capture all of their learning and revisit it. Before each topic, children complete a pre-assessment which allows children to show what they already know. Teachers then use this information to help them tailor the unit to the children's starting points. During the unit and at the end of the learning, pupils revisit the pre-assessment and fill in what they have learnt in a different colour pen. Both knowledge organisers and pre-assessments are adapted for SEND. Pupils also create double paged spreads to capture everything they have learnt in the topic. Pupils are also encouraged to record their understanding in any way that improves their self-expression.
Each term, we have an Other Faiths week where we learn about different religions. Our faith experts in school help us plan and lead these weeks.
How R.E. is assessed:
The most important part of teachers' assessment of pupils takes place through discussions in lessons. Through careful questioning, teachers are able to draw out pupils' understanding of key themes and extend their thinking.
Teachers make observations in lessons, in discussion with pupils and by looking at children's work. All this information helps teachers to decide what they need to teach next, what topics need revisiting and an overall picture of the child's understanding. Knowledge mats are used to help the children capture all of their learning and revisit it. Before each topic, children complete a pre-assessment which allows children to show what they already know. Teachers then use this information to help them tailor the unit to the children's starting points. During the unit and at the end of the learning, pupils revisit the pre-assessment and fill in what they have learnt in a different colour pen. Both knowledge organisers and pre-assessments are adapted for SEND. Pupils also create double paged spreads to capture everything they have learnt in the topic. Pupils are also encouraged to record their understanding in any way that improves their self-expression.
Some of our children planning Other Faiths week on Islam.
Each term, we have an Other Faiths week where we learn about different religions. Our faith experts in school help us plan and lead these weeks.
What can you do to support your child at home?
Each half term, your child will bring home a newsletter explaining what they will be learning in R.E. Talk to your child about the topic and ask them questions about what they are learning about. It really helps children to retell the stories from the Bible that they hear in their R.E. lessons so see if they can tell it to you with lots of different voices and actions. The best way to learn about the Mass is to talk to your child about different parts of the Mass when you are in Church.
Please speak to your child's teacher if you would like more information about the topics covered.
