Religious Education and the Primary Curriculum

Session objectives:Introduction to the course;To gain an awareness of the development

of RE;To have an overview of the place of RE in

the curriculum;To learn about the legal requirements and

responsibilities of teachers in relation to RE;

To consider personal experiences of RE.

Year One AssessmentBlogfolio – A Joint

Assessment with C/TEL

“Providing opportunities to engage collaboratively with technologies and produce digital products to share with wider audiences”.

Create and maintain a blogfolio as a reflective journal and multimodal portfolio of work.

The submission date is 7th March 2014. All work must be completed by this date. Refer to the booklet provided by the C/TEL team.

Teachers’ Standards:Preamble: Teachers make the education of their pupils their first concern, and are accountable for achieving the highest possible standards in work and conduct. Teachers act with honesty and integrity; have strong subject knowledge, keep their knowledge and skills as teachers up-to-date and are self-critical; forge positive professional relationships; and work with parents in the best interests of their pupils. What implications does this have for teachers and RE?

What is RE?

Jot down your own

ideas

Share your ideas with a

partnerShare

with the group

What is RE?

In your group look at

the cardsTrue/False/Not

a main purpose of

RE?Green/Red/

Amber

The Main Purposes of Religious Education Are….

To provide an opportunity for pupils to explore important questions of meaning and value

An opportunity for pupils to value their own beliefs, but also gain an awareness and understanding of the beliefs of others

To help pupils to develop their ability to express belief and listen to those with different beliefs

To be aware of the beliefs and practices of others in the community

For pupils to know about the religious traditions, beliefs and practices and understand why they are important to people

Knowing that religion is important to many people and understanding how this impacts upon their lives.

Other Benefits Are…Developing an awareness of cultural

heritageHelping to develop a sense of right and

wrongExtending spiritual developmentInforming pupils so that in time they

decide what is important and of value to them. This may or may not affect their decision to follow a religion or not

Developing questioning, researching, reasoning skills etc.

Religious Education Is Not About…

Teaching a religionTeaching Christianity (or any other

religion)Instructing children in the religion of

the countryKnowing the Bible in order to be a

good adult.

What is RE?

http://www.natre.org.uk/explore/video.php?id=47

What is your own experience of RE?

CV Activity

LP

What is the place of RE in the Primary School Curriculum?

RE is not part of the National CurriculumRE is a statutory part of the basic

curriculumAll registered children from Yr R in

maintained primary schools have a statutory entitlement to the basic curriculum.

The Statutory Framework for RE

All maintained schools must provide RE for all registered pupils.

The key document is the Locally Agreed Syllabus.Withdrawal clauses: Parents can withdraw children

from RE.Schools are responsible for withdrawn children

unless they are taken to other premises.RE is inspected by Ofsted in LA schools – Faith

Schools also have RE and School Worship inspected by specially trained inspectors.

All parents should receive details of their child’s progress in RE unless their child has been withdrawn.

A Short History of RE

1944 to c19601944 landmark Education Act.

Main provision for RE•RE was defined as Religious Instruction (the classroom subject) + school worship.•It was to be available to all pupils on a non-denominational basis (faith schools allowed to undertake faith-based teaching).•The existing parental and teacher right of withdrawal from the process was maintained.

Shifts in RE - moved from being seen as a parallel arm to the Sunday School movement helping to create a society based on Christian values, to a subject in which increasingly pupils were allowed and encouraged to develop their own views in relation to its mainly Christian and biblical content.

A Short History of RE2

1960 to c1970Shifts in RE – Research suggested that the religious knowledge acquired from RE was confused and that pupils would be better engaging with problem issues or everyday issues they perceived to be relevant as a way of approaching religion. Bible teaching went into steep decline.

1970 to 1988Shifts in RE - In the 1970s RE moved first to include humanism (controversially) and later to include world religions (uncontroversially). Teaching that assumed or sought to promote a religious (usually Christian) base in pupils became discredited.

1988 to 2004Main provision for RE•RI was re-named RE (the classroom subject). •RE was required to teach the principal religions represented in

the UK but also required to reflect ‘the fact that religious traditions in the UK are in the main Christian• Withdrawal rights were retained.

•Faith schools still allowed to conduct faith-based teaching.•RE was left outside the new national curriculum in something vaguely defined as the ‘basic curriculum’ - the NC + RE.Shifts in RE in this periodThe 1990s saw the development of the experiential approach, a

way of helping the child into an exploration of their inner

life/spirituality. •2 ATs were recommended:

- AT1 Learning about Religions (later the ‘s’ was dropped;) - AT2 Learning from Religions.

A Short History of RE3

2010 - DateMain provision for RE•The DFE issued Non-statutory guidance for schools

in 2010.

•Two ATs were retained (Learning about/Learning From).

•RE has again been left outside the new national curriculum but remains statutory .

•RE remains under local control (County Agreed Syllabus).

•Academies etc. are required to teach RE and may choose

to use the locally AS. (Alternatively the Academy Sponsor can choose an alternative AS).

A Short History of RE4

The Agreed Syllabus for RESACRE- a Standing Advisory Council for RE is composed of 4 sub-committees with representatives from: Church of England; Other Christian denominations and from other world faiths in the locality; Teachers; LA councillors.

The SACRE has to call an Agreed Syllabus Conference at least every 5 years to review, produce, or commission, an Agreed Syllabus for RE. The SACRE must meet regularly throughout each academic year and monitor RE and Collective Worshipin the LA.

What RE syllabus is taught?

Locally Agreed Syllabus

All LA Community schools, Foundation and Voluntary Controlled

schools with a religious character.Academy Sponsor/Trust can choose

to follow this or alternative AS.

Voluntary Aided schools with a religious character - determined by

governors, (advised by aiding body).

Statutory role of the teacher

Learning abou

t religion

Learning from religion

not to preach/indoctrinate

Trainees are expected to: respect the social, cultural, linguistic, religious

and ethnic backgrounds of all pupils; treat pupils consistently, with respect and

consideration; not promote any particular belief stance; challenge racism/prejudice; avoid referring to “we believe…/they believe…”; use “some/many Sikhs believe“ rather than

“Sikhs believe…”; demonstrate and promote positive values,

attitudes and behaviour that they expect from their pupils.

Subject knowledge audit...

Islam

Judaism

Buddhism

Hinduism

Sikhism

Christianity

In groups of about 4 (6 groups) prepare a 5 -10 minute presentation for the rest of the group on your allocated religion. This should be presented in an electronic form for sharing with all members of the group.You should include some pictures, music, a video clip and a key points list. (This will become part of your overall “Blogfolio” assessment).WARNING – SENSITIVITY/RESPECT!

For Presentation in Session 3

Beginning your subject knowledge audit...Allocations: Islam

Judaism

Buddhism

Hinduism

Sikhism

Christianity

6

52

4

3

1

Directed tasks:1.Complete your RE CV to share next week;2.Locate the RE and Religious Studies shelves in the library;3.Complete the essential reading;4.Establish a meeting schedule for planning your group presentation;5.Reflect on the session and begin work on your Blogfolio.

Essential Reading:McCreery E., Palmer S. & Voiels V. (2008) Achieving QTS: Teaching Religious Education Exeter: Learning Matters Chapter 1

Religious Education in English schools: Non-statutory guidance 2010.

(https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/religious-education-guidance-in-english-schools-non-statutory-guidance-2010)