Religious Education
Our Religious Education Subject Leader is Miss P Ward
At Brandon Primary Academy, our Religious Education (RE) Curriculum is designed to engage and enthuse learners so that they can better understand the world around them. We believe that it is an essential area of study, which ensures that children are well-prepared for life in a world where there are a multitude of viewpoints and where understanding is important to behave respectfully in modern Britain through promoting inclusivity and tolerance. There are no presumptions made as to the religious backgrounds and beliefs and values of the children and the staff. We value the religious background of all members of the school community and hope that this will encourage individuals to share their own experiences with others freely.
At Brandon Primary Academy one of our main barriers is communication and language. We recognise that the nature of the RE curriculum is invaluable in supporting our children’s language development through the rich discussion it prompts and the diversity of language contained within it.
The aim of RE in our school is to help pupils acquire and develop knowledge and understanding of the principal religions represented in the UK; to appreciate the way that religious beliefs shape life and behaviour; develop the ability to make reasoned and informed judgements about religious and moral issues and have the confidence to voice these; and enhance their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.
At Brandon Primary School we follow our Durham Locally Agreed Syllabus using Jigsaw RE additional planning to fulfil our local needs.
Jigsaw RE is an enquiry-based scheme of work, covering the principal world faiths and humanism in a progressive way from Early Years to Year 6. In the Early Years, the learning is closely matched to Development Matters to contribute meaningfully to children’s holistic development. Throughout all the enquiries, the children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural education is carefully considered.
Each enquiry lasts for half a term and begins with a “big” question such as “What is the best way for a Christian/Jew/Muslim etc. to show commitment to God?” The children then start discussing the theme of the enquiry (in this case, commitment) from their own experience. For example, what have they shown commitment to? Brownies? Cubs? Their sporting team? Playing an instrument?
Only when the children fully understand the concept they are considering, do they then move on to investigating what the people following the studied religion or worldview believe about it. They will spend approximately 3 lessons on this, learning in a variety of ways, so they can adapt their responses and come to a measured conclusion. In week 5 they will complete an activity which can assess their learning, by answering their “big” question. The assessment activities are child friendly and can be answered in a variety of ways, as long as the child can justify their view with the knowledge they have gained throughout the enquiry. This demonstrates the level of critical thinking that the children can apply – a valuable skill for them throughout the school curriculum.
The final week in every enquiry gives the children time to reflect on what they have learnt about the concept and apply to it their own lives, thus allowing them to form their own beliefs and identity. For example, ‘Learning that Sikhs share their food with all who attend has taught me ……… about sharing that I would like to take forward with me.’ These lessons are often very creative and children have opportunities to make items to express themselves in ways other than just writing.
Jigsaw RE gives schools a choice of which religions to teach in different year groups. At Brandon Primary Academy we have chosen the following options as we feel this best suits the needs of our children and creates a cohesive approach to our topic planning linked to our Locally Agreed Syllabus.
RE Long Term Planning Overview
Please be aware that parents and carers have a right of withdrawal from all of RE or part of RE.
