The
Key concepts
- A
=
Beliefs, teachings and sources
- B
= Practices and ways of life
- C
= Expressing meaning
- D
= Identity, diversity and belonging
- E
= Meaning, purpose and truth
- F
= Values and commitments
|
| Picture
a community school where the Agreed Syllabus requires pupils
to learn the beliefs, practices and values of Christianity,
Hinduism and Islam, and includes conceptual studies about areas
such as God, life after death and human nature. Young people
are also to study ethical issues including environment, justice
and the social application of religion. In the table opposite,
we’ve illustrated how this might translate into a long
term plan for the key stage. Each of the nine areas would then
need to have ‘compelling learning activities’ added
to it, to launch the programme of study in each term in some
exciting ways. |
 |
| Autumn
Term |
Spring
Term |
Summer
Term |
| Practices
and ways of life and Identity, diversity and belonging (BD)
|
Expressing
meaning and Values and commitments (CF) |
Beliefs,
teachings and sources and Meaning, purpose and truth (AE) |
| What’s
the impact of Christians’ commitment on individuals
and on British society? How do varied Christmas celebrations
relate to Christian texts? Pupils study gospel texts about
Christmas and Easter and relate these to the varied practice
of the celebrations in secular and religious families, exploring
Christian diversity. A focus on the meaning of the social
impact of faith explores examples of ‘belonging’
including community life, charitable giving, work with homeless
people. |
How
can people in our community best express and communicate their
beliefs about God and demonstrate their values? Pupils use
Hindu, Muslim and agnostic ideas about belief about God found
in the local community to explore expressions of belief in
art, worship and architecture. Using the NATRE ‘Spirited
Arts’ Web gallery, pupils produce works of art of their
own in response to a big theological or philosophical question |
What
makes a religion green? How green will I be in my lifetime?
Is God green? Do creation stories imply green beliefs? Exploring
sources in texts, the history and the practice of environmentalism
in religion, learners link science, religion and green issues.
They produce ‘green charters’ for religious communities,
and ask ‘what can environmentalism learn from Hindus
and from Christians?’ They explore their own sense of
purpose in relation to caring for the Earth, creating action
plans for local and global change. |
| Curriculum
links: History, Literacy Citizenship. |
Curriculum
links: Art, English, History. Performing arts? |
Curriculum
links: Citizenship, Science |
|
| Expressing
meaning and Meaning, purpose and truth (CE) |
Beliefs,
teachings & sources and Identity, diversity & belonging
(AD) |
Practices
and ways of life and Values and commitments (BF) |
| Pupils
deepen their ability to interpret religious truth claims through
a philosophical approach to Christian understandings of God,
looking at the concept of ‘God come down’ in Christian
music, celebration, worship and theology. A ‘philosophy
for children’ approach builds methods of critical engagement
with ideas from both atheists and Christians. |
Is
a human more like a child of God, a computer or a monkey?
What do Muslims, Humanists and Christians say? How are these
beliefs reflected in answers to questions about ‘character’,
‘personality’, ‘celebrity’ and ‘identity’.
Pupils have the chance to explore the influences on their
own view of being human, and to think about what difference
these views make to decisions about the groups, including
‘virtual communities’, people belong to. |
From
a study of individuals who have made a difference to issues
of global injustice, pupils consider the practice of beliefs
from Muslim, Christian and atheist sources. Pupils evaluate
how religions and beliefs impact on issues of poverty and
inequality using case studies. They consider their own values
and commitments, asking ‘are we all hypocrites?’ |
| Curriculum
links: Philosophy, English. |
Curriculum
links: Science, Citizenship, ICT, PSHE |
Curriculum
links: Centres on RE, but touches on Geography and
Citizenship |
|
| Beliefs,
teachings and sources and Values and commitments (AF) |
Practices
and ways of life and Meaning, purpose and truth (BE) |
Expressing
meaning and Identity, diversity and belonging (CD)
|
| How
does religion relate to society in the UK? How is this changing?
Explores spiritual meaning and belief in Christianity, other
religions and non-religious ways of life through diverse examples:
from drama in nativity plays to census statistics and faith
based charities, pupils discover the meaning, nature and impact
of religion in Britain. Uses NATRE’s web based database
of pupils’ writing and other sources in the local and
national community to enable research by every pupil. |
Is
there any evidence that consciousness stops at death? What
has shaped Muslim, Hindu, Christian and agnostic ideas? How
do different beliefs about life after death impact on people’s
ways of life, e.g. attitudes to death, funerals, commemorations,
care of the dying. |
Why
is there conflict between different ethnic groups and religions?
What kinds of communication make for co-operation in this
area? Pupils learn about some teachings and examples of Hindus,
Muslims and Christians working together or for the common
good. They develop a local action plan for communicating better
inter-religious understanding. They consider how attitudes
can move from mere tolerance towards celebration of diversity. |
| Curriculum
links: Arts, Social science, Community Cohesion |
This
unit centres on RE, touches on PSHE and relates to cross-curricular
personal, learning and thinking skills |
Curriculum
links: Community cohesion, citizenship, ICT, PSHE,
expressive and performing arts |
