‘We Are Philosophers’ at Powers Hall Academy

Intent

The principal aim of RE is to engage pupils in systematic enquiry into significant human questions which religion and worldviews address, so that they can develop the understanding and skills needed to appreciate and appraise varied responses to these questions, as well as develop responses of their own.

At Powers Hall Academy, we aim to deliver a broad and engaging Religious Education. This not only applies to specific R.E. lessons but in the everyday interaction of school life, assemblies, meal times, play times and all the relationships that exist within the school. Religious Education at Powers Hall Academy aims to promote:

• Mutual respect and understanding of all cultures and religions, which in turn fosters tolerance, understanding and friendship in their child and adult life.
• To have the skills and maturity to make their own decisions and create their own values and not be led by others.
• To challenge stereotypical views, racism and discrimination and to appreciate difference positively.
• To provide a safe environment for discussion and exploration of theological ideas and questions.

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.  All religions and their communities are treated with respect and sensitivity and we value the links, which are, and can be made between home, school, and a faith community.  We acknowledge that each religion studied can contribute to the education of all our pupils.  We promote teaching in Religious Education that stresses open enquiry and first-hand experiences wherever possible for both staff and children.

Implementation

At Powers Hall Academy, we follow 'exploRE' (the Essex agreed syllabus for Religious Education) where the following religions have been selected for study: Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Humanism (Year 6).

We aim to ensure that the RE curriculum is engaging, challenging, dynamic and relevant to pupils of all ages. Therefore, to broaden children’s knowledge and understanding of the significant people, teachings, beliefs and practices of each religion, we also use the Cornerstones; Love to Celebrate Syllabus for Religious Education which has been aligned with the requirements of the Essex ‘exploRE’ syllabus.

Love to Celebrate is taught through the festivals of the 6 different religions: Buddhism. Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism and Sikhism. They are sequenced so that children’s knowledge of each religion builds over time. These religions are taught through Individual Learning Projects (ILP). Central to each project is a significant religious festival or celebration.  

To help children to learn and use the correct vocabulary, the projects introduce keywords and offer resources with a focus on language and vocabulary.  

Naturally, some project content also makes explicit links to PSHE (personal, social, health and economic) education skills. These opportunities are identified in the projects., such as when children explore love, community, similarity and difference. 

What is the project structure? 

The Love to Celebrate projects follow the Cornerstones four stage pedagogy. 

• The first is the Engage stage, which introduces the festival as a hook.
• Then, through the Develop stage, the children build their RE knowledge and skills around the festival’s themes and beyond.
• In the Innovate stage, the children explore the relevance of the concepts studied in their own lives, whether in a religious or non-religious context.
• Finally, in the Express stage, the children showcase and reflect upon what they have learned.

RE is taught on a weekly basis and is also linked with other subject areas where appropriate. Our school provides a safe environment enabling pupils to engage in meaningful discussion where they can develop and share their ideas, opinions and beliefs. Pupils are also encouraged to reflect on their own beliefs and to questions and discuss those of others.

We acknowledge the importance of reflecting Christianity as the dominant faith in our school’s local community and therefore ensure we provide children with opportunity to compare World Religions and discuss Christian values within class discussions and Assemblies. Through teaching RE, we are also working towards combatting prejudice and racism, ensuring our pupils are able to function well within a modern, multicultural and democratic Britain.

Impact

The children at Powers Hall Academy enjoy learning about other religions and why people, choose or choose not to follow a religion.  Through their learning, the children are able to make links between their own lives and those of others in their community and in the wider world.  Religious Education provides for cross-curricular learning. Children can explore links with PSHE, Geography and Science. Our children are developing an understanding of other people’s cultures and ways of life, which they are then able to communicate to the wider community.

Religious Education, offers our children the means by which to understand how other people choose to live and to understand why they choose to live in that way. As such, R.E. is invaluable in an ever changing and shrinking world.