Intent

At Garden Suburb Junior school, we follow the Barnet Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education in accordance with ‘Standing Advisory Council of Religious Education’ (SACRE). Planning is mapped out according to concepts, such as symbols, worship, the individual, beliefs and actions. Our teaching is open and reflective; children are encouraged to share their experiences, which they enjoy doing. We celebrate all children’s religions and non-religious beliefs. Children are keen and eager to learn more about the experiences of other worshippers. We endeavour to promote a positive attitude and mutual respect for each other in these sessions. We also encourage the use of philosophy to create deeper learning through the use of debate and discussion within RE lessons.   

Through our Religious education curriculum, we intend to:

• Develop the children’s acquisition of knowledge and understanding of Christianity, Judaism, Islam and Hinduism, plus other religions such as Buddhism and Sikhism.
• Develop children’s understanding of concepts using rich and technical vocabulary, quality artefacts and stories.  
• Encourage critical thinking and develop an awareness of themselves and their connection to their religion. During each year, we will use the ‘Golden threads’ which will weave through all of our planning throughout the school. These threads include ‘Myself and Belonging’, ‘Religion and the Individual’ and ‘Leaders, Teachers, Beliefs’.
• Create reflective and respectful thinkers through deeper level questioning and also including Philosophy for Children lessons within our planning at least once a half-term.
• Encourage children to be willing to discuss and understand the relationship between beliefs and practices.
• Find opportunities to remember and revisit previous learning across the key stage. By returning to the golden threads, children will learn the key facts about the religions in Barnet, and as they move throughout the year groups, we encourage a deep layered learning journey as they build upon their knowledge.
• Celebrate the school communities’ different faiths through World Religion Day, RE lessons and assemblies.  
• Encourage children to share their experiences of their religion in a safe space, such as taking part in religious festivals and celebrations or rituals such as Shabbat or visiting a place of worship.
• Promote tolerance, empathy, mutual respect, and curiosity when learning about a new concept or religious concept.
• Promote British Values through class sharing assemblies such as teaching respect and tolerance, using the 4Rs of Resilience, Respectfulness, Resourcefulness and Reflectiveness.

Implementation

Planning for religious education planning encompasses high quality teaching of vocabulary, the use of quality artefacts and the sharing of stories and texts. We begin each lesson with a recap and recall of previous learning and ask children to share their own experiences whenever possible. High level questioning within our units encourages pupil talk.

To deliver our religious education curriculum we will:

• Plan high quality lessons which include deeper level questioning
• Use stories and artefacts effectively to create memories and consolidate learning
• Use a range of cross curricular opportunities within Art, English, Music and Drama in order to help children develop transferable skills to recall, remember and consolidate their religious knowledge
• Incorporate Philosophy for Children style lessons as part of RE sessions which promote deeper level thinking and expose children to dialogic learning; using talk effectively to address misconceptions and promote a curiosity amongst the children in a safe space
• Showcase religious events throughout the year such as Diwali, Eid, Chanukah in whole school displays and phase assemblies

Impact

From a creative, interesting and thoughtful RE curriculum, children have a secure knowledge of different religions, the linked figures of importance and beliefs, rituals, customs and celebrations. They will be able to compare and contrast different religions and live without prejudice due to their understanding of why people carry out these customs. They will be confident orators who can articulate their ideas about all religions in a respectful manner.  They will be tolerant children who are curious about others and enjoy living in a diverse and interesting part of London. The impact can be seen in children’s books, displays and their ability to discuss and converse about their own experiences.

The impact of our Religious Education and British Values curriculum is measured by:

• Children speaking enthusiastically about their religion in class and pupil voice
• Children’s ability to revisit and remember key concepts and skills
• Their ability to use technical vocabulary which is subject specific accurately
• Children being able to make links with prior learning in this subject

Assessment

• Assessment is carried out formatively within the classroom through questioning.
• Teachers tailor their questions to promote a deeper level of thinking and plan extensively for this.
• Books are monitored by the RE coordinator with a focus on attainment and progress
• Children self-assess their own work as well as peer assess others