Intent and Implementation RE

Intent

At Orchard Fields we intent to offer a broad and rich RE curriculum that is in line with the Oxfordshire agreed syllabus for religious education 2015-2020. We intend that our pupils explore religions in a variety of ways as well as their community and personal development and well-being. Here at Orchard Fields we use discovery RE as a tool to aid our curriculum and planning. By choosing this approach we intend that pupils will experience high-quality coherent and progressive lessons that teach them about, and help them to understand, a range of religions and world views. We intend that pupils will be able to investigate and respond to a variety of issues. SMSC, personal growth and community cohesion are features throughout the strands and are there to ensure opportunities for pupils to develop personal, positive attitudes and values. We intend that our pupils will understand the relevance of RE in today’s modern world and how it effects our lives.

The Oxfordshire Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education states that it has four aims for RE:

To enable pupils to:

• Understand the nature, role and influence of different religions, traditions, beliefs and lifestyles in the world: 
• Pursue personal quest for meaning, purpose and value:
• Formulate reasoned opinions/arguments in relation to controversial issues and truth claims:
• Develop understanding of, and respect for, different beliefs and lifestyles.

Implementation

At Orchard Fields we deliver our religious education curriculum through a mixture of Discovery RE (for questioning) and twinkl’s planIt RE scheme. Our HLTA’s take the lead when teaching RE and have years of experience about different faiths and cultures. We ensure that staff members teaching RE are up-to-date with current pedagogy and are familiar with the lessons they are teaching. Assistance and advice is readily available, should it be needed, and staff meetings are held to share good practise. At Orchard Fields we teach RE explicitly once a week. The staff members teaching RE build positive and save relationships with the classes so that they can safely explore the issues that arise during lessons. We use a range of resources to teach RE and take every opportunity to teach RE across the curriculum, when appropriate. Resources/approaches are adapted to support children with special educational needs.

RE Progression Map