Religious Education
At Great Wood, we use the Lancashire Agreed Syllabus for RE which makes a clear and intended connection between RE and pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development which is connected to all four of the elements of the field of enquiry for RE, and centres on the exploration of the question ‘what does it mean to be human?’.
The RE syllabus enables the teaching of RE to make a distinctive and significant contribution to these four aspects of pupils’ development. It provides a particular insight into spiritual and moral education within the curriculum, and makes a distinctive contribution to understanding society and cultural diversity through developing understanding of religions. It is a legal requirement to teach RE in all maintained schools.
RE provides opportunities to promote spiritual development through:
- discussing and reflecting on key questions of meaning and truth about such topics as the origins of the universe, life after death, good and evil, beliefs about God and human values such as justice, integrity, honesty and truth
- learning about and reflecting on important concepts, experiences and beliefs that are at the heart of religious and other traditions of belief and practice
- considering how beliefs and concepts in religion may be expressed through the creative and expressive arts and related to the human and natural sciences, thereby contributing to personal and communal identity
- investigating and considering how religions and other world views perceive the value of human beings, and their relationships with one another, with the natural world, and with God
- valuing relationships and developing a sense of belonging
- enquiring into and developing their own views and ideas on religious and spiritual issues.
RE provides opportunities to promote moral development through:
- enquiring into the values identified within the National Curriculum, particularly valuing diversity and enquiring into issues of truth, justice and trust
- exploring the influence of family, friends, society and media on moral choices and how society is influenced by beliefs, teachings, sacred texts and guidance from religious leaders
- considering what is of ultimate value to pupils and believers through studying the key beliefs and teachings from religion and philosophy about values and ethical codes of practice
- exploring the impact and consequences of actions and ideas for different groups of people within our society
- investigating a range of ethical issues, including those that focus on justice, to promote racial and religious respect and personal integrity
- considering the importance of rights and responsibilities and developing a sense of conscience.
RE provides opportunities to promote social development through:
- examining the social role of religion in bringing people together, building a sense of identity, encouraging community life and giving a context in which the challenges of human life can be met
- exploring how religious community life works and the contributions community living makes to human well being
- considering how religious and other beliefs lead to particular actions and concerns
- investigating social issues from religious perspectives, recognising the diversity of viewpoints within and between religions as well as the common ground between religions
- articulating pupils’ own and others’ ideas on a range of contemporary social issues.
- considering ways in which religion can contribute to the community cohesion or to the common good.
RE provides opportunities to promote cultural development through:
- encountering people, literature, the creative and expressive arts and resources from differing cultures and religions
- Enquiring into the richness of local and national examples of cultural diversity in relation to religious ways of living
- investigating the ways in which religion is embodied in culture, and exploring the relationships between religions and cultures
- considering the relationship between religions and cultures and how religions and beliefs contribute to cultural identity and practices
- promoting racial and inter faith harmony and respect for all, combating prejudice and discrimination, contributing positively to community cohesion
- promoting awareness of how inter faith cooperation can support the pursuit of the common good.
- Files to download
- RE curriculum map with EYFS questions.