RE

Intent

At Ashmead school, we want our global citizens to appreciate and value Religious Education (RE) inspiring them to be thoughtful and inquisitive as they learn about religion, beliefs, values and human life. Pupils will engage in a challenging, engaging and meaningful RE curriculum that is inclusive for all learners and support their personal, social and spiritual development. It also plays a key role in promoting social cohesion and the virtues of respect and empathy, which are important in our diverse society. We want our pupils to know that worldviews studied are equally valid and valuable, hence we refer to both ‘religious’ and ‘non-religious’ standpoints as ‘worldviews’ so as not to imply preference or differentiate unfairly. It is important that our pupils understand how knowledge in the RE curriculum is founded and respect that we all see the world through the lens that has been formed by our experiences, values and sense of identity. We also appreciate and value the subject’s role in enabling pupils to achieve, and prepare them for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of life in modern Britain and the wider world.

In line with the current Bucks Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education, RE will be delivered at Ashmead school to enable the pupils to:

• Understand the nature, role and influence of religion and worldviews, locally, nationally, and globally.
• Reflect on questions of meaning, purpose and value.
• Formulate reasoned opinion and argument.
• Enter into meaningful dialogue with people of different beliefs and backgrounds, appreciating and celebrating diversity, recognising what we hold in common, and respecting a shared humanity that can be experienced, expressed, and responded to in diverse ways.

Implementation   

To support the implementation of learning activities that are both comprehensive, progressive and age appropriate, we use planning and resources from Jigsaw which is a recognised external provider where the content has been mapped to the Bucks Agreed Syllabus.

To meet the Early Learning Goals and the requirements of the Buckinghamshire Agreed Syllabus, EYFS include specific planned activities (for example on festivals, special places, and faith leaders) for developing pupil’s knowledge and understanding of religious and other beliefs, cultures, and ways of living through circle time and everyday routines, as well as through child-initiated opportunities.

The Bucks Syllabus recommends studying Christianity plus one other Abrahamic religion in depth, referencing one Dharmic tradition and non-religious backgrounds (not necessarily a specific non-religious worldview) at Key Stage One and Key Stage Two. Pupils will be exposed to range of religious and non-religious worldviews, including traditions and celebrations inclusive of our diverse school community. The core concepts covered in depth will be: Christianity, Islam, Santana Dharma (Hinduism) and Humanism.

Our Spiral Curriculum Coverage

Jigsaw RE is an enquiry-based approach to Religion and Worldviews Education, with a different enquiry for every half-term (6 per year) focusing on one religion at a time. The aim is to deepen pupil’s critical thinking skills through greater subject knowledge and also to allow their own spiritual development. Each enquiry has a big enquiry question and this is explored with a 4-step process:

Engagement: How can I make connections between my world and the world of religion?

Investigation: What do I need to learn about the religion in order to answer the big question?

Evaluation: How well can I apply this knowledge to the big question using critical thinking/evaluation skills?

Expression: Can I express what difference this enquiry has made to me, my thinking and my starting point?)

In line with the Bucks Syllabus this model supports the key questions in the learning process:

1. What does it mean to be me?   Pupils’ own experience and self-concept,
2. What does it mean to be you?   Religious/worldview experience, concepts and content,
3. What does it mean to be human?   Universal human experience and concepts.

Jigsaw lessons in Jigsaw RE are known as Jigsaw Pieces. This is reflected in the innovative way that Pieces (lessons) are structured, which also reflects understanding of the learning process and current learning theories. Jigsaw states that, ‘In designing the Pieces, we imagine that children are asking the teacher to: Improve their social skills to better enable collaborative learning and reactivate prior learning (Connect our learning); Help the brain to focus on specific learning intentions using appropriate hooks and engagement strategies (Open my mind); Initiate new learning (Tell me or show me); Facilitate learning activities to reinforce the new learning (Let me learn) and Support them in reflecting on their learning and personal development (Help me reflect)

Each lesson (puzzle piece) is structured under the following headings:

Connect Our Learning: It sets the atmosphere at the beginning of each Jigsaw RE Piece and ensures that any relevant prior learning has been revisited and reactivated by the sharing of ideas and responses.

Open my Mind: Ensures the learning intention is clear and pupils are thinking about and focussed on the learning to take place.

Tell Me or Show Me: This section of the Piece (lesson) is used to introduce new information, concepts and skills, using a range of teaching approaches and activities.

Let Me Learn: Following Piaget’s learning model, after receiving new information/concepts, pupils need to manipulate, use, and play with that new information in order for it to make sense to them and for them to ‘accommodate’ it into their existing learning. This also ensure that the learning can be embedded into the longer-term memory as this learning will be revisited later, thus lessening cognitive load.

Help Me Reflect: Pupils are encouraged to reflect on their learning experiences and their progress. By reflecting, pupils can process and evaluate what they have learnt, which enables them to consolidate and apply their learning. They are also asked to stop and become aware of their thoughts and feelings in any given moment in Pause Points thus developing a mindful approach and allowing opportunity to develop their own beliefs and spirituality.

Thank you: The end of a lesson should always include the teacher praising the pupils for their effort, positive attitude and achievement, as well as giving one or two sentences to summarise the key learning points for the pupils. The Owl thanks the pupils on the last slide of every piece.

Using the Pause Points and the Help Me Reflect sections of each Jigsaw Piece, helps the pupils relax and calm their minds, and allows them to bring their awareness/attention to the present moment.  

The Buckinghamshire Agreed Syllabus encourages schools to use the progression statements and end of Key Stage statements provided to measure and report progress. Jigsaw RE is a major contributor in evidencing the impact of high-quality teaching and learning. Each enquiry has its own stand-alone assessment activity, criteria and descriptors. The three aspects of learning are colour-coded and present within planning and resources: Green: Personal resonance with or reflection on the concept/belief underlying the subject matter of the enquiry. The pupil’s own thoughts, opinions, belief, empathy. (Personal development) Blue: Knowledge and understanding of the subject matter of that enquiry (substantive/ subject knowledge) Red: Skills of evaluation, research, critical thinking in relation to the enquiry question (disciplinary knowledge). Adaptive teaching is used to allow all learners to achieve within the enquiry and the assessment activity, and is decided upon by the individual teachers using their knowledge of their pupils.

Impact

Our global citizens will be confident and able to talk about key aspects of principle religions and worldviews. They will progressively develop key skills over the years in using and interpreting different information sources, extending their specialist vocabulary as they do so. They will reflect on their own sense of who they are and their uniqueness.  They will reflect on what they believe, what they think is important and how this influences day-to-day living.  As they move through the school, they will learn to formulate opinions and handle controversial issues in order to discuss different beliefs and backgrounds. Pupils will ultimately learn to celebrate diversity recognising what we hold in common, respecting shared human values, while reflecting and maintaining their own faith and beliefs.