According to the latest Roman Catholic Religious Education Directory:
Religious education is the core of the core curriculum and is to be the source and summit of the whole curriculum.
Religious education is an academic discipline with the same systematic demands and rigour as other disciplines.
Religious education is to be delivered within a broad and balanced curriculum, where it informs every aspect of the curriculum. Every other subject is to be informed by religious education and have a strong relationship with it.
In each year of compulsory schooling, religious education is to be taught for at least 10% curriculum time within each repeating cycle of the regular school timetable.
In each year of sixth form schooling, religious education is to be taught for at least 5% curriculum time within each repeating cycle of the regular school timetable.
engage in a systematic study of the mystery of God, of the life and teaching of Jesus Christ, the teachings of the Church, the central beliefs that Catholics hold, the basis for them and the relationship between faith and life;
continually deepen their religious and theological understanding and be able to communicate this effectively;
critically engage with contemporary culture and society;
give an understanding of the religions and worldviews present in the world today and the skills to engage in respectful and fruitful dialogue with those whose worldviews differ from their own;
develop their critical faculties to bring clarity to the relationship between faith and life, and between faith and culture;
develop their sense of imagination and personal meaning in conversation with Catholic Christianity as well as other worldviews;
and relate the knowledge gained through religious education to their understanding of other subjects in the curriculum.
become aware of the influence of Catholic Christianity on individuals, communities and societies;
understand theological concepts and religious doctrines by engaging with primary sources of religious authority and bring these into dialogue with personal beliefs and values;
and develop in their deployment of analytical and critical thinking, the ability to work with abstract ideas, leadership and research skills.
develop their interest in a rigorous study of religion and belief and relate it to the wider world;
develop knowledge and understanding appropriate to a specialist study of religion;
develop an understanding and appreciation of religious thought and its contribution to individuals, communities and societies;
adopt an enquiring, critical and reflective approach to the study of religion; and reflect on and develop their own values, opinions and attitudes in the light of their study..
In KS3, upon the implementation of the new RED, the design of the curriculum will be rooted in spiral learning. Throughout Years 7-9, students will be able to deepen their understanding of RE in a thematic manner and develop key exam skills such as the ability to explain and evaluate.
In KS4, design of the curriculum is rooted in the scheme of work developed by AQA.
In KS5, the design of the curriculum is rooted in the scheme of work developed by OCR.
The overall aim will be for students to develop a deep understanding of fundamental concepts, achieve fluency in their knowledge of RE and be able to recall and apply knowledge rapidly and accurately. Students will also learn how to reason and evaluate and apply their RE knowledge to make analytical judgements that are appropriately supported and considerate of other perspectives. Thus, students will be given the opportunity to develop their own spiritual and moral perspective, whilst also valuing others’ views as matters for respectful dialogue in an increasingly pluralistic world.
Cognitive theory is used in the classroom to ensure students transfer content into their long-term memory and as a result, retain information as they move through each unit of work. This is achieved through regular low-stakes testing, revisitation of previous content at the beginning and middle of each lesson and combining previous content into the problem solving of new content.
Fluency skills are atomised to draw out minimal differences, reducing cognitive load and building deeper understanding of the theological, ethical or philosophical concepts behind an overarching topic. As each unit moves into problem solving, the gradient of challenge is carefully managed by withholding or adding in information, allowing pupils to increase their cognitive load at a sustainable pace and thus promote resilience. Overall, the curriculum is designed to ensure all students are supported to build success by forming links with concepts previously taught.
By instilling deeper understanding and increased risk-taking, teachers guide pupils towards a growth mindset. We encourage our pupils to deeply reflect on their choices and the values that underpin them in order to improve themselves and their community. In dedicated sessions of carefully sequenced intelligent practise, pupils are encouraged to think hard in the lesson, apply their skills and develop their versatility as problem solvers in the classroom and beyond.
| Subject Documents |
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| RE Curriculum Overview |