R.E

Subject Lead : Mrs Denton

Fun facts about me : I enjoy reading, listening to music and going to the theatre. I also love going to theme parks with my family and I love all things Disney!

I started working at Cooper and Jordan as the Church Schools Link worker for Aldridge Parish Church before returning to teaching here.

Subject Vision (The Intent): 

 Our aim at Cooper and Jordan is to provide children with a rich, interesting curriculum focusing on our own Christian values whilst learning about other major world religions. 

 Through the teaching of Religious Education in our school we aim to give our pupils:

• Knowledge and understanding of Christianity as a living faith that has and continues to develop the lives of people around the world.
• A clear understanding of the teachings of Jesus and the Bible and the skills to be able to think about how these can guide everyday life.
• Knowledge about a range of religions and different views and how these impact the lives of people.
• To develop questioning skills and be able to evaluate evidence. 
• To develop an understanding of moral issues.
• Time to investigate, reflect and respond to different questions about them as individuals and the wider community. Encouragement to explore their own spirituality, beliefs and to be able to express their own ideas.
• To be able to listen to the opinions of others respectfully, developing empathy and to be able to celebrate diversity in society.

As well as a focus on our Christian values, throughout their time at Cooper and Jordan children will also learn about the Islamic faith, Hindu faith, and Sikhism. The lessons will teach children about:

• Identity and belonging 
• Beliefs and teachings  
• Forms of expression 
• Practices and ways of life 
• Celebrations in each religion

Worship and Spirituality

Worship times are an important time when pupils and teachers are in one place for a shared purpose and communal worship. We are also focused on thinking about the Spiritual aspect of everything that we carry out in school in R.E lessons as well as in the wider curriculum. 

If you would like to find out more click here to be taken to our Worship and Spirituality Page.

Curriculum (Implementation):  

At Cooper and Jordan RE learning is planned and delivered in a variety of ways through practical activities, discussion and creative ways to ensure learning is interactive and accessible for all. We encourage all pupils to develop their knowledge of different faiths of the world and to understand difficult concepts and explore a range of challenging questions. 

Our curriculum across the school is split between units from Understanding Christianity and the Walsall Syllabus. This allows the children to explore the Christian faith in detail whilst also developing their understanding of other major religions from around the world. The curriculum has been carefully designed to ensure that there is progression in the children's understanding building upon ideas that have been introduced in younger years to allow the children to explore on a deeper level as they move through school.

EYFS:

 In EYFS, the children begin by thinking about why people are special and focusing on the main stories of the Bible looking in particular at the Nativity and Easter. The focus in EYFS is to introduce these stories to the children and think about how special everything that God has made is. The children will also look at the ideas of Creation, ready to build on these as they move into Key Stage 1. Much of the curriculum in EYFS is based on discussion and story telling, thinking about how the children interact with the world around them and learning about the life of Jesus. The children also learn about important festivals and celebrations from different faiths throughout the year. 

KS1 & KS2:

In KS1, the children build upon the teachings from EYFS and begin to think more about the deeper meaning in the Nativity and Easter story. The children continue to think about the world around them and how their actions can make positive changes in the world. Different religions are also introduced with Year 1 learning more about Sikhism and  Year 2 beginning to discover more about Islam. Our aim in Key Stage 1 is not only to help secure the children's knowledge of key events in the Bible but also begin to think deeper about their own experiences and how these compare to other people in the local community; as well as around the world. In Year 2, the children also start to think carefully about events and experiences that they have in their life, especially during the topic 'Questions that puzzle us.'`

These themes are built upon in Key Stage 2 and again more religions are introduced. Year 3 look at a range of holy buildings, with the chance to visit those in the local area and find out more about the importance of Holy Books. The children also learn about different pilgrimages that occur around the world and begin to think about what it is like to follow God. In Year 4, the topic of Hinduism is introduced as well as the 5 pillars of Islam. They also begin to look at the similarities and differences in Christian and Hindu beliefs. Year 5 look at the similarities between Christian Aid and Islamic Relief and between commitments in Sikhism, Islam and Christianity. The children finish the year by finding out about inspirational people in Christianity and Islam. Year 6 start by discussing ideas of creation from a Christian viewpoint as well as looking at that of Science. Key leaders of Christianity, Hinduism and Sikhism are discussed and they end their time in Key Stage 2 by looking at how Art can be used to express spiritual ideas.

Assessment (Impact):

Children are assessed through formative and summative assessments throughout the year.  We use Learning Objectives which are question driven as this allows pupils the chance to think deeply about the topics explored and leave them open for the children to lead their own learning.  This is supplemented by our Spirituality Big Questions sessions. These sessions allow the children time to think about their own faith, practices and behaviour in line with our school values. An example of one of these questions is 'Do Miracles still happen in the modern day?'. This is the type of question which has led to insightful and thoughtful discussions in class which have shown the children's understanding of the world and their place within it.

 Throughout their RE learning pupils have time for reflection on what has been learnt so far.

Trips & Enrichment:

 We are extremely fortunate to be on the same road as the magnificent Aldridge Parish Church. This means that we are able to visit for worship times as well as getting the chance to explore the church and the significance it holds for people's faith and also the local community. We are also blessed to have close ties with the Thomas Project, a fantastic local organisation that provide help for people in Aldridge and the surrounding areas. We welcome visitors into school who come to share and teach the children about their faiths. 

Pupil Voice:

Jacob said "I like the lessons because they are fun and we do exciting work!"

Carys said "It was great when we made the candles at Christmas and we thought about God’s light."

Nate said "I like that we can do art in it as well we went outside to make pictures using nature and also that we get our own personal bibles in Year 3 that we can keep forever."

Leyton said "We get the chance to learn about new religions and how others worship in their holy buildings."

Amelia said "We learn about different religions and I find this interesting because I love learning about the differences between people."

Cooper said "I like learning about God and how better to live my life through his teachings in the Bible."