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Religious Education
The Core of the Core Subjects
Head of Department: Mrs S. McClure
Why do we study RE at Gumley House?
Religious Education is the "core of the core curriculum" in a Catholic school (Pope St John Paul II). Placing RE at the core of the curriculum in Catholic schools helps the school to fulfil its mission to educate the whole person in discerning the meaning of their existence, since:
"Religious Education is concerned not only with intellectual knowledge but also includes emotional and affective learning. It is in the mystery of the Word made flesh that the mystery of what it is to be human truly becomes clear. Without religious education, pupils would be deprived of an essential element of their formation and personal development, which helps them attain a vital harmony between faith and culture."
(Religious Education Curriculum Directory p4).
Furthermore, religiously literate children and young people are able to engage in a fully informed critique of all knowledge, "leading, for example, to an understanding of the relationship between science and religion or history, and between theology, sport and the human body."
(Religious Education Curriculum Directory p4).
CURRICULUM DOCUMENTS (Religious Education)
What is the purpose of Religious Education at Gumley House?
At the root of RE is a desire to walk in companionship with our students, to help them experience the wonder and awe of God’s presence in all things and to promote the school motto Vive ut Vivas; so they may flourish. RE takes our students beyond the ordinary, leading them to discover new things about themselves in relationship with the world. RE facilitates our students to be curious about the world around them and to be inspired to be a lifelong learner. Ultimately, the purpose of RE is to provide the opportunity for our students to grow in their faith and spirituality as well as be encouraged to reach their full potential.
Our purpose of RE has been highlighted in our last section 48:
- The school’s strong Catholic identity permeates all aspects of the learning environment (Section 48, 2017)
- Pupils are given the opportunity to explore and apply their understanding of Christian teaching and ethics to everyday situations. (Section 48, 2017)
- The effectiveness of leadership and management in promoting religious education is outstanding The quality of leadership and management of religious education is excellent and there is a very clear vision and commitment to the school’s key mission of the Church. (Section 48, 2017)
Gumley House, with RE at its core, exists to "hand on the Deposit of Faith in its fullness to a new generation of young people so that they may come to understand the richness of the Catholic faith, and thereby be drawn into a deeper communion with Christ in his Church." (Religious Education Curriculum Directory pvii).
With this as our primary aim, we serve diverse populations of students and within this context the Religious Education Curriculum Directory (RECD) makes the aims of Religious Education explicit
- To present engagingly a comprehensive content which is the basis of knowledge and understanding of the Catholic faith;
- To enable students continually to deepen their religious and theological understanding and be able to communicate this effectively;
- To present an authentic vision of the Church's moral and social teaching so that students can make a critique of the underlying trends in contemporary culture and society;
- To raise students' awareness of the faith and traditions of other religious communities in order to respect and understand them;
- To develop the critical faculties of pupils so that they can relate their Catholic faith to daily life;
- To stimulate students' imagination and provoke a desire for personal meaning as revealed in the truth of the Catholic faith;
- To enable students to relate the knowledge gained through Religious Education to their understanding of other subjects in the curriculum;
- To bring clarity to the relationship between faith and life, and between faith and culture.
The outcome of excellent Religious Education is religiously literate and engaged young people who have the knowledge, understanding and skills – appropriate to their age and capacity – to reflect spiritually, and think ethically and theologically, and who are aware of the demands of religious commitment in everyday life (Religious Education Curriculum Directory p6).
The Theological and Pedagogical Rationale to Religious Education at Gumley House FCJ
R.E. Across the Curriculum
Religious EDUCATION in Year 7
Curriculum Plan for RE (Year 7)
Students will follow the newly published Religious Education Curriculum Directory. Students will explore 6 topics in Year 7. Each topic will enrich students’ religious knowledge will aid their development of key literacy, evaluation and analytical skills. The Year 7 curriculum also enables students to understand, discern and respond to a range of important questions related to their own spiritual development, the development of values and attitudes and fundamental questions concerning the meaning and purpose of religious life.
Autumn Term 1: Introduction Unit & Creation and Covenant
During this term students will complete a brief introductory unit and then begin examining ‘Creation and Covenant’. This unit focuses on the God who creates and calls a people, looking at concepts such as God, creation, and stewardship. These topics will be examined through a variety of different religious lenses.
Autumn Term 2: Prophecy and Promise
This unit focuses on God’s promise and its fulfilment, looking at concepts such as prophecy, annunciation, nativity and Mary Mother of God. These topics will be examined through a variety of different religious lenses.
Spring Term 1: Galilee to Jerusalem
This unit focuses on The Word becoming flesh and dwelling among us, looking at concepts such as Incarnation, The Reign of God and Sacrament of the Sick. These topics will be examined through a variety of different religious lenses.
Spring Term 2: Desert to Garden
This unit focuses on Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, looking at concepts such salvation, grace, eucharist and reconciliation. These topics will be examined through a variety of different religious lenses.
Summer Term 1: To the Ends of the Earth
This unit focuses on Jesus’ command to ‘Go, and make disciples’, looking at concepts such as The Holy Spirit, The Church, Sacraments and discipleship. These topics will be examined through a variety of different religious lenses.
Summer Term 2: Dialogue and Encounter
This unit focuses In-depth study of a Christian tradition other than Catholicism (e.g. Anglicanism, Protestantism, Orthodoxy) and religions that have diverged from Trinitarian Christianity (e.g. Unitarians, Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses)
Method of Assessment:
Students will be assessed via forms of assessment: Baseline assessment, Keyword assessments, Knowledge assessments, understanding based assessments and discern assessments.
Students also monitor their own performance recorded at the front of their exercise books.
- Students will learn how to self-assess and peer-assess work.
- Teachers to mark at least 2 pieces of work every half term in detail with comments and skill development to indicate achievement and areas for development.
- Every half term a formal assessment is given. Students will be given the success criteria in advance. This should assess a range of skills in RE and may be in the form of a test, a group or individual presentation, a project or a piece of extended writing.
- Formal assessments are used to inform the setting for future attainment.
How will I know if my daughter is achieving this?:
Work is assessed in Religious Education throughout the year and through various methods. The assessment style used in Key Stage Three (Years 7-9) can be formative, summative and creative. Summative assessments are conducted at key points throughout the year and teachers will use formative assessment to ensure students’ clarity of understanding and progress. An initial assessment which students are not expected to prepare for is used to establish their prior learning and knowledge in the first half term of the year.
Students are given progress books in Year 7 which track their progress throughout Key Stage Three and allows students, parents and teachers to see the progress achieved throughout the students learning journey at Gumley House.
Religious EDUCATION in Year 8
Subject Topics Covered:
Term One:
Through the language of story students will be encouraged to think creatively and understand the love God has for His people. They will present role plays on the story of Theo and Ella and make links between this and the relationship God has with His people in the Old Testament. The focus for this term is God the Father.
Term Two:
We study the story of Jesus in the New Testament and learn how His teaching and example affects our lives today. We will be making some links with other subjects as we look at the New Testament themes.
Term Three:
We focus our work on the History of the Christian Church by becoming time travellers who explore events with the help of the Holy Spirit. We discover events in History where the People of God listened and were inspired by the Holy Spirit and events when the Church lost its direction.
Skills
- Develop Bible research skills.
- Develop project research skills
- Interpretation of Biblical story and its application to our lives.
- Empathy with the story in order to interpret the Christian story
- Assimilation of facts and research.
- Knowledge of KEY WORDS.
- Group work, use of ICT with presentations and projects, co-operation, listening and thinking skills.
- Develop analytic and evaluative skills.
Books and Resources:
- Students need to provide their own “Good News Bible”
- Recordings of the tale and classroom resources
- A full bank of resources and links are available in your Google Classroom.
Assessment
Students will continue to develop the skill of peer assessment. Teachers are to mark at least 2 pieces of work every half term in detail with comments and key skills to indicate achievement. A focus on key skills in RE will be used to indicate the progress students are making towards their own target grade. Clear targets should be set in relation to the achievement of the end of every term.
Every half term a formal assessment is given. Students should know the success criteria for each piece of assessed work. This should assess a range of skills in RE and may be in the form of a test, a group or individual presentation, a project or a piece of extended writing.
Formal assessment are used to inform setting of future target levels.
Types of Homework
- Written work in different styles.
- Illustrated work
- Research and Project work.
Religious EDUCATION in Year 9
Term 1: Students will be learning about world views through the story of Salvi.
Term 2: To compliment student learning in PSHE, students will have an in depth understanding of Relationships and sex.
Term 3: Students begin the RE GCSE course
Throughout Year 9 students will be developing their GCSE skills and in the summer term straight after Easter you will begin detailed work on either the Judaism or Catholic Christianity topics for the GCSE course:
- Unit 1: Beliefs and Teachings in Judaism or
- Unit 1: Beliefs and teachings in Catholic Christianity
Religious EDUCATION in Year 10 and 11 (GCSE)
Exam Board: PEARSON EDEXCEL in Catholic Christianity, Judaism & Philosophy and Ethics
Examinations: There is no coursework. Students will sit three exam papers in Year 11 which lead to a full GCSE.
What will I learn on this course?
In Year 10 you will study the remaining part of the Judaism course and Catholic Christianity: Unit 2: Jewish practices
The RE department will be taking students in Year 10 to the Jewish Synagogue in preparation for the study on Judaism.
Students will also learn about Catholic Christianity:
- Unit 1: Beliefs and Teachings
- Unit 2: Practices
- Unit 3: Sources of wisdom and authority
- Unit 4: Forms of expression and ways of life
What will I learn on this course?
You will learn to express your views and make an informed opinion on all aspects of the course. You will also consider views that are different from yours. You will have the opportunity to explain your ideas in written form and give reasons for what you believe and the moral decisions you make. You will be learning Catholic Christianity, about the beliefs, teachings and practices in Judaism, Philosophy and Ethics. There are 3 units of work which will be assessed at the end of Key Stage 4. There are 3 separate exams and we teach the 3 Units over the 3 years.
In Year 11 you will study any remaining topics from Catholic Christianity and Philosophy and Ethics:
- Unit 1: Arguments for the existence of God
- Unit 2: Religious Teachings on relationships and families in the 21stCentury
What is the importance of studying RE at GCSE?
This subject is really important in helping you as a young adult to reflect on your faith and to know how you can live it in society today. It also gives you guidance on important personal and social issues. Many of our students do really well at GCSE so this subject gives you the opportunity to succeed and move on to A Level. Many of the topics give you a foundation for the study of Religious Studies which is a combination of Philosophy and Ethics. These are excellent subjects, which open the door to many courses at University such as Theology, Philosophy, Maths, and the ethical issues are relevant to any aspect of Law as a career.
What resources are available to use?
You will be provided with printed resources and class text-books and an opportunity to purchase a revision guide which accompanies the class text book.
What are the aims of the course?
You will learn the key beliefs and practices of Catholic Christianity and Judaism and how these help to guide us through important issues in the world today. Through studying Philosophy and Ethics, you will develop your ability to construct well-argued and well-informed written responses.
You will also be able to reflect on and develop your own values, beliefs and attitudes in the light of what you learn. It will help prepare you for adult life in a pluralistic society and global community.
How will I be assessed on the course?
Throughout the course you will be assessed on the skills you need for the exam. There is no coursework or controlled assessment. There are three exams, which aren’t equally weighted:
- Paper 1: Catholic Christianity is 50% of the qualification. The exam is 1 hour and 45 minutes.
- Paper 2: Judaism is 25% of the qualification. The exam is 50 minutes.
- Paper 3: Philosophy and Ethics is 25% of the qualification. The exam is 50 minutes.
What is required of me when completing the course?
The most important thing is respect for the personal opinions of your peers and the expertise of your teacher. You need to recognise that this is a subject which is not just exam based, but it’s a subject which will benefit you in your personal life and therefore, requires a mature response. In order to progress and develop you need to be organised, punctual and committed to work. You should bring to every lesson your books, completed homework and writing equipment.
Achieving the Grade 8 & 9
Around 25% of our students achieve a Grade of 8 or 9. You will be challenged to achieve this in your practice questions and extension tasks, making full use of Biblical texts and other resources. We expect a high level of English and use of a wide range of specialist vocabulary. The level of discussion in class should encourage you to articulate your ideas and re-evaluate them in the light of other people’s ideas.
What careers could I consider?
Teaching, Medicine, Law, Business, Social Work. RE is relevant to most careers because of the personal commitment you can bring.
What further study options are available?
You may be offered the opportunity to join an after-school study/revision group in preparation for your exams.
RE has helped me in my every-day life.
I have put in a lot of effort and have gained knowledge and experience which I have shared with others.
(Year 11 Student)
RE has made me think in depth. The more I know about my faith, the more I respect it.
(Year 11 Student)
Philosophy and Ethics at Key Stage 5
For more information on the content of Religious Studies at Key Stage 5, please visit our Sixth Form Course Guide.