Religious Studies

Curriculum Intent

At Grace Academy, we believe it is Religious Education that promotes these virtues and encourages students to respect and immerse themselves into the wider world around them. Our broad curriculum allows pupils to use their knowledge to justify their opinion on controversial topics, as well as consider opposing views. Our systematic approach to curriculum delivery ensures that we are building upon that knowledge throughout their time at Grace Academy to prepare them for life outside of Grace.

Religious Education is the subject to provide pupils with the knowledge they need to become good human beings in line with our school ethos and values. This is to reflect the need of accepting, informed and respectful young people entering the diverse workplace and higher education.

Our wider curriculum ensures that students gain experiences of a variety of faiths, the perspectives held by individuals of different faiths and where our Christian Ethos guides our values and approach to both education and life.

“The whole purpose of religion is to facilitate love and compassion, patience, tolerance, humility and forgiveness” - Dalai Lama

This term, we are studying… stand the complexities and depth of moral situations e.g. the justifications of war.

Year	Topic(s)	Why this? Why now?
Year 7	BQ: What are different religious beliefs about the afterlife?	Pupils are reflecting and building upon KS2 knowledge This topic helps to build a foundational knowledge of key religious teachings of life after death (which links into GCSE topics within Christianity/Islamic Beliefs and Teachings) It also allows pupils to apply these teachings to the life of a religious believer – how would a belief in the afterlife affect how a person lives now?
Year 8	BQ: Do we need to prove God’s exist?	To understand the key arguments used to prove and disprove the existence of God To analyse the idea of a deity/God and what this means to religious believers To start evaluating arguments and coming to a justified conclusion as a key skill required for Year 9 and the GCSE curriculum.
Year 9	BQ: Is religion a power of peace or a cause of conflict in today’s world?	This topic includes some of the foundational knowledge required for the GCSE Theme D – Religion, Peace and Conflict. Pupils will study in depth Sikh, Christian and Muslim teachings which both justify war but also promote peace, and why there are contrasting teachings. It allows pupils to apply religious teachings to current events, and to understand the complexities and depth of moral situations e.g. the justifications of war.
Year 10	Islamic Practices	Pupils will be starting their final fourth topic of Paper 1: Study of Religions. This is Islamic Practices – which focus on the religious actions and duties of Muslims, and how their beliefs influence the practices they do (which is linked into the previous topic of Islamic Beliefs and Teachings) Pupils will be analysing Qur’an and Hadith quotes linked to Islamic Practices, and evaluating the importance of some duties compared to others within Islam.
Year 11	Revision	Pupils have finished content in RE and are continuously revising for their RE exams Paper 1: Study of Religions – 9^th May Paper 2: Thematic Studies – 16^th May Pupils will be going through key content of both papers, key words, scriptural quotes, and practicing exam questions with the use of the Critical Content Booklets to assist. All pupils have been given these booklets, and can receive past papers from the RE department to help with revision outside of school.

Religious Education for all is delivered through:

PSHE lessons
Our form time curriculum
Explicit "Drop-down" immersion days

At Key Stage 5, Religious Education is delivered through:

Timetabled lessons for all students

The impact across both key stages is assessed, and this informs future delivery and content. At Key Stage 4, assessment is both formative and summative. At Key Stage 5, assessment is formative.

Qualification information:

https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/religious-studies/gcse/religious-studies-a-8062

Curriculum content:

Attached are the curriculum maps which outline the sequence we use in order to structure our learning. If you would like to support your child's learning, we have attached links to Oak National Academy who provide lessons, activities and resources for commonly taught topics. Please use the curriculum map for this subject before visiting:

https://teachers.thenational.academy/subjects/religious-education/key-stages/key-stage-3

https://teachers.thenational.academy/subjects/religious-education/key-stages/key-stage-4

RE Curriculum Term 1 2023/2024

Religious Studies

Curriculum Intent

Qualification information:

Curriculum content:

Our Values