Religious Education
Lower School Curriculum
Children at Belmont come from a wide variety of religious and cultural backgrounds. We follow the non-statutory National Framework for RE, Key Stage 2. Each class has one 50 minute lesson per week. Assessment of work is based on pupils' participation in class discussion as well as by recording of grades for written exercises. As pupils progress through the years they should be able to demonstrate a retention of basic factual information, an understanding of concepts and an increased ability to empathise with issues that are raised in class.
Autumn Term
- The Creation Story
- an understanding of the creation story, how they would create a perfect world.
- Rosh Hashanah & Yom Kippur
- understanding the importance and symbolism of these days, the story of Jonah.
- Festivals of Light
- traditions, the story of Divali, food, the goddess Lakshmi.
- Christmas
- an overview of the Christmas Story.
Spring Term
- Jesus
- childhood, appearance and character, friends and enemies, the miracle worker, the healer.
- Signs and symbols
- everyday and major world religion signs and symbols.
- Passover
- the festival and the signs and symbols associated with it, the seder plate.
- Easter
- understanding the crucifixion and the signs and symbols.
Summer Term
- The Bible
- its sacred nature, the different types of writing, the psalms, prayers.
- Proverbs
- a wise saying.
- Abraham and Sarah
- why he made his journey, the sacrifice he was prepared to make.
- Joseph
- the significance of the story of Joseph.
Autumn Term
- Inspirational people
- who a hero is, Anne Frank, Mahatma Gandhi, Oscar Romero, Mother Teresa, making a difference.
- War and suffering
- why there are wars, suffering in the word, responses to suffering.
Spring Term
- Hinduism
- the Hindu concept of God, practices in the Hindu faith, the life-force Brahman, Ganesha, worship in the Mandir, how the Murtis are treated.
- Easter
- Palm Sunday, the Last Supper, Peter's words and actions, the crucifixion, the Resurrection.
Summer Term
- Sikhism
- a Sikh hero – Guru Nanak, his early life, his visits to heaven, his travels, his companion – Mardana, his teaching after his death, the nature of the Granth Sahib and its importance to Sikh believers.
Autumn Term
- Muhammad
- The Night of Power, The Night Journey, the role model.
- The Qur'an
- its origin, Muslims' belief in the Qur'an.
- The Five Pillars of Islam
- shahadah, salah, zakah, sawm and hajj.
Spring Term
- The Christian Bible
- the story of the Bible; The Dead Sea Scrolls.
- Old Testament characters
- Moses, Abraham, Sarah.
- New Testament characters
- Peter, Paul, Barnabas.
Summer Term
- The Bible
- literal and non-literal truth.
- Christian Beliefs and Actions
- loving one's neighbour; Papa Panov's tale; forgiveness; The Unforgiving Servant; Corrie Ten Boom; Gordon Wilson.
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Upper School Curriculum
Autumn Term
Before Half-Term
An overview of What is Religion?
How different religions mark the pattern of the day.
Muslim daily prayers
The daily life of the Christian community at Taizé .
Daily devotions at the Gurdwara, in the Sikh tradition .
Human beings’ need for regular rest.
The Jewish Sabbath as a weekly day of rest.
Sunday as a special day for Christians.
Before Half-Term
The month as a unit of time.
Celebration of the New Moon in Judaism.
The month of Ramadan in Islam.
How people celebrate annual events.
The Methodist Covenant Service
Divali: a Hindu festival
Christmas: a Christian festival
Spring Term
Before Half-Term
Continuation of study of festivals
Yuan Tan: Chinese New Year
Rosh Hashanah: Jewish New Year
Wesak: a Buddhist festival
Ways of celebrating the birth of a baby
Ways of welcoming babies in the Christian tradition, including infant baptism and Chrysmation in the Christian Orthodox Church.
Brit Milah and the welcome of Jewish babies.
Birth and early Samskaras in the Hindu tradition.
After Half-Term
The ways in which human beings mark growing up.
Accepting adult responsibilities in Islam.
The sacred thread in the Hindu tradition.
First Communion in the Roman Catholic Church.
The Bar Mitzvah and Bat Mitzvah in the Jewish tradition.
Taking Amrit in the Sikh tradition.
Summer Term
Before Half-Term
Some of the symbols, traditions and rituals of wedding ceremonies.
Some aspects of Jewish weddings.
Some aspects of Sikh weddings.
Marriage in the Christian Church: Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox.
Hindu weddings.
After Half-Term
Experiences and ideas about losing, missing and dying .
Variations in funeral practices .
Cremation in the Buddhist tradition.
Funerals in the Church of God.
Burial in the Islamic traditions.
Autumn Term
Before Half-Term
Evidence for God.
Experiences of God in the past. Saul, Moses, Muhammad.
After Half-Term
Recent encounters with God: Bernadette Soubirous, Jackie Pullinger, Cicely Saunders, Dead Man Walking, Helen Prejean.
Spring Term
Before Half-Term
Founders of the Faith. Detailed study of Guru Nanak and Sikhsim.
After Half-Term
Religion and the environment.
Summer Term
Before Half-Term
Study of Jesus, his life, parables and miracles.
After Half-Term
Study of modern Christian martyrs: Oscar Romero.
What does justice mean to Christians? Mother Theresa, Desmond Tutu, Gandhi, Martin Luther King.
Autumn Term
Before Half-Term
The Resurrection. A recap. of Christianity, Jesus, Pentecost, the early church,
the spread of Christianity to Britain.
After Half-Term
A brief introduction to the Church today.
Transfer Project on family history, the Book of Ruth and asylum seekers in our world today. Introduced by the Foundation Chaplain. This constitutes 50% of the final Transfer Exam.
Spring Term
Before Half-Term
Completion of Transfer Project.
After Half-Term
More about worship and symbolism, learning about religious symbols and making comparisons between different faiths. Judaism, Hinduism and Islam.
Summer Term
Before Half-Term
Lesson time allocated to revision.
After Half-Term
RE and the Media.
Prep
In Year 6 RE is done as part of a Humanities carousel and has one 45-minute prep every 3 weeks. In Years 7 and 8 RE prep is set once a fortnight and lasts 30 minutes.
Extending the More Able Pupils
Extension work is given to the potential scholarship classes in both years 7 and 8 and to the top stream in year 6. Pupils are encouraged to explore open ended questions and to put forward a reasoned argument. The year 8 project is designed to encourage the more able to look more closely at a social or moral issue and to research independently.
Class discussion is a vital part of the development of able pupils and they are encouraged to articulate their opinions orally.
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