Religious Education KS3 Curriculum

Curriculum Intent 

The content of Religious Education will help the pupil to make a critique of all other knowledge, leading, for example, to an understanding of the relationship between science and religion or history, and between theology, sport and the human body. (Catholic Bishops’ Conference)     

Religious Education at Sacred Heart High School has been designed to enable young people to hold balanced and well-informed conversations about religion and belief.  From Year 7 through to Core RE at Year 12 and 13, each lesson has questions and stimuli designed to encourage debate and dialogue about the issues of today from a Christian perspective. Students at Sacred Heart develop skills in RE to present an authentic vision of the Church’s moral and social teaching so that they can make a critique of the underlying trends in contemporary culture and society.

Throughout the key stages, students develop their knowledge and deepen their understanding of the Catholic faith and investigate and understand the relevance of the Catholic faith to questions about truth and the meaning of life. As such, lessons on Philosophy and Ethics are designed to help them develop the skills of reflection, discernment, critical thinking, and deciding how to act in accordance with an informed conscience when making moral decisions.

The Head of Department and teachers have created lessons that highlight, develop and foster the values, attitudes and practices which are compatible with a positive response to faith. This is in line with the whole school pedagogical techniques of HPL. In particular, we have a focus on meta-cognition, resilience, and automaticity when it comes to assessment and feedback to help all students feel prepared and perform in their exams. HPL in RE also enables pupils to use flexible thinking and relate the knowledge gained through Religious Education to their understanding of other subjects in the curriculum and careers. Furthermore, RE at Sacred Heart uses cross-curricular skills such as reading and literacy in lessons throughout the ages to improve their learning and progress.

Throughout Key Stage 3 and 4, lessons in RE are designed to understand and appreciate significant aspects of other Christian traditions and major world religions. This, along with Philosophy units such as ‘Prejudice and Discrimination’ in Year 9 help our students at Sacred Heart to celebrate our diverse culture and learn how Christian teachings encourage love and inclusivity to all.

Finally, our units have a focus on the Five Goals of Sacred Heart: faith, intellect, social awareness, community and personal growth. Examples of such are the Year 7 Community topic which teaches students about the rich history of the school and its part of the Sacred Heart network. Throughout KS3 and 4 students learn about the value and significance of the Sacraments and the role of the Trinity. They have intellectual enquiry topics such as ‘Science and Religion’ in Year 8 and topics that encourage making a positive difference to themselves and the world by putting their beliefs and values into action like the ‘Love and Commitment’ unit about Agape and charity.

Assessment

Stretch & Challenge

Chilli challenges, extension questions, extra articles to read, further research

Enrichment Opportunities

Rome, trip to Prince of Egypt, extended project on Prejudice and Discrimination, Spirited Arts Competition