Religious Studies
Sandbach High school
Curriculum Intentions
Vision
Religion and Worldviews (R&WV) contributes dynamically to children and young people’s education in schools by provoking challenging questions about meaning and purpose in life, beliefs about God, ultimate reality, issues of life and death and issues of right and wrong and what it means to be human. In RS they learn about and from religions and worldviews in local, national and global contexts, to discover, explore and consider different answers to these questions. They learn to weigh up the value of wisdom from different sources, to develop and express their insights in response, and to agree or disagree respectfully.
Curriculum Intentions
Religion and Worldviews (R&WV) does NOT seek to promote the beliefs of one religion over another. Rather, we aim to:
- support pupils in their own search for meaning and purpose in life
- help pupils develop their own beliefs, values and ideals
- provide a safe and secure environment for pupils to challenge prejudices and misconceptions
- encourage tolerance and respect for themselves and for other people
- enable pupils to be discerning so that they can make informed choices about systems of belief whether faith based or secular
- encourage pupils to recognise and celebrate diversity in society
- enhance pupils’ understanding of history, art, music, literature and the media.
R&WV seeks to give a basic grounding in the beliefs and practices of the 6 world religions, thus equipping learners with the basic knowledge to understand their neighbours and colleagues in life. We aim to equip our students with the vocabulary to ask philosophical and theological questions, and the skills to consider the different possible answers to these questions.
Learners in R&WV are prepared with the skills necessary for GCSE-style questions: description, deeper explanation, evaluation of a range of views, justification of a judgement using evidence. Learners with Additional Needs are given scaffolded tasks to enable them to work towards these goals. Content is regularly updated to reflect current topics of debate.
Our learners leave us equipped for a wide range of employment and vocations; they are able to consider differing viewpoints and can take into account the way worldviews affect the ethical standpoints of others.
Curriculum Lead
Curriculum Leader Humanities Faculty: Ms C Wildman cwildman@sandbachhigh.co.uk
Key Stage 3
Year 7
|
Core Concept |
Autumn Term: Judaism |
Spring Term: Christianity |
Summer Term: Islam |
|
The Nature of God |
Yahweh and the Covenant |
God as Trinity |
The 99 Names of Allah |
|
Living a Good Life: Founders and Leaders |
Abraham and the Covenant Moses and the Law |
Jesus and the Parables |
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and Revelation |
|
Living a Good Life: Practises |
Shabbat |
Communion |
Shahadah, Salat and Zakat |
|
Concept of Sacrifice |
Abraham and Isaac |
Jesus and Salvation |
Ramadan and Sawm |
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Times and Places |
Passover, the Synagogue |
Christmas, Easter, the Church |
Hajj, Eid ul Fitr, Eid ul Adha, the Mosque |
Year 8
|
Core Concept |
Autumn Term: Hindu Dharma |
Spring Term: Buddhism |
Summer Term: Sikhi |
Summer Term: Humanism |
|
The Nature of God |
Brahman and the Trimurti |
No God; is Buddhism a philosophy? |
Waheguru |
There is no god; importance of reason and science |
|
Living a Good Life: Founders and Leaders |
Gaining good karma Gandhi |
The Buddha Path to Enlightenment |
Guru Nanak Guru Gobind Singh and the Khalsa |
Famous Humanists – and our own role models |
|
Living a Good Life: Practises |
Puja Pilgrimage |
Meditation The Five Precept |
Simran Being a Khalsa Sikh |
How to lead an ethical life; importance of empathy |
|
Concept of Sacrifice |
The stages of life: the Renouncer |
The Middle Way |
Sewa: work for others |
The importance of compassion for others |
|
Times and Places |
Diwali, Holi, the Mandir |
Wesak, Dhamma Day, the Vihara |
Vaisakhi, The Golden Temple, the Gurdwara |
Celebrating major life events |
Year 9
|
Core Concept |
Autumn Term: Black Lives Matter |
Spring Term: The Shoah |
Spring Term: Medical Ethics |
Summer Term: Crime and Punishment |
|
Challenging Questions |
Why are some people racist? |
Why would God let his Chosen People die? |
When does life begin? |
Why do we punish people? |
|
Living out their beliefs: Key People |
Rosa Parks Martin Luther King Malcolm X |
Anne Frank Miep Gies |
Examples of scientists and break-through research |
Elizabeth Fry |
|
Living a Good Life: Applying religious beliefs |
All are one in Christ Jesus. Fight in the way of Allah those who fight against you. |
The Exodus story |
The sanctity of life. Do not murder. |
If your brother repents, forgive him. Eye for an eye. |
|
Key Concept |
Discrimination: racism |
Discrimination: anti-Semitism |
Pro-Life and Pro-Choice |
Reformation and Deterrence |
|
Times and Places |
Civil Rights Movement, America |
The Shoah, WWII, Germany and Poland |
Advances in medical treatments, UK. |
Legal System UK Capital Punishment, USA |
Key Stage 4
KS4: GCSE Religious Studies
|
|
Beliefs and Practices |
Application to Thematic Studies |
|
Year 10 |
Christianity: Nature of God: Trinity, God as Creator, Incarnation; Crucifixion and Salvation, Resurrection, Ascension, Life after Death
Islam: 6 Articles of Faith (Sunni); Five Roots of Usual ad-Din (Shia); Oneness of Allah, Nature of God, Angels, Predestination and Free Will, Life After Death. |
Family and Relationships: Marriage and Divorce Nature and Purpose of the Family Sexuality Gender Roles
Religion and Life: Creation Abortion Euthanasia Animals: use and abuse |
|
Year 11 |
Christianity: Worship, Prayer, Baptism, Holy Communion, Pilgrimage, Festivals, Food Banks, the Church in the World: mission and evangelism.
Islam: Holy books; 5 Pillars of Islam; Obligatory Acts; Prophets; life of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh); Imamate; Eid ul Fitr, Eid ul Adha, Ashura. Jihad.
|
Religion, Peace & Conflict: Violence and terrorism Holy War & Jihad; Just War Theory; Weapons of Mass Destruction; helping victims of war.
Crime and Punishment: Types of crime; reasons for crime; types of punishment; aims of punishment. Forgiveness and reformation. |
Key Stage 5
For further information about A level Religious Studies at Sandbach College please visit: https://www.sandbachcollege.co.uk/religious-studies/
KS5 Map
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KS5: Year 12 |
KS5: Year 13 |
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Philosophy: Arguments for the Existence of God; Problem of Evil Ethics: DCT: Ethical Egoism; Virtue Theory. Islam: Muhammad; developing Islam; Qur’an. Allah; Risalah. |
Philosophy: Freud & Jung; Atheism. Ethics: Free Will; Islam: Sharia and Jihad; Shi’a. |
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Philosophy: Religious Experience. Ethics: Natural Law; Utilitarianism. Islam: Malaikah & Akhirah; Salah; Zakah; Five Categories Action. |
Philosophy: Religious Language. Ethics: Finnis & Hoose: Metaethics Islam: Crime & Punishments; Developments. |
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Philosophy: 12: Miracles. Ethics: 12: Situation Ethics; Determinism Islam: 12: Practices that shape identity. |
Revision External Exams |
Qualifications
KS4: AQA GCSE Religious Studies A: Christianity, Islam and Thematic Studies.
https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/religious-studies/gcse/religious-studies-a-8062
The examinations consist of two papers: one paper on religious beliefs and practices, one paper on Thematic Studies. Each paper contains shorter questions, worth 1 and 2 marks, examining knowledge. Medium length questions, worth 4 and 5 marks, examining understanding of the impact of beliefs. Longer questions, worth 12 marks, examining different responses and interpretations of religious beliefs, practices and ethical viewpoints.
KS5: Eduqas A level Religious Studies: The Study of Islam, Philosophy of Religion and Religion and Ethics.
https://www.eduqas.co.uk/qualifications/religious-studies-as-a-level/#tab_overview
The course covers key aspects of the beliefs and practices of Islam; in Philosophy we explore arguments for the existence of God, the problem of evil and suffering, and the nature of religious experience; in Ethics we consider ethical thought and language and how ethical theories have developed over time, whether that might be Situation Ethics or Utilitarianism. Examination consists of three papers, each 2 hours long, each consisting of 4 essay-style responses to questions examining knowledge and the ability to analyse the effectiveness of the theories.
Wider Curriculum
Useful Links
5 Ways I can help my child in KS3:
- Discuss their learning with them; encourage them to consider different points of view.
- Help them with their research: encourage use of sites such as BBC Religion and Ethics.
- Encourage ‘spiritual literacy’, regardless of whether you are personally spiritual. This means talking about ‘big questions’ and how they might be answered.
- Help them to learn by quizzing them; this will help them to see the differences between the religions.
- Share your own views, whilst encouraging them to question you.
5 Ways I can Help my Child in KS4 and KS5
- Discuss their learning with them; encourage them to consider different points of view.
- Ask them to relate their learning to current affairs: what might Christians or Muslims say about this?
- Help them to research in more depth, using appropriate material. Encourage them to avoid ‘blogs’ that may be one-sided.
- Quiz them, to check knowledge and understanding.
- Share your own views and experiences; if you disagree with them, explain why. Encourage them to explain their views too.
Useful websites:
- http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/0/ BBC Religion and Ethics – an archived site, but lots of useful articles
- https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/category/religionandethics A great place to search for discussion points, including The Moral Maze
- https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/subjects/zb48q6f Useful for GCSE Religious Studies
- https://philosophydungeon.weebly.com/ Although linked to the Edexcel A level RS spec, there is a lot of useful information here
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1A_CAkYt3GY Crash Course Philosophy – a must for A level students!