Curriculum Confidence Curriculum Confidence Dr Andy Brown Dr

Curriculum Confidence

Curriculum Confidence Dr Andy Brown Dr Anita Gracie Miss Taylor Mc. Coy Curriculum Confidence

Curriculum Confidence

RE in the NI Curriculum A Cat among the Pigeons! Curriculum Confidence

Are schools required to teach religion? • Yes, there is a legal requirement to teach religion to every child in every school, unless withdrawn by parents. • 2. 5 hours per week or 30 minutes per day • Collective Worship should be in addition to this • 45% of all schools (61% of Controlled) spend less than 1 hour per week on RE (CCEA, 2019) Curriculum Confidence

What are we teaching and why? ? • The Core Syllabus for Religious Education (DENI, 1993 and revised in 2007), devised by all four of the largest Christian denominations provides a ‘minimum requirement’ for what should be taught at the four key stages. • Was an achievement at the time – Agreed Christian content but nondenominational – mostly Biblical. • Schools allowed to add to this content according to their ethos. • Controlled schools mostly did not – more diverse population • Legacy of ‘safe’ Biblical stories and teaching about morality from a Christian perspective • Uninspected, un-resourced and un-developed teaching led to unloved RE in many cases. • Teachers prefer to stick to what they know – Many parents want their children to learn RE the same way they did. Curriculum Confidence

Good Religious Education should be …. AUTHENTIC EDUCATIONAL RELEVANT CHALLENGING Curriculum Confidence

Authentic RE • Should be open to questions • Should portray a realistic view of faith and society • Should be grounded in personal experience • Should be explored together with the teacher Curriculum Confidence

Educational RE • Should be taught with the same professionalism as any other subject • Should be integrated across the curriculum • Should help to advance Thinking Skills and Personal Capabilities • Should have appropriate inclusive Learning Outcomes • Should contribute to the ‘Big Picture’ of the school curriculum – Developing the young person ‘as an individual’ and ‘as a contributor to society’ Curriculum Confidence

Relevant RE • Should reflect the diversity of faith they see around them • Should address the problems and concerns of young people today • Should acknowledge the failings of churches and religious teaching in the past as well as their positive contributions • Must prepare them for the real world into which they will emerge from school Curriculum Confidence

Challenging RE • Should not focus on factual recall of Bible stories but on higher order thinking skills such as comparison and analysis • Should encourage pupils to develop and justify their own opinions • Should allow pupils (even from a young age) to develop and explore spiritual awareness • Should engage with stories and concepts from other faiths and cultures Curriculum Confidence

Curriculum Revision • We need to make our RE Curriculum ‘fit for purpose’ in the 21 st Century • Its purpose is not the transmission of our beliefs to the next generation • Learning about the beliefs and practices of other faiths is therefore no threat to our own beliefs and may serve as a mirror which will allow us to see and appreciate even more the wonder and beauty of the Christian faith • We need to trust the capabilities of our children more – they are the natives in a new world, in which we are only explorers Curriculum Confidence

Curriculum Confidence