Religious Education

The RE curriculum is designed to help pupils explore the diverse world around them and their own place within it. Lessons are accessible to all students, regardless of their faith or belief, with success based on their ability to understand, analyse, and evaluate rather than personal conviction.

Our aim is to foster pupils' spiritual, moral, and social awareness by deepening their understanding of the complex issues and challenges faced by people from all walks of life, both locally and globally. We aspire for pupils to leave Bradfield with a clearer sense of their place in society, both within their community and the wider world.

Pupils will study the core beliefs of the six major world religions, with particular emphasis on the dominant religious tradition in the UK, to reflect on the historical and cultural context of Great Britain. Ultimately, we seek to inspire intellectual curiosity and a passion for learning, while highlighting the important role of RE within the wider curriculum.

The curriculum is designed to ensure that it spirals and is sequenced so that it allows pupils to see the links and differences between the six world major religions at KS3, thus the curriculum has been designed to provide opportunities in every lesson for young people to be engaged in views and beliefs that may be similar or different to their own.

• In Y7 and Y8, pupils learn about the Abrahamic Faiths and Dharmic Faiths in chronological order to allow young people to see the connections and differences between the different religions.
• The last topic studied in Year 8 is Practical Ethics which gives students an opportunity to learn about various ethical dilemmas and focusses on how non-religious people and those people who practice the six world major religions might respond, thus bringing together and synthesising their learning over a Key Stage 3. The topic also provides young people opportunities to build upon and further develop explanatory and discursive written skills, essential for success at KS4.
• In Year 9 pupils start the GCSE course (AQA). Students complete this course over three years. The two religions studied are Christianity and Islam, as these are the most prevalent religions in Sheffield. Whilst studying Christianity, students learn key teachings and beliefs such as Trinity, life after death, the life and teachings of Jesus, sin and salvation. Students also learn practices such as prayer, worship, festivals and faith in action through charitable endeavours. Whilst studying Islam, pupils learn key teachings such as the nature of Allah, Tawhid and differences in belief between Sunni and Shi’a Islam and focus on key practices such as the Five Pillars in Sunni Islam and the Ten Obligatory Acts in Shi’a Islam.
• KS4, pupils explore 4 different themes:
  • Religion, Crime and Punishment which is a study of issues surrounding causes of crime, the nature of crime, the treatment of those who commit crime and the concept of forgiveness. This topic also looks at arguments for and against the death penalty.
  • Religion and Life which is a study of various ethical dilemmas such as abortion and euthanasia
  • Religion and Family which is a study of religious and non-religious view on everyday issues such as gender, marriage, divorce and family
  • Peace and Conflict which is a study of religious and non- religious views on the rights and wrongs of world conflict.

Religious Education is delivered through carefully planned lessons which allows pupils to access a well delivered curriculum from a range of subject specialists. Pupils will begin lessons with a knowledge drill and take part in numerous activities which will help inform and process learning. During lessons there will be opportunities to further explore, recall, retrieve and apply knowledge, skills and understanding through numerous vehicles such as debates and discursive essays. 

Assessment in RE can be divided into formative and summative assessment. Formative assessment of students will take place throughout the year during lessons and via their homework through verbal questioning, key word tests and low stakes retrieval quizzes. Summative assessment will take place through two formal assessments in class during the TSAT assessment weeks. Please see TSAT assessment calendar. 

Both assessments will comprise of an exam-style question which will require students to produce an extended piece of writing. 

RE enrichment opportunities are taken wherever possible. Through RE in Bradfield, we strive to develop in all pupils' knowledge and understanding of religious and non-religious world views to foster a greater appreciation of the rich, culturally, and religiously diverse world in which we live. We aim to support pupils in developing their own spiritual, moral, and social awareness by increasing their understanding of the complex modern and topical issues and challenges faced by people from all walks of life within their own city and beyond. It is our ambition that students leave Bradfield with a greater understanding of their own place within society, both local and global, linked to gaining a better understanding of British Values.

In addition to within lessons, RE exploits opportunities to further explore issues. Religious events and festivals through assemblies, tutor time and enrichment activities.

Pupils who have qualifications in RE generally go on to work in some of the following careers: the National Health Service, national and local government, schools, colleges and universities, financial and legal firms, charities, social services and other caring professions, PR, advertising, sales and marketing companies, libraries, museums, television companies and journalism.

You can support at home by discussing some of our topics. Often stories related to religion and world views, particularly more ethical topics, crop up in the news and can make for interesting discussions and debates. Pupils who are used to discussing and debating at home, often bring that confidence to the classroom. Parents are encouraged to support pupils with independent learning such as homework and revision. There are also several websites that support the subject, the closest in content being the BBC Bitesize pages.

KS3 bite size

GCSE bite size

Students work towards the AQA GCSE in RE, covering the following topics: