Religious education (RE)
Teachers at all Key Stages will find guidance for teaching religious
education (RE) in this section.
Guidance
The Department published non-statutory guidance for RE on
29 January 2010. This guidance replaces the elements of Circular 1/94 that
relate to RE and explains that RE is a distinctive but core part of the basic
curriculum for maintained schools in England (Section 80(1) of the
Education Act 2002). The full guidance is available on TeacherNet.
Religious education guidance in English schools:
Non-statutory guidance 2010
Assembly ideas
TeacherNet's Assemblies section contains a wealth of resources for preparing assemblies for use with your class, year group or school. It also provides a template and hints for organising your own material.
Teachers TV
Don't forget that Teachers TV offers a wealth of resources for teachers, including curriculum-based programmes for use in the classroom.
Collective worship
All maintained schools should provide collective worship and RE for their pupils. The precise nature of the collective worship and RE at a foundation or voluntary school will depend on the religious character of the school. Read about collective worship and collective worship policy covering the right to withdraw. For maintained schools other than those designated as having a religious character, Ofsted's section 10 inspection will cover RE and the act of collective worship.
Schemes of work for RE
The National Curriculum outlines a programme of study for RE which is complemented by information on QCDA/DCSF's schemes of work for RE for Key Stages 1 and 2 and Key Stage 3.
Becta curriculum entitlement documents
You can also download Becta documents which offer a valuable resource for using ICT to enhance the teaching and learning of primary and secondary subjects.
ICT in primary religious education: A pupil's entitlement (document
1)
This document describes lessons which help children develop an
understanding of:
- places of worship
- diverse belief systems
- inspirational people in religion.
ICT in primary religious education: A pupil's entitlement (document
2)
This document describes lessons which help children develop an
understanding of:
- the impact of religion on people's lives
- social issues, such as poverty
- death and the afterlife.
ICT in secondary religious education: A pupil's entitlement
This document contains lesson ideas for using ICT in religious
education, such as:
- reflecting on the Buddha
- investigating religious diversity
- analysing creation narratives
- analysing how beliefs about God are portrayed in art.
Teachers' recommendations
The Teacher Resource Exchange (TRE) is a moderated database of resources and activities created by teachers. Resources are free to use and you can add your own resources to share with other teachers.
ICT in RE teaching
ICT helps pupils learn in a stimulating and inspiring way. If you need more ideas for how to integrate ICT into your teaching, visit the National Curriculum's ICT in religious education section.
Life as a teacher
The TDA's Life as a teacher section is a resource that offers
opportunities, training, support and rewards for those training, or considering
training to be a teacher.
Last updated: 24 November 2009
