Religious Studies
Context
Leeds City Academy is part of the White Rose Academies Trust. It is an ambitious, diverse and inclusive secondary school where over 76 languages are spoken within the community of over 56 nationalities. The international influence gives students a global perspective as they benefit from exposure to diverse cultures, communities, traditions and learning.
· We deliver Religious Education (RE) in line with the Leeds agreed RE syllabus, 'Believing and Belonging'.
· Leeds City Academy recognises the educational value of Religious Education in the school curriculum and we support a high number of students in the completion of the GCSE option.
· Leeds City Academy also recognises the excellent contribution RE makes to Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural (SMSC) development across the school.
Legal Requirements
The National Curriculum states that:
Every state-funded school must offer a curriculum which is balanced and broadly based, and which:
· promotes the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils, and
· prepares pupils at the school for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life …
All state schools …must teach religious education
DfE, The National Curriculum in England: Framework Document, September 2013, p.4
Right of withdrawal: Parents (or students who are over 18) have the right to withdraw their children either partly or wholly from RE. In addition, teachers have the right not to teach the subject. Our approach to RE, however, has been constructed in the hope that parents and teachers will rarely, if ever, wish to exercise their right of withdrawal.
Breadth of RE:
Leeds City Academy recognises that RE ‘must reflect the fact that the religious traditions in Great Britain are in the main Christian, while taking account of the teaching and practices of the other principal religions represented in Great Britain’ (Education Act (1996 Section 375 (3)) Schools Standards and Framework Act (1998, Schedule 19, para 5). The breadth of RE is referred to in more detail in the section on ‘curriculum’ below.
The KS3 Religious Education curriculum aims to investigate the beliefs and practices of the six major world religions and world views, including Atheism and Humanism. It is designed to broaden religious literacy. As part of the curriculum pupils will investigate how religions and worldviews address questions of meaning, purpose and value. We will also investigate how religions and worldviews influence the decisions we make and our identity and diversity. In key stage 4 pupils access their core Religious Education through the DNA curriculum. This looks at some of the ethical issues that we may face such as Euthanasia and organ donation. Pupils who choose to study GCSE Religious Studies as an option follow the Eduqas route A syllabus. This focus on the religions of Christianity and Islam and then four ethical and philosophical themes.
Learning Journey
For further information on the curriculum offered please contact the Academy F.A.O Saara Davis.