In accordance with legal requirements, schools with secondary school pupils should provide every pupil with religious education and plan for a continuity of provision in religious education that is progressive and rigorous from Key Stage 3 onward.
The Birmingham locally agreed syllabus permits certain specified accredited courses to serve as the programme of study at Key Stage 4 (and where it exists in the sixth form [see section F below]) as an alternative to that specified below, provided they comport with the spirit of this syllabus and are advised to be such by Birmingham SACRE. |
Schools can therefore comply with the legal requirements by providing access to discrete courses or units leading to recognised qualifications.
Pupils at this Key Stage are not required to sit public examinations in RE by law but it is deemed desirable for them to have their learning in this statutory curriculum subject accredited, provided this is through a qualification approved under section 96 of the Learning and Skills Act, 2000. If pupils are not sitting for a GCSE or A-level, half GCSE or half A-Level examination in religious studies, schools should consider entering pupils for CoPE (Certificate of Personal Effectiveness). |
Key Stage Description:
Pupils will continue to develop a more coherent view of Christianity and (an)other religious tradition(s), selecting religious traditions on the basis of factors outlined above [see Factors] and as potentially formative of their view of life. Each pupil should, broadly speaking, be able to study the religious tradition from his or her family background.
Pupils will be seeking to arrive at informed judgement, and to develop their aesthetic, moral and spiritual sensibilities in view of the contribution of religious traditions. Through an extended appreciation of the past and of the context of religious life, they will grow in awareness of some of the competing and deep-rooted forces and principles claiming their loyalty and commitment.
Pupils will note the light and/or dark side (if any) of some of the key figures and events25, and their relevance for contemporary life. Pupils will also learn about some significant religious figures26 and events in other parts of the world and their cultural and religious contributions to, and impact on, human civilisation and British society, in particular from religious traditions with adherents in the classroom.
Pupils will learn something about the range of literature in the Bible, (1 Corinthians 13 is strongly advised to be taught at this key stage), and in other sacred writings, and enhance their interpretative skills
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They will learn something of the history of the Biblical canon, and of the sacred writings in other traditions, and develop a sense for the complex authoritative function of the scriptures within religious communities. They will examine some expressions of religious life, e.g. 1. in the mystical traditions and 2. within human culture27, and by these means develop their affective and expressive capacities.
Pupils will further enlarge their religious vocabulary, theological terms and concepts. They will appreciate the role of religious faith and organisations in community [especially in its contribution to the legal and justice system], political [especially in its contribution to the establishment of its democratic processes] and business life and consider their own contribution to the wider community.
They will begin to learn something about the drive to religious unity within Christianity, and the importance of inter-religious and inter-cultural relations for society at large, in order to inform their own conversations with those who hold divergent views. |
Development of Pupils and Society:
Skills, Understanding and Application of Knowledge
I. Learning from Faith
| The dispositions of pupils will be developed using the treasury of faith. Drawing on the beliefs, expressions and practical actions of religious traditions and by having regard to key questions [see: key questions in the non-statutory material], pupils at this Key Stage should grow intellectually, affectively/emotionally, and practically by being enabled to: |
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with a personal focus |
primarily, but not exclusively, cognitive
- Consider reflectively, and engage actively with, religiously conflicting ideas that relate to the fundamental sense, purpose and meaning of life.
- Give close attention to the life-style challenging inspiration provided by Scriptures, religious traditions, events and places of religious significance on belief and behaviour.
- Reflect on, and engage with, some key cultural expressions of religious life -e.g. in classical and contemporary music and/or art.
primarily, but not exclusively, affective
- Express important and complex human and religious affections in words or in other media.
- Develop a sense of the importance of understanding the natural world and taking responsibility for it.
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primarily, but not exclusively, conative
- Develop some characteristics of selflessness, concern for others, and altruism, especially for those caught up in natural disasters, for those in situations of social deprivation and conflict, or for those who experience personal disabilities.
- Discern and cultivate consciously, widely recognised values and virtues, such as, altruism, honesty, integrity, patience, and courage. This could be done through encouraging active participation in school, social and/or community life.
primarily abilities and skills oriented
- Enhance and deploy the analytical and constructive skills to engage in inter-religious and inter-cultural dialogue.
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with a social focus
- Value and appreciate the religious influence on key social institutions, such as, the family, voluntary organisations and institutions in the educational, political and economic spheres of life.
- Look for ways to bring positive change by being constructive and active in challenging injustice in school, society and the wider community.
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II. Learning about religious traditions
| Pupils should be offered a holistic view of religious traditions, their beliefs, their expressions, and their practical actions. Thus pupils should be helped to develop their knowledge, their affections, their dispositions, their abilities/skills and relationships with others in society by using key questions and: |
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with a personal focus |
primarily, but not exclusively, cognitive
- Appreciating the complexity of the roots and history of religious faith in Britain and the wider world.
- Studying key religious beliefs and practices, together with the origin and context of sacred writings and persons. (1 Corinthians 13 is strongly advised to be taught at this key stage).
- Developing an understanding of religious views on the environment and the natural world, and the consequent relationship between religion and science.
primarily, but not exclusively, affective
- Critically enjoying significant religious fiction, narratives, events, and places in their context.
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primarily, but not exclusively, conative
- Engaging with, and questioning, classical and contemporary religious expressions in art, and music.
primarily abilities and skills oriented
- Extending their religious vocabulary and theological concepts and using them accurately and in context.
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with a social focus
- Studying the extent to which the religious dimension has contributed to the establishment and maintenance of human social institutions in Britain, especially the institutions of Law and Justice, and the exercise of Democracy.
- Learning how faith traditions both create divisions and work for peace in the contemporary world.
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Areas of Study
A. Cultivating Spiritual Aspirations and Moral Dispositions:
"A disposition is a prevailing quality of character marked by an inclination, or will,
to act in a particular way or by a tendency to a certain kind of action."
| In the course of their study of the religious material and resources pupils will be seeking to cultivate their spiritual aspirations and moral dispositions which should not be isolated from religious understanding. Within the religious context the virtuous nature of these dispositions depends precisely on the condition of the sense of life as a life lived before God or out of a duty to the Divine, or in anticipation of the dissolution of the self in nirvana. To treat the development of dispositions as purely an exercise in self-development, or alternatively as desirable behaviour from the viewpoint of the interest of society, is (from a theological perspective) to exacerbate the deepest problem of the human condition, and in the words of St Augustine, to turn these virtues into ‘splendid vices’. |
Therefore, to convey the sense of religious life in religious education it is necessary to show the inextricable link between the religious understanding and the dispositions. It is believed that through an active engagement with religious material and resources, employing key questions, and the use of imaginative empathy, exemplars and experimental modeling, (as well as other means) the dispositions will emerge and grow. Social structures are developed through the links created between people across space and time. For the purposes of this syllabus the dispositions have been agreed to be: |
B. Selected religious material:
To make progress in the process of achieving the attainment targets of RE, pupils during this key stage should be taught using appropriate key questions and the various aspects of religious traditions, namely their:
- Beliefs, especially those central to the religions in question, and beliefs about people, the past and future, the natural world.
- Key figures and institutions.
- Literature: Stories, poetry, prayers, wisdom literature, hymns/carols.
- Celebrations, rituals, - [sacraments, hymns/carols, prayer] - symbols, artefacts and language.
- Cultural expressions in the arts, i.e. those which have religious import (In music, art, film, sculpture, dance, drama, design of buildings, sport).
- Actions, with examples of what members of the religious faiths have done and are doing to help others or to care for the world about them.
- Ethics, laws/rules that govern behaviour.
These will be selected from:
- Christian traditions, (1 Corinthians 13 is strongly advised to be taught at this key stage) [see religious traditions: Christianity]28.
- Religious traditions represented in the classroom [see religious traditions : Bahá'í; Buddhism; Hinduism; Islam; Jainism; Judaism; Rastafarianism; Sikhism].
- Resources from diverse religious traditions that help to deepen and broaden the spiritual and moral dimension, e.g. by choosing material from different parts of the world and also encountered in Birmingham and Britain.
- Resources that make links with other areas of the curriculum.
- Resources that reflect the interest and choice of pupils.
- Resources that promote a positive appreciation of, and care for, others.
- Resources from the daily life and experience of pupils in the classroom, from contemporary culture, and generally from what is to be found in the immediate neighbourhood and community, e.g. films, buildings, people, together with resources from the wider world which may be accessed through Information and Communication Technology (ICT).
C. Using Clusters:
The dispositions may be clustered to reveal 1. their interdependence and 2. the different configurations in which they may be encountered within the varying cultures and civilisations. Any clustering will also take into account the ages, aptitudes and family background of the children in the school (see advice on clustering). Teachers may choose to cluster the dispositions outlined above into six basic clusters.
Thus one might cluster the dispositions in one of the following ways:
Example 1:
 1 – 4 as developing creativity (How should we imagine and express what matters?)
 5 – 8 as developing compassion (How and why should we care?)
 9 – 12 as developing choice (What should we stand for?)
 13 – 16 as developing community (How and where should we contribute and relate to others?)
 17 – 20 as developing commitment (What ventures should we undertake?)
 21 – 24 as developing contemplation (How do we come to understand what matters?)
Example 2:
 [24, 21, 7, 12] as being attentive (How can we learn about what lies beyond the limits of our world?)
 [1, 13, 9, 22] as being receptive (How can we learn to receive without abusing the gift?)
 [17, 23, 14, 18] as learning from the past (How can the past live and enlarge the present?)
 [19, 20, 15, 1] as looking to the future ((What dare we hope for?)
 [5, 16, 10, 11] as recognising inter-dependence ((How do we learn that others rely on us and we on them?)
 [3, 4, 8, 6] as responding and developing (What can we do to develop fully as persons?)
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