Philosophy, Religion & Ethics

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RWSCurriculum Transparent

Intent and Vision

In Philosophy, Religion and Ethics at Ravens Wood, the curriculum vision is at the heart of our planning and it has informed the learning journey of our students. Our curriculum in PRE aims to help students to be inquisitive and moral decision makers. Through Philosophy they will learn to be inquisitive thinkers who challenge assumptions. With education in Ethics, they will develop into morally reflective decision makers. Through the study of Religion, they will become empathetic members of our community armed with the requisite knowledge to make the good choices. The intent and purpose of PRE is to help our students navigate the uncharted territory of options that the modern world provides.

Key Concepts that Underpin the Curriculum

  1. Ultimate Questions
  2. Religious Groups
  3. Philosophy of Religion
  4. Life Choices
  5. Religion and Belief
  6. Religion and Action
  7. Religion and People
  8. Philosophy
  9. Ethics
  10. Theology

Key Features of Learning

We believe the best way of doing this is teaching students a vertical curriculum with a horizontal goal. Year 7 and 8 have units which necessarily must be taught back-to-back. For example, you need to have learnt the first unit in year 7 (ultimate questions) in order to understand the second (How was Religion Formed?). This KS3 curriculum then splays out into 3 horizontal schema which are grouped into vertical strands. The first is Religion and Belief. This branch consists of the following units: Christian Beliefs and Teachings; Islamic Beliefs and Teachings; and Good and Evil. The second branch is Religion and Action. This branch looks at Christian Practices; Islamic Practices; and Human Rights. Lastly, in year 11, the students look at Religion and Life. This branch explores Relationship and the Life and Death. This 5 year curriculum then dovetails into the PRE A-Level in a multitude of ways.

How Does our Curriculum Shape Learners?

PRE helps develops learners’ knowledge and understanding of religions and non-religious beliefs, such as atheism and humanism. It develops learners’ knowledge and understanding of religious beliefs, teachings, practices, and sources of wisdom and authority, including through their reading of key religious texts, other texts and scriptures of the religions they are studying. It also develops learners’ ability to construct well-argued, well-informed, balanced and structured written arguments, demonstrating their depth and breadth of understanding of the subject.

PRE provides opportunities for learners to engage with questions of belief, value, meaning, purpose, truth, and their influence on human life. We challenge learners to reflect on and develop their own values, beliefs and attitudes in the light of what they have learnt and contributes to their preparation for adult life in a pluralistic society and global community.

Our curriculum will enable learners to deepen their understanding of the relationship between people and become informed about common and divergent views within traditions in the way beliefs and teachings are understood and expressed. Our students will understand that religious traditions in Great Britain are diverse and include the following religions: Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism and Sikhism, as well as non-religious beliefs, such as atheism and humanism. We take a distinctive issues-based approach to the study of religious, philosophical and ethical studies in the modern world.

The Learning Journey: End Points for Each Academic Year

Year 13

By the end of Year 13, students will have studied the nature of religious language and how this relates to the attributes of God. Moreover, they will have investigated the relationship between religious language and the attributes of God. For example, we will have discussed how the transcendental nature of God may make human based language, essentially, meaningless. In ethics the students will have studied metaethics and explored the core meaning of our most basic ethical terms such as good, bad, right and wrong. In Theology the students will have looked at the core Christian beliefs and how they drive action and practices in contemporary society. Furthermore, they will have studied the relationship that Christianity has with secular society.

Year 12

By the end of Year 12, students will have studied the fundamental building blocks of Western philosophy in the shape of the Ancient Greeks. Furthermore, the students will have related this knowledge to the concept of the soul and God. In Ethics the students will have sampled the key ethical theories of the Western tradition and built personal views on their efficacy. Moreover, they will have looked at how these theories apply to Business Ethics and Euthanasia. In Theology the students will have studied the core beliefs of Christianity on Life and Death; Human Nature; Ethics; Jesus and knowledge of God. Also, they will have studied how the Christian beliefs impacted the life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

Year 11

By the end of Year 11, students will have studied the concepts key to Life and Death. These are concepts such as euthanasia, abortion, sanctity of life, quality of life and the origin of the world. The students will also have studied the nature of relationships. In the unit Relationships we will have discussed sex, sexuality, marriage and divorce. The culmination of this year’s study is the revision of the whole year 11 course using low stakes quizzing and exam practise. In this whole course revision, the students will have interleaved their knowledge and have been randomly tested on units in a way specially designed to test long-term memory retention.

Year 10

By the end of Year 10, students will have studied the overarching concept of religion and action. They will have looked at Human Rights which consists of the Civil Rights Movement, the nature of poverty and gender roles. Moreover, they will have applied Christian, Muslim and Humanist beliefs to these topics. The students will also have studied the core Islamic Practices and answered what it is to be a Muslim. The study of Islamic practices involves the diverse actions of Shia and Sunni Muslims and an exploration of the shared core of Islam. We will also have studied the practices of Christianity with a view to understanding the differences between Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox and Anglican Christians. Moreover, we will have discussed the nature of Britian as a Christian community and its changing demographics. In terms of writing skills, the students will have learned how to come to a balanced conclusion having justified their views in the face of opposition. Moreover, they will have been able to refer to concrete examples of how religion has impacted the lives of people.

Year 9

By the end of Year 9, students will have studied the overarching concept of religion and beliefs. They will have looked at the concepts of good and evil and how they impact society. For example, the students will have learned about the nature of crime and punishment and the views that Islam, Christianity and Humanism take on them. The students will have also studied the key Islamic beliefs. In particular, the students will have looked at what the differences are between Sunni and Shia beliefs and what unifies them. Moreover, the students will have explored the Christian beliefs and questioned the extent to which beliefs alone can make somebody a Christian. An exploration of the beliefs on the Trinity, Nature of God and theodicy will have taken place. In terms of writing skills, the students will have refined their argumentation and started to incorporate the concept that religion impacts society. In looking at the impact to society students will imagine how the beliefs they are studying have a real consequence in the lives of people.

Year 8

By the end of Year 8, students will have been introduced to some of the trickiest philosophical and ethical quandaries that PRE has to offer. For example, the students will have explored the motivations behind radicalism in religion and the role that ethical theories and religion has played in our day-to-day choices. In order to allow our students to make decisions with insight we will have guided them through the core ethical theories within the western tradition. Students will also have studied the deepest philosophical mysteries such as the nature of God and the universe. For example, students will have been asked to reflect on their person beliefs on God and then consider the opposing view. In terms of writing skills, the students will have demonstrated that they can not only consider the multitude of answers to ultimate questions but also show that they can weigh up the quality of answers and conclude.

Year 7

By the end of Year 7, students will have been inducted into the culture of PRE. They will have studied how their knowledge of Philosophy, Religion and Ethics can be applied to life-like situations in the Planet X unit. Furthermore, the students will have studied religion on several levels. The students will have looked at the religion schisms and how this produces denominations. Moreover, the students will have looked at commonalities between religions through studying the Abrahamic and Dharmic branches of religion. At the heart of the subject is the very first unit that the students will have studied in this subject; Ultimate Questions. In the Ultimate Questions unit, the students will explore the nature of questioning and the limit in certainty that all people have on questions of Philosophy, Religion and Ethics. In terms of writing skills, the students will have demonstrated that they can propose answers to ultimate questions and consider alternative answers.

GreenBoxes

Provision Maps

PRE - Y7 - 1 - Ultimate Questions
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PRE - Y7 - 2 - What is Religion
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PRE - Y7 - 3 - World Religions
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PRE - Y7 - 4 - CSD
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PRE - Y7 - 5 - Who is Joshua
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PRE - Y7 - 6 - Planet X
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PRE - Y8 - 1 - Introduction to philosophy & ethics
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PRE - Y8 - 2 - Life choices
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PRE - Y8 - 3 - Does God Exist
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PRE - Y8 - 4 - Is God's existence impossible
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PRE - Y8 - 5 - Religion and radicalism
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