Our approach
Religious Studies is committed to ensuring that all pupils leave Bolingbroke Academy as well- rounded, multi-skilled and highly informed world citizens, eager to become changemakers and promote unity and acceptance. Through teaching thoughtful and engaging lessons, which relate to the ‘real world’, students will discover courage, compassion, and be empowered to become active members of their communities.
Courageous
• Developing students who are unafraid to debate, question, critique and analyse their own work, as well as the work of others.
• Holding students to high standards over time, through integrated use of AfL and frequent quizzing and quality of extended writing.
• Preparing students for higher thinking at the start of KS3, through a ‘spiralled’ skills-based approach to schemes of work.
Compassionate
• Developing learners who are passionate for justice, and who are led to make good moral decisions for themselves and others, through the thread of moral study from KS3 through KS5.
• Ensuring that study is accessible at all levels, through use of mixed media and varied dynamic tasks.
• Promotion of acceptance in and beyond the classroom, and celebrating diversity in culture, religion, gender and race.
Community
• Broadening learners’ knowledge of different cultures and belief systems and enabling them to recognise the application of these belief systems and ways of life within their community settings.
• Look beyond their own reality, being challenged to think outside of their own belief systems.
• Seeing validity and value in all viewpoints and judging what counts as good support.
• Applied learning within their settings e.g., different practices/places of worship/events.
Empowering Excellence
• Students will improve on their grades, through frequent assessment, using model answers and regular fast feedback on extended writing.
• Students will learn to think and work both independently and collaboratively, pushing each other to achieve their best, with a strong sense of climate of error and managing misconceptions.
Year 7
| Autumn 1 | Autumn 2 |
|---|---|
| What is History?/The Ancients | Christianity & The Bible |
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Units: - Creation - Cain and Abel - Exodus and Moses - Abraham and sacrifice - Noah’s Ark - Joseph King of Dreams - Jesus and his parables - Jesus and his miracles - The New Testament |
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Skills: - Commenting on and annotating scripture - Examining the value of Biblical events today |
| Spring 1 | Spring 2 |
|---|---|
| Norman Conquest + Black Death | Challenges to the Church and Crown and Tudors through religion |
| Summer 1 | Summer 2 |
|---|---|
| Tudors + Stuarts | Islam |
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Units: - Life of Muhammad - Holy Books - The Five Pillars - The Mosque |
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Skills: - Identifying and challenging viewpoints -Commenting on real-life influence of beliefs |
Year 8
| Autumn 1 | Autumn 2 |
|---|---|
| TBC | Slavery |
| Spring 1 | Spring 2 |
|---|---|
| Buddhism | WW1 |
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Units: - Who was Siddhartha Gautama? - The Four Sights - The Four Noble Truths - The Noble Eightfold Path - The Sangha - Mediation - Obon Festival |
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Skills: - Explaining beliefs about suffering and morality using evidence/examples - Comparing western religious beliefs to typically eastern religious beliefs |
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| Summer 1 | Summer 2 |
|---|---|
| Judaism | Russia |
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Units: - Who was Moses? - The Synagogue - The Torah - Shabbat - Bar / Bat Mitzvah - Kosher food - Pesach - Yom Kippur - Rosh Hashanah - Jerusalem |
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Skills: - Identifying and challenging viewpoints - Considering important texts and scripture - Examining key Hebrew terminology |
Year 9
| Autumn 1 | Autumn 2 |
|---|---|
| History WW2 | Anti-Semitism/Holocaust |
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Units: - Jewish Identity & Antisemitism - Rise of the Nazis - Persecution and the change in persecution - Resistance and Key Figures - Inside the Camps - Bystanders vs Perpetrators - Where was God? - Zionism |
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Skills: - Articulating Judaism as an ethno-religious identity - Assessing the changes in persecution between 1933-1945 - Analysing theological stances on the existence of God during and post-Holocaust |
| Spring 1 | Spring 2 |
|---|---|
| History Civil Rights | Challenges to Religion: Secularisation |
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Units: - Is Britain still religious? - What is secularisation? - Is God Dead? - How did the 60s contribute to secularisation? - Post-war immigration - Richard Dawkins and the God Delusion - Is Wandsworth a secular community? - What will religion look like in 2050? |
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Skills: - To critically evaluate the role and importance of religion in Britain today - To examine criticisms of religion - To explore the impact of modernisation on religion in society - To analyse how the place and role of religion has changed over time in Britain and globally. |
| Summer 1 | Summer 2 |
|---|---|
| Vietnam | Religion and Society |
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Units: - Prejudice and Discrimination; Gender, Racism, Charity, Sexuality, Wealth, Poverty - New Religious Movements: Scientology, the Moonies, Latter Day Saints, the Waco Siege, and the Hare Krishna’s |
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Skills: - Critically analysing the role of religion in societal issues - Determining how religion can be used to aid societal progress |
Year 10
| Autumn 1 | Autumn 2 |
|---|---|
| Christian Beliefs | Christian Practices |
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Units: Key Beliefs: - Nature of God - Creation - Trinity Jesus Christ and Salvation: - Life, Death, Resurrection and Ascension - Sin, salvation and atonement |
Units: Worship and Festivals: - Types of Worship - Sacraments and Festivals - Pilgrimage The Church in the Local/Worldwide Community: - Local Community - Mission of the Church - The work of the worldwide Church (Charities) |
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Skills: - Attributing foundational knowledge and understanding to scripture - Justifying and critically evaluating Christian views in relation to their understanding of God - Analysing the significance of different Christological events - Identifying difference between at least 3 denominational views |
Skills: - Analysing the impact of scripture on the actions of believers - Examining how and why certain beliefs are applied to everyday actions, and probing the differences in belief between denominations - Analysing the influence of scripture, Christological events and the afterlife on individuals and communities |
| Spring 1 | Spring 2 |
|---|---|
| Islamic Beliefs | Islamic Beliefs |
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Units: Key Beliefs: - Roots of Sunni and Shi’a Islam - Nature of God - Angels - Predestination - Judgement and Akhirah |
Units: Authority: - Risalah (Importance of Muhammad, Adam and Ibrahim) - Holy Books - Shi’a Imamate |
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Skills: - Citing where foundational knowledge and understanding derives from scripture - Justifying and critically evaluating Islamic views about God, and commenting on the differences between Sunni and Shi’a Muslims. - Analysing the significance and influence of belief in Al-Qadr and Akhira |
Skills: - Assessing the impact of the Prophets on Muslim beliefs and actions - Explaining and contrasting the roles of the Qu’ran and Hadith in the context of other holy books - Analysing and distinguishing between key Sunni and Shi’a beliefs about leadership |
| Summer 1 | Summer 2 |
|---|---|
| Islamic Practices | Islamic Practices/Revision |
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Units: Worship: - Five Pillars - Salah Duties: - Sawm - Zakah - Hajj |
Units: Continued - Jihad - Festivals Revision: |
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Skills: - Recite the expected actions of Muslims and evaluate the meaning behind these - Expound the threefold relationship between scripture, prophethood and festivals |
Skills: - To consolidate exam technique and master question structure |
Year 11
| Autumn 1 | Autumn 2 |
|---|---|
| Relationships and Families | Religion and Life |
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Units: Sex, Marriage and Divorce: - Sexuality and Sexual Relationships and Contraception - Marriage, Divorce and Cohabitation Families and Gender Equality: - The Nature of Family - The Purpose of Family - Gender roles, equality and discrimination |
Units: The Origins and Value of the Universe: - Religious and Nonreligious views about the origins universe - Value of the World and Human duty - Use and Abuse of the Environment The Origins and Value of Human life: - Religious and Scientific views on the origins of life - Sanctity and Quality of Life - Ethical arguments: Abortion/Euthanasia - Death and Afterlife |
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Skills: - Contrast beliefs between different denominations - Identify and evaluate ethical issues - Analyse the impact of the modern world on changing beliefs and attitudes |
Skills: - Compare beliefs between different denominations - Identify and evaluate ethical issues, implying context to British law - Analyse the impact of the modern world on changing beliefs and attitudes |
| Spring 1 | Spring 2 |
|---|---|
| Peace and Conflict | Crime and Punishment |
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Units: Religion, Violence, Terrorism and War: - Peace justice, forgiveness and reconciliation - Violence and Terrorism - War - Pacifism Religion and belief in the 21st Century - Weapons of Mass Destruction - Peace-Making - Responding to Victims |
Units: Crime and Cause of Crime: - Good and evil - Reasons for crime - Views of different types of crime Religion & Punishment: - Aims of punishment - Treatment of Criminals - Forgiveness - Death Penalty |
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Skills: - Contrast and compare beliefs between different denominations - Identify and evaluate ethical issues, critically analysing British law and religious doctrine - Analyse the impact of the modern world on changing beliefs and attitudes |
Skills: - Evaluate the different beliefs between different denominations - Identify and evaluate ethical implications, explaining reasons for different perspectives - Analyse the impact of the modern world on changing beliefs and attitudes |
| Summer 1 | Summer 2 |
|---|---|
| Revision | N/A |