Director of Learning - Miss R Long Email

Welfare Education comprises two main subject areas, PSHCE and RS. Personal, Social Health and Citizenship Education is a compulsory part of the school curriculum and is delivered by form tutors and Directors of Learning alongside specialised staff and other outside agencies.

Religious Studies is taught by a department of qualified specialists to all students, from Years 7 to 11. The locally agreed Cheshire East syllabus for RE is followed.

 

PSHCE

Students' PSHCE provision is delivered through 'Student Development Days'. These are days off normal timetable, with tailored themes to meet the needs of our students. A wide variety of resources and activities are used to deliver the topics. Visitors from theatre groups, NHS staff, charities, local business people and the wider community are involved in the days.

 

	Day 1	Day 2	Day 3	Day 4	Day 5
7	High School Ready	Stock Market Challenge	All About Me	Diversity	Eco Day
8	Positive Relationships	Living in the Community	Diversity	Money Matters	Tea Party
9	Happy Relationships	Healthy Living	GCSE Options	Staying Safe	Law and Order
10	Health Day	Sex and Stuff	Diversity	Higher Education	Macclesfield Pledge and Careers Enterprise
11	Health and Wellbeing	Steps to the Future (Macclesfield Pledge)	Core Subject Study	Science PiXL / Prom and year Book Prep
12	Induction to a positive experience in the 6th form	Health and Wellbeing	The Wider World	UCAS Convention	Work Experience
13	UCAS / Employ	UCAS / Interview workshop	Revision Day (Not in school)	Future Paths

 

Student Development Lessons:

Students in Years 10 and 11 have one hour of Student Development per timetable cycle. This covers the following topics, which contribute to students' provision of PSHCE:

• Thinking Skills
• Emotional Resilience
• Extremism
• Careers
• Politics
• Economic Wellbeing
• Study Skills
• Revision Skills

 

Religious Studies

Religious Studies is taught across all key stages by a dedicated team of specialist staff. RS gives students the opportunity to explore the role and significance of religion in society and the important beliefs and values that shape the world today. RS helps students understand the religious experience of others and the ways in which it gives adherents a sense of purpose and meaning in their lives.

RS is an important subject in itself, developing students' knowledge and understanding of the religions and beliefs which form part of contemporary society. RS provokes challenging questions about the ultimate meaning and purpose of life, beliefs about God, the self and the nature of reality, issues of right and wrong, and what it means to be human. It develops students' knowledge and understanding of religions and other worldviews that offer answers to questions such as these. RS also contributes to students' personal development and well-being and to community cohesion by promoting mutual respect and tolerance in a diverse society. RS also makes an important contribution to other parts of the school curriculum such as citizenship, personal, social, health and economic education (PSHCE education), the humanities, education for sustainable development and others. It offers opportunities for personal reflection and spiritual development, deepening understanding of the significance of religion in the lives of others - individually, communally and cross-culturally.

 

The RS Department
Director of Learning: Welfare Education (PSHCE and RS)	Miss R Long
Key Stage 3 Co-ordinator	Mr M Shaw
Teachers of RE	Mr S Keifer
	Mr A O'Neill
	Miss S O'Loughlin

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Key Stage 3

In Years 7 and 8 students have 2 hours of RS per timetable cycle and are usually taught in form tutor classes. In Year 9, students have 2 hours of RS per timetable cycle in mixed ability classes.

In Year 7 students start the course with a topic called 'Search for Meaning'. In this, they look at big questions of life, why are we here? How did the world begin? Why do people suffer? Students go on to explore key aspects in the final stages of Jesus' life, looking at the death and resurrection of Jesus. In summer term students learn about 'Special places' comparing different places of worship.

As part of the RS Year 8 curriculum, students study aspects of Jewish life focusing on Jewish beliefs, festivals and practices. In addition to this, students learn about Life and Beyond, looking at religious and secular beliefs about birth and death. As part of this topic visitors from local churches come into RS lessons to share their beliefs with students. Students study thematic topics such as Religion, Art and Culture, which includes looking at meaning and symbolism in music, film, literature and art.

The Year 9 curriculum tackles deeper questions of life and prepares students for their forthcoming GCSE course. Students study aspects of Philosophy, looking at arguments for the existence of God and the problem of evil and ethical issues such as war and capital punishment. Students learn about the Buddhist faith and start their GCSE in the summer term.

 

Key Stage 4

YEAR 10:
All students study a compulsory full course GCSE in RS which is taught over 4 hours per timetable cycle and is assessed by 2 exams at the end of Year 11. RS is incredibly successful at GCSE with 86% of students in summer 2017 achieving A* - C in RS.

Students study the following topics:

• Buddhism - The Dharma, the Buddha, the Four Noble Truths, worship and festivals
• Christianity - worship and festivals, key beliefs, Christ and salvation
• Role of the church in the local and wider community
• Crime and punishment
• Religion and life
• Human rights and social justice
• Relationships and families
• Peace and conflict

Key Stage 5:

At A Level the study of RS continues to be a highly successful option for many students. Students follow aspects of Ethics and Philosophy in greater detail, building on the ethical foundations set by the GCSE course.

Religion and Ethics looks at different ethical theories, contrasted to religious ethics and then applied to the issues of abortion, euthanasia, animal testing and blood sports.   The Philosophy course entails a study of arguments for and against the existence of God, evil and suffering, miracles and the afterlife.