Year 7 Transition - Belonging and Cynefin

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• Context
• Why did you choose this focus?
• What changes did you make?
• What was the impact of the changes?
• What influenced you?
• Top three takeaways

Y Pant Comprehensive is an 11-18 year old school in Pontyclun, Rhondda Cynon Taf. It has approximately 1,500 students.

Religion, Values and Ethics (RVE) is compulsory for all students at Key Stage 3. It is a popular subject at GCSE and A Level, with many students opting to study the subject.

Our school is not particularly diverse in faith or culture in comparison with other schools in South Wales, and as a result we have decided to take the opportunity presented by the new Curriculum for Wales to introduce students to a wider range of religious traditions.

At Key Stage 3, Year 7 receive three hours a fortnight and Year 8 receive two hours a fortnight.

The subject is currently taught by subject specialists within the school.

The focus of the project was to change and adapt the first theme delivered to Year 7 to ensure an objective, critical and pluralistic approach in line with the new Curriculum for Wales.

We have a growing Muslim population in the school, and therefore it seemed appropriate to introduce Islam to our lessons. The reason why we decided to focus particularly on Year 7 was because the project presented us with the opportunity to work collaboratively with specialists from primary schools around Wales, and therefore it was an excellent opportunity for us to focus on the transition of the subject from primary to secondary level.

We were able to collaborate with other practitioners to ensure Year 7 are offered an accessible, yet challenging Scheme of Learning when they arrive with us.

Another reason why we decided to focus on the first theme studied by Year 7 was because we felt this was an opportunity to add depth to the current unit of work, titled ‘Belonging and Cynefin’. We felt as though we needed to take advantage of the opportunities to teach about a variety of beliefs in Wales and the local community.

A range of changes were made throughout this process. To begin with, the focus was going to be on a transition style project. However, as time went on it seemed more appropriate to extend this to a full unit of work. We felt that this would have more of an impact on the first impression students would have of the subject when beginning at the school with us in September.

One of the main changes we made to the unit of work was to introduce Islam as one of our main religions at Key Stage 3. As a school, we had not had the opportunity to cover Islam before as we were tied to covering content agreed by the Locally Agreed Syllabus. However, with the recent changes to the curriculum, we now have more flexibility with what we are able to cover.

Another change we made, was to introduce Humanism to Year 7. Both of these changes were made easier by having the opportunity to listen to guest speakers, such as Mark Bryant, Dr Abdul Azim and Kathy Riddick, where they spoke to us and introduced us to a variety of resources to help with teaching and learning in our schools. This also allowed us to realise first-hand how beneficial it is to listen to real people speaking about real experiences they have had.

Another key change we made was to introduce an overarching question at the beginning of each theme. This enabled us to take more of an enquiry-based approach towards each topic. This allowed us to explore a range of beliefs and practices to help students gain understanding regarding beliefs in Wales today. For example, one of the topics we introduced was Ramadan. This topic was not originally in our Scheme of Learning. When we introduced this topic, students were able to conduct research into what life is like for a Muslim following Ramadan in Wales. Some of our students from the Islamic tradition gave presentations on the challenges of Ramadan, in addition to also presenting their views on the Five Pillars of Islam and what they mean to them individually. The project also allowed us to share a range of useful resources, one in particular being the ‘Ask a Muslim’ resource introduced to us by Mark Bryant.

These changes to our unit of work helped us to focus on Islam and Humanism within Wales, and these beliefs became more meaningful to students due to the way they were presented, as opposed to teaching beliefs and practices as abstract concepts.

Students had the opportunity to learn from each other and to understand beliefs in Wales and apply them to real life.

The changes had a significant impact on the teaching and learning throughout this unit, as we moved towards an enquiry-based question. This allowed us to explore a variety of themes that linked to the question, to help students answer the question ‘What does it mean to have a belief in Wales today?’. This question allowed us to explore both religious and non-religious beliefs, and to make comparisons between different approaches. It also helped us to remain focused on beliefs within Wales, to help students gain a deeper understanding of beliefs that exist within Wales today.

Additionally, students relished the opportunity to learn from each other. They have gained a deeper understanding of the local community and students remain inquisitive and excited about RVE. Students have understood the importance of diversity, and continue to respect and listen to each other’s beliefs and traditions.

There were a variety of influences that helped shape the changes made to our unit of work. For instance, some of the resources shared by Mark Bryant based on Islamic beliefs within Wales today were extremely helpful and insightful. This inspired me to make more meaningful connections to Wales within my Scheme of Learning, in addition to introducing students to personal stories from Muslims living in Cardiff.

Additionally, hearing the approaches taken by a range of primary schools in the network helped me gain an understanding of what was being covered at Key Stage 1 and 2, which then informed my planning for Key Stage 3. For example, I was pleasantly surprised at the level of content covered by some primary schools, which then influenced me to introduce more challenging content to Year 7.

The text ‘Reforming RE’, which was gifted to us from the Church in Wales, was also a beneficial tool that helped me to reflect on what we were originally delivering and how we could improve our unit of work to really challenge students and to help them become more ethically informed citizens.

1. The importance of regularly linking content based on beliefs and practices to our local community
2. The benefits of introducing an enquiry-based question which allows students to have the opportunity to learn from each other
3. The importance of collaborating and sharing ideas with other specialists and to reflect upon our own practice