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EPR


FACULTY LEADER: Mrs N Edney

SUBJECT LEADER: Mr I Noble

Our Ethics, Philosophy and Religion curriculum is designed to enable all students to have the confidence to ask and explore some of the biggest questions surrounding humanity and why we exist. We want to ensure that all learners are provided with the opportunity to develop and reflect independently on their own viewpoints about beliefs, practices, identity and diversity, meaning and purpose and issues of commitment whilst also respecting alternative points of view.

Students in Key Stage 3 will receive 2 hours of compulsory EPR and all students in Key Stage 4 will receive 2 hours of compulsory PREP per fortnight. Students can choose to study EPR at GCSE level as part of the Year 9 GCSE option choices, and A-Level Philosophy & Ethics as part of the Year 11 A-Level option choices.  

Our curriculum is based on six key themes within the study of Ethics, Philosophy and Religion. These themes have been developed in line with the National Non-Statutory Guidance for Religious Education, the Locally Agreed Syllabus and the new national Ofsted framework.

KS3 Curriculum

Throughout the Key Stage 3 years, students will develop knowledge and understanding of the most significant world religions today and will develop their ability to reason with a range of arguments and opinions. In Year 9 students will have the opportunity to deconstruct philosophical and ethical issues in order to formulate their own judgements and responses to some of the greatest questions of all time.

The majority of these units are taught in half-termly blocks. Students are taught in mixed ability sets.

KS4 Curriculum

Optional GCSE 

Ethics, Philosophy & Religion is a popular option at GCSE and enables students to explore and reflect on a range of world views. We follow the Religious Studies AQA A Specification with Christianity and Islam as the chosen religions of study. 

We study the following topics from the specification:

Paper one - Christian beliefs, Christian practices, Muslim beliefs, Muslim practices

Paper two - thematic studies: relationships and families, peace and conflict, religion and life, crime and punishment

Philosophy, Religion, Ethics and Participative Citizenship (PREP)

Our PREP curriculum for Years 10 & 11 is designed to facilitate debate and discussion on current and historic events. Combining ethical, philosophical and religious themes with citizenship-based topics, students will develop their ability to analyse and evaluate concepts relevant to life in a global, fluid and diverse world.

  Term 1 Term 2 Term 3
Year 10

Is there a conflict between science, religion and truth?

Justice: an ethical debate?

What Can Philosophy teach us about God?

How do we relate to the environment?

 

Do we all have freedoms?

How does fake news affect us?

What is my TED talk?

Year 11

Is there a need to be tolerant?

How do we make decisions at the edge of life?

Can we ever have gender equality?

Am I who I choose to be?

What happens when religions change?

Exams

 

KS5 Curriculum

Ethics, Philosophy & Religion is also a very popular option at A-Level. This is an engaging, stimulating and intellectually demanding course. Ethics, Philosophy & Religion is a well-established academic discipline, highly regarded by universities and professions including law, journalism, education, social and community work, police, business and politics.

The Philosophy and Ethics elements allow students the opportunity to think deeply, discuss, reflect, assess and critically analyse different viewpoints and beliefs about a wide range of issues in an atmosphere of mutual tolerance and respect. The study of religion has been requested by university departments to broaden students' understanding of the place of philosophical debate in the wider community. 

Students follow the Eduqas Specification focusing on Ethics and Philosophy alongside the study of Buddhism. 

Assessment

Assessment in EPR has been designed to support assessment of and for learning. Y7 and 8 students complete regular formative assessments, whilst Y9 complete larger “GCSE style” summative assessments in order to prepare them for the future. Students have allocated lesson time to reflect and improve their answers, to address any misconceptions, bridge caps in learning and develop answers further. Assessment skills are modelled for students and supported by peer and teacher assessment. Assessment as learning is also completed through the regular use of low-stakes quizzing in the form of “Check 5’s”, QUIZLET and home learning quizzes using Microsoft Forms. This is integrated into each scheme of work and taught consistently across the department. At GCSE, exam style questions have been integrated into each lesson to enable consistent and accurate application of knowledge. This is again supported by low-stakes quizzing, through Check 5’s and SENECA.