Milestones for Year 8 Religious Education
Pupils ask important questions about values, commitments and beliefs, making links between their own and
others’ responses, attitudes and behaviour.
Emerging
Pupils use a developing religious vocabulary to describe some key features of religions, recognising similarities
and differences. They make links between beliefs, practices and sources, including religious stories and sacred
texts.
They begin to identify the impact religion has on believers’ lives. They describe some forms of religious
expression.
Pupils identify what influences their values and choices, making links between aspects of their own and others’
experiences.
Pupils raise, and suggest answers to, questions of identity, belonging, meaning, purpose, truth, values and
commitments, recognising the implications and consequences of making moral choices.
Expected
Pupils use a developing religious vocabulary to describe and show understanding of sources, practices, beliefs,
ideas, feelings and experiences. They make links between them, and describe some similarities and differences
both within and between religions.
They describe the impact of religion on people’s lives. They explore and explain meanings for a range of forms
of religious expression.
They apply their ideas about identity and commitment to their own and other people’s lives. They describe
what inspires and influences themselves and others, especially their commitments, values and choices.
Pupils ask, and suggest answers to, questions of identity, belonging, meaning, purpose and truth, values and
commitments, relating them to their own and others’ lives and making clear connections between personal
viewpoints and action.
Exceeding
Pupils use an increasingly wide religious vocabulary to explain the impact of beliefs on individuals and
communities. They explain why people belong to religions. They demonstrate that similarities and differences
illustrate distinctive beliefs within and between religions and suggest possible reasons for this.
They explain how religious sources are used to provide answers to ultimate questions and ethical issues,
recognising diversity in forms of religious, spiritual and moral expression, within and between religions.
They explain what inspires and influences them, expressing their own and others’ views on the challenges of
commitment. They identify the consequences for themselves and for others of holding particular beliefs and
values.
Year 8 Autumn Term 1 – Milestones
You’ve Been Framed
By the end of this topic, you should be able to:
Below
Write basic description of who is in the picture and what they
Emerging
are doing.
Emerging
Give a description of why religious followers help others.
Use some religious key words.
Make links to religious teachings that affect religious follower’s
Expected
choice of actions.
Describe some impacts of these actions on their feelings.
Give specific examples from the sacred texts that have
Exceeding
influenced follower’s choices.
Make comparisons to other religions.
Year 8 Autumn Term 2 – Milestones
How did religion impact on the life of Mother Teresa?
By the end of this topic, you should be able to:
Below emerging
Expected
exceeding
identify some of
describe Mother
Mother Teresa’s
Teresa’s religious
religious beliefs
beliefs and explain
and their
their importance
importance to her.
to her.
use a wide
religious
vocabulary to
describe Mother
Teresa’s religious
beliefs in detail.
Use religious
vocabulary to give
informed accounts
of religions
beliefs (Catholic
and Hindu)
Extension: Explain
the reasons for
the variety of
responses to
world issues
within and
between different
religions.
describe and give
some meaning to
the impact
religion had on
Mother Teresa’s
life.
describe and
explain the
impact religion
had on Mother
Teresa’s life and
the world around
us.
Make links
between belief
and practice.
describe and
explain in detail
the impact religion
had on Mother
Teresa’s life and
the world around
us, giving reasons
and comparisons
to others.
explain what
inspires and
influences
themselves and
make comparisons
between aspects
of their own life
and those of
Mother Teresa.
Focus on values
and commitments,
considering their
own responses to
the challenges of
the modern world
whilst taking
account of the
views and
experiences of
others.
begin to identify
the impact
religion had on
Mother Teresa’s
life.
make links
between aspects
of their own and
Mother Teresa’s
experiences.
Emerging
describe what
inspires and
influences
themselves and
link it to that of
Mother Teresa.
Year 8 Spring Term 1 – Milestones
How do religious leaders contribute to a community?
By the end of this topic, you should be able to:
Emerging
Expected
identify some of the
different duties carried
out by priests.
describe the impact of
these duties on the
people and community
around them.
describe the roles of
religious leaders from
Islam, Judaism and
Sikhism and provide an
example of the impact
these have upon a
community.
identify the names of
different religious
leaders from Islam,
Judaism and Sikhism
exceeding
explain why these are the
duties of a priest.
Make links between the
roles of different
religious leaders and the
relevant sacred texts.
make comparisons
between them different
roles of religious leaders
Year 8 Spring Term 1 – Milestones
What’s the Point of it all?
By the end of this topic, you should be able to:
Emerging
Expected
exceeding
Give a basic description
of the Bible and the
Quran.
Name some stories and
people in the Bible and
the Quran.
show how the Bible and
the Quran impacts on
someone’s life.
explain how the Bible and
Quran makes followers
feel.
Make links to specific
examples from the Bible
or the Quran.
Year 8 Spring Term 1 – Milestones
Who do you support?
By the end of this topic, you should be able to:
Below emerging
Emerging
describe some
forms of religious
worship.
use some key
words to describe
and show
understanding of
some forms of
religious worship.
make links
between
someone’s belief
and their actions.
make links
between beliefs,
actions and
feelings.
(E.g. What people
do, why and how
does it makes
them feel)
Expected
use a wide variety
of key words to
describe and show
a detailed
understanding of
some forms of
religious worship.
Explain the links
between
practices, beliefs
and feelings
exceeding
interpret the
significance of
different forms
of religious
expression.
use reasoning and
examples to give
informed accounts
of the relationship
between beliefs
and actions.