3-18 Curriculum Area Impact Review: Religious & Moral Education
Heads/Depute Heads’ National Engagement Event
Workshop 1B: Developing transitions to ensure continuity and progression for all learners
Case Studies
Case Study 1
Francis is an 11 year old boy from a devout Catholic family. He is an altar
server in his local parish and helps to train younger altar servers. He is a
member of the ‘mini-vinnies’ the children’s branch of the Society of the
Saint Vincent de Paul. He has just started secondary school and is in his
third week of R.E. His teacher has informed the class that they are about
to study “The Mass”, and will be learning to name the different items,
symbols and artefacts used during a Sunday Mass.
Questions for reflection
1. What opportunities and challenges are raised in relation to continuity and progression issues by this case
study
2. As a school leader, how would you envisage the RE teacher engaging with/resolving the opportunities and
challenges you have identified?
3. What issues might this case study raise for:
a. Primary/secondary communication, policies and practices?
b. RE teacher (Primary and secondary) career-long professional learning?
c. The school’s interaction with the learner, his faith community and parents?
4. What are the key opportunities and challenges for RE in balancing the beliefs/values of children and young
people with the beliefs and values of their parents, the community and wider society? How can we address
and resolve these opportunities and challenges?
3-18 Curriculum Area Impact Review: Religious & Moral Education
Heads/Depute Heads’ National Engagement Event
Workshop 1B: Developing transitions to ensure continuity and progression for all learners
Case Studies
Case Study 2
Kirsty is in primary 5. It is just coming up to Easter and the class is engaged with a topic about ‘new
beginnings’ which links to science and to RE. The class teacher has just spent the last four weeks
covering Easter. As Head teacher you’re on a learning round gathering pupil views about their
classroom experience in an informal way. During your chat with Kirsty, the following dialogue takes
place:
Head: So Kirsty what have you learned about what Christians do at Easter?
Kirsty: (politely) I am a Catholic, so I kind of knew what we did anyway
Head: I see, so did it help you to understand your own beliefs?
Kirsty: Well no, not really
Head: Why do you think that was Kirsty?
Kirsty: Well, you see – what we did this year in class - we did the same in primary 4, in primary 3 and
in primary 2…
Questions for reflection
1. What opportunities and challenges are raised in relation to continuity and progression issues by this case
study
2. As a school leader, how would you envisage the class teacher engaging with/resolving the opportunities and
challenges you have identified?
3. What issues might this case study raise for:
a. Primary school communication, policies and practices?
b. Class teacher career-long professional learning?
c. The school’s interaction with the learner, her faith community and parents?
3-18 Curriculum Area Impact Review: Religious & Moral Education
Heads/Depute Heads’ National Engagement Event
Workshop 1B: Developing transitions to ensure continuity and progression for all learners
Case Studies
Case Study 3
Morgan has just returned home with her latest report card. She is particularly pleased because it is her first
report card in S1. Her RE report reads as follows:
Well done Morgan, you have settled in well to secondary school and are an enthusiastic member of the RE
class. You work well as part of your group but your individual work could improve. You could perhaps add a
little more detail to your written work and maybe give some deeper thought to your own responses about
beliefs and values.
Morgan’s parents are not unhappy with this report, but have just been comparing it with Morgan’s P7
report card where in relation to RE it read:
Morgan, you have a very mature and deep understanding of the topics we have covered this year. In
particular your work on the importance of the Passion of Jesus and your creation of the Stations of the Cross
in your own words was excellent. Your written work in this subject area is, full, well thought-out and shows
that you have an excellent understanding of beliefs and values and can explain your thinking very clearly.
1. What issues does this raise for transition in RE?
2. In what practical ways can these issues be resolved?
3. How can definitions of levels and a shared understanding of evaluative statements in reports be agreed
across a school/ between schools?