1. Lancashire SACRE Religious Education Support Assessing RE: What does level 6 look like? This presentation provides materials, examples and ideas for gathering evidence of pupils’ achievements at level six of the Lancashire Agreed Syllabus 8 level scale

2. What skills are characteristic of level 6? Level 6 is characterised by these skills Pupils: Interpret religious material and issues for themselves Express insight into religious, spiritual and philosophical questions AT1. Pupils:  use religious and philosophical vocabulary to give informed accounts of religious traditions and questions, explaining the reasons for diversity within and between them.  explain why the impact of religions and beliefs upon individuals, communities and societies varies.  interpret sources and arguments, explaining the reasons that are used in different ways by different traditions to provide answers to questions of personal meaning  interpret the significance of different forms of religious, spiritual and moral expression. AT2. Pupils:  use reasoning and example to express insights into the relationship between beliefs, teachings and world issues.  evaluate their own and others’ views on questions of identity and belonging, meaning, purpose and truth  consider the challenges of belonging to a religion in the contemporary world, focussing on values and commitments. (AT 2 in italics)

3. Remember…  A single piece of work doesn’t show all of the achievements that are characteristic of the level. The examples that follow are most helpful if they are taken together.  Evidence may come from written work, or many other sources. Here we show what can be shared.  Judging levels is a criterion-referenced ‘art’ rather than a science. Teachers’ judgements are the most important because teachers know pupils best.  Work may relate to any aspect of the field of enquiry: some examples of work here relate to shared human experience, or to beliefs and values, or to living religious traditions or to the search for personal meaning. Some examples connect different aspects of the field of enquiry.  Many teachers will find the syllabus guidance on ‘I can…’ statements on CD2 of the Lancashire Syllabus very helpful.  Examples of work at Level 6 are sometimes a ‘flash’ of insight. Pupils can sometimes achieve such small patches of excellence even before they are securely working at level 5. Good assessment practice notes that pupils move ‘up a level’ in many ways. The first example has this character.

4. Becky, 14, uses her awareness of different ideas about atheism and belief in God to evaluate and explain the issues.  The teacher set out arguments for and against belief in God, asking pupils to create reasoned lists for both sides of the case.  Becky has written thoughtfully about a number of dimensions of the issue.  She touches on issues of religious experience, cohesion and the psychology of the spiritual.  The work gives and informed account of different perspectives on the ‘God question’, engaging with reasons for diversity.

5. Corey, 11, shows here that he is able to interpret religious sources and make use of perspectives from different faiths in his explanations.  This is the final page of a longer piece of work in which the idea of John the Baptist as a prophet is explored and interpreted.  Corey uses a wide range of religious and philosophical concepts in his explanations (e.g.role model, belief, prophet, word of God, Messiah).  Corey’s breadth of understanding of John’s role in four religions makes for an informed account of diversity, characteristic of L6

6. Dan, 13, gives well informed accounts of reasons why he rejects 6 beliefs held by others. [See next page for commentary]

7. This piece of work shows that Dan, 13, can give well informed and reasoned accounts of questions of beliefs, values and commitments, using a philosophical vocabulary.  Dan used a ‘beliefs’ game to rank, sort and order belief statements in a group discussion.  He was asked to identify six beliefs he rejects, and explain fully his reasons for these disagreements.  He engages in a high level of succinct interpretation of the beliefs of others, and gives well informed and philosophical accounts of his reasoning at level 6  Some evaluative skills are applied thoughtfully  The work shows some ways in which high level skills in argument serve the interests of good RE.

8. Emma, 13, shows here that she can express insight into questions about God, inspired by Sikh sacred text.  Studying the Mool Mantar from Sikh scripture, a long class discussion considered whether beliefs about God are ‘beyond words’.  The teacher asked pupils to create theological reflections on God-questions arising from the Sikh text. The task asked for a piece of learning from religion work, starting with the text.  Emma, not a Sikh, used her higher level language skills and her philosophical insights to create this work (line 7: ‘sweetie’ is mis-spelled, the last two words of the text are missing: should say ‘my song’)  It is an insightful (and paradoxical) interpretation of the Sikh idea of God from her own viewpoint at level 6.

9. Ben and Jacob, 13, show here that they are able to evaluate answers to questions about meaning and experience, and to express insights into spiritual expression of values.  This creative reflection on the mysteries of human evil and on hope uses the symbolic possibility of spiritual art to express the insight that the boys bring to the topic.  Their ‘answers’ to the question of evil are textured and varied  The key achievement shown in this work is the expression of insight into questions of community, value and meaning at level 6. “Is There Justice In This Dark World? Our piece of work is to show that there is hope in a dark world. The black paper and the image of 9/11 represents the world we live in: it can be a horrible place of darkness, pain and hatred. The candle is there to represent hope and light in the dark world. The candle breaks dimly in to the dark world with its holy light. The dove represents peace, the heart is for the love we all need in the world to bring justice. Everyone should love everyone else as God intended us to: after all we are his children and he made all of us. The ‘live 8’ sign shows that some good is coming to this world by way of "Make Poverty History". Poverty is a horrible thing easily prevented, but not by the greed of many people. The lotus flower shows the need for awareness of the many problems of poverty and prejudice which people face. It is a symbol for awakening and opening your eyes to what is going on around.”

10. Elena, 14, shows here that she can give an informed interpretation of her insight into religious experience  This piece of work is a response to the research question (from Prof David Hay) ‘Have you ever felt a presence or power different from your every day self?’ It is only a personal response, but Elena develops insight into her own experience.  She applies some literacy skills to the RE topic of religious experience through a personal lens.  Elena expresses her experience and her interpretation with clarity, but this piece of work did not ask her for other views.  It would be interesting to see her application of these skills to an example from another religion or belief.  She explains why she interprets her experience in terms of Christian belief @I felt a wave of something which I believe was God…’ at level 6.  Is it possible, though, to achieve level six only by referring to your own experience? Maybe not completely.

11. Beth, 13, shows here that she is able to use her religious and philosophical vocabulary to give an informed account of beliefs about questions of origin and purpose, using reasons and examples  Beth’s work was prompted by playing a beliefs game in discussion with other pupils, and ranking some of her own beliefs and questions.  Alert to different perspectives and the reasons they are held, she uses her philosophical and religious concepts to explore her own ambiguous ideas about questions of truth, origin and purpose.  Explaining how reasons are used in different ways is characteristic of L6

12. Asaf, 13, shows here that he is able to explain some reasons why the impact of religious celebrations today varies.  Asaf was asked to consider the different possible answers to the question: what is the meaning of Christmas in the UK today?  The first list of points explains why the festival is seen in many different ways  The personal explanation then goes on to consider how religion functions in the contemporary world, expressing ideas and a range of perspectives. This is characteristic of L6

13. Natalie, 12, shows in this piece of work that she is able to express insights and interpretations in relation to a theological and philosophical question.  Natalie’s creative work is supported by her brief statement about a kind of spiritual knowledge.  She shares insight into questions about truth and values.

14. Katy, 12, shows in this work that she can make an insightful interpretation of a key story from Jewish scripture for the contemporary world. “Noah's Flood For Today In my Image I have changed a Bible story to suit my own thoughts. I have included part of the story of Noah’s ark and part of the story of when God created the earth. You can see: Rain to symbolize God’s tears. Sun light to symbolise his joy. Wind to symbolise his breath. A dove flying over the earth to symbolise his peace. God’s hands hold a bowl to symbolise his hold on the earth. The story of Noah is about God watching over us and controlling the earth.”  Some pupils show their achievements in RE through visual and creative learning  In this example, Katy selected two spiritual stories and gives her own interpretation of their significance at level 6.  She connects Jewish scriptural stories of the creation and flood, expressing beliefs through her art work. She brings out the significance of forms of religious and spiritual expression with insight, for herself.  Creative work can show high achievement with reference to some aspects of a level. Of course, the student will show other aspects of achievement in other ways.

15. Thanks to teachers and pupils  Lancashire SACRE would like to thank all the teachers and pupils who have contributed to this project.  Comments on the project and the example are welcome: send them to SACRE via the RE adviser Helen Harrison.  These materials are © Lancashire SACRE and RE Today, 2008. Lancashire schools may use them freely, but other use is by written permission only.