Religious Education
The purposes of Religious Education
The syllabus explains the value and purpose of RE for all pupils and specifies for teachers what shall be taught in each age group (see the full syllabus below). It provides a coherent framework for setting high standards of learning in RE and enabling pupils to reach their potential in the subject. As such, the Agreed Syllabus is parallel to the government’s subject orders for the subjects of the National Curriculum.
Religious Education is an essential component of a broad and balanced education (a key Ofsted priority) and is a focal point in the curriculum for work on Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Development and British Values. It enables the growth of religious literacy, essential for life in modern Britain and the wider world.
Making connections - Religious Education is concerned with the deep meaning that individuals and groups make of their experiences and how this helps them give purpose to their lives. It provides opportunities to explore, make and respond to the meanings of those experiences about the beliefs and experiences of others as well as to one’s own experiences.
RE’s place in the curriculum is underpinned by values and purposes. Along with the other subjects of the curriculum, RE aims:
to provide opportunities for all pupils to learn and to achieve;
to promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and to prepare all pupils for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of the present and the future.
The following purpose statements underpin the syllabus, which is constructed to support pupils and teachers in fulfilling them:
Religious education contributes dynamically to children and young people’s education in schools by provoking challenging questions about meaning and purpose in life, beliefs about God, ultimate reality, issues of right and wrong and what it means to be human.
In RE pupils learn about religions and beliefs in local, national and global contexts, to discover, explore and consider different answers to these questions.
They learn to weigh up the value of wisdom from different sources, to develop and express their insights in response, and to agree or disagree respectfully.
RE teaching therefore should equip pupils with systematic knowledge and understanding of a range of religions and beliefs, enabling them to develop their ideas, values and identities.
It should develop in pupils an aptitude for dialogue so that they can develop religious literacy and participate positively in our society, with its diverse religions and beliefs.
Pupils should gain and deploy the skills needed to understand, interpret and evaluate texts, sources of wisdom and authority and other evidence. They should learn to articulate clearly and coherently their personal beliefs, ideas, values and experiences while respecting the right of others to differ.
Which religions are used for learning?
This agreed syllabus requires that all pupils develop an understanding of Christianity in each key stage. In addition, across the age range, pupils will develop an understanding of the principal religions represented in the UK, in line with the law. These are Islam, Hinduism, Sukhi, Buddhism and Judaism. Furthermore, children from families where non-religious worldviews are held are represented in almost all of our classrooms. These worldviews, including for example Humanism, will also be the focus for study in thematic units.
RE is for all pupils
Every pupil has a legal entitlement to RE, it is a necessary part of a ‘broad and balanced curriculum’ and must be provided for all registered pupils in state-funded schools in England. This requirement does not apply to pupils below compulsory school age (although there are many examples of good practice of RE in nursery classes).
Parental right of withdrawal from RE
This was first granted in 1944 when curricular RE was called ‘Religious Instruction’ and carried with it connotations of induction into the Christian faith. RE is very different now – open, broad and exploring a range of religious and non-religious worldviews. In the UK, parents still have the right to withdraw their children from RE because they wish to provide their own RE teaching -this provision will be the parents’ responsibility. This right of withdrawal exists for all pupils in all types of schools, including schools with and without a religious designation. If you would like to withdraw your child, please make an appointment to see the Headteacher. Please read our policy and the guidance below on the right of withdrawal from Religious Education.
