Religious Education
In the Religious Education curriculum, our aim is to enable all pupils to learn from
religions in addition to gaining knowledge and understanding about religions. Learning
from religion encourages pupils to have respect for other peoples’ views and to celebrate
diversity in society. This helps our pupils to develop open minds to new and different
concepts and to form their own opinions based on evidence and argument.
To ensure that all pupils have access to the curriculum, the major faiths are taught
in a variety of ways, including discrete Religious Education lessons, circle time,
story telling, discussions, drama, preparation for worship, assemblies, major festivals,
appropriate visitors and trips to places of worship. It is also important to link
subjects and not just teach in isolation. Therefore, where appropriate, Religious
Education is linked to science, history, geography or literacy.
Some Religious Education topics have a more general theme. For example, pupils may
think about what makes people ‘inspirational’; making comparisons between religious
inspirational people and significant political or popular celebrity figures. Pupils
may research the lives of Mother Theresa, Nelson Mandela and even famous sporting
figures such as David Beckham or Steve Redgrave in order to address the question of
what makes a person inspirational.
Our rich and varied curriculum means that our pupils are able to:-
-
develop a sense of personal identity and self-worth;
- develop a sense of awe and wonder and an ability to reflect on the world around them;
- develop investigative and research skills to enable them to make reasoned judgements
about religious issues;
- have respect for other peoples’ views and develop tolerance and understanding of other world faiths;
- to help pupils reflect upon their own needs, experiences and questions and to confront
what are sometimes referred to as ‘ultimate questions’;
- to maintain close links with local churches and other religious communities.
