RE and Collective Worship

It is a legal requirement that the school has to provide Religious Education (Education Act 1996) for all registered pupils aged 4 – 19 years.  Parents may withdraw their child, wholly or partly from RE or Collective Worship if they wish though this must be discussed with the Headteacher.

An Act of Collective Worship will take place every day. The time at which this takes place and the form of Collective Worship (whole school, class or small group) will vary depending upon the ages and needs of individual and cohorts of children. The majority of Acts of Collective Worship will be wholly or mainly of a broadly Christian character and will often be linked to the R.E. theme.

Religious Education must be non-denominational and must be in accordance with a locally agreed syllabus, which must reflect that the religious traditions of this country are in the main Christian, whilst taking into account the teaching and practices of the other principle religions represented in Great Britain.

The teaching of RE covers the six themes from the Agreed Syllabus:

1. Creation and the Natural World
2. Community and Relationships – Identity
3. Worship
4. Tradition
5. Occasions and Celebrations
6. Symbolism

RE contributes to the spiritual, moral, cultural, intellectual, social, and physical development of our children by helping them to:

• Develop self-awareness and confidence, to feel valued and respected.
• Experience, explore, and gain knowledge and understanding of the world they live in, as individuals and as members of groups.
• Develop an awareness of own feelings and values.
• Make personal choices and adapt their behaviour according to differing situations and events.
• Develop curiosity and sense of wonder in the world around them.
• Develop knowledge and understanding of religious beliefs, practices and experiences.

For the vast majority, if not all, of the pupils attending Broadmeadow, the Early Years Foundation is the most appropriate curriculum.  It is inappropriate to view the curriculum from the perspective of the learner as separate subjects. Therefore, planned activities should fit into an interactive curriculum both inside and outdoors, where learning is essentially first hand, explorative, active and fun. With this approach it is possible to integrate, link and extend different strands of knowledge, attitudes, values, understanding and experience that link into Religious Education.

R.E. is taught through whole school assemblies, class assemblies and across all other subjects. This provides opportunities to develop the school as a community and to focus on the needs of both the individual and the group. The topic for each weekly assembly reflects one or more of the six themes of the agreed syllabus and is planned each term.